James Monroe and the Electoral College

Plumer, simply, was not a supporter of Monroe. More than that, however, Plumer was also charged to vote for Brother Monroe's Vice Presidential candidate. Monroe's pick for Vice President was Daniel Tompkins, a member of Hiram Lodge 72, Mt. Pleasant, NY who later served as that state's Grand Master. Plumer detested Tompkins, describing him as as "grossly intemperate" and having "not that weight of character which his office requires." Historians agree, it is more likely it was Monroe's association with Brother Tompkins, rather than Plumer's admiration of Washington, that cost Monroe a unanimous election.

But there is actually more to the story. Plumer was not a Freemason. The man for whom he voted, John Quincy Adams, was one of American history's most ardent anti-Masons. His strong views opposing the Craft are well-known and well-documented. Many histories of the era overlook the fact that Plumer, instead of voting for Tompkins, cast his vice-presidential vote for former US attorney general Richard Rush. Rush was initiated in Philadelphia's Union Lodge 121 on September 19, 1811. He remained an entered apprentice, attended only one meeting, resigned from the Craft, and like Adams became a vehement anti-Mason.

To recap, Plumer, a non-Mason voted for Adams and Rush, two strident anti-Masons, in opposition to two Freemasons, Monroe and Tompkins. It's hard to believe, isn't it, that didn't have something to do with Plumer's actions in what may have been one of the first shots across the bow in the then-coming anti-Masonic period.