Winter
I've been here before
I was doing some research recently on the differences between the working tools found in the American Rite versus the Emulation Rite since the question often comes up about why the Emulation Rite has the Pencil, Chisel, and Skirret that are not found in the American Rites. Like most Masons today I was taught that William Smith Webb modified the lectures he received from Preston and this gave uys the ritual we use in the United States today. But I happened to read an article from a Masonic magazine called The Builder from 1923 that made me think that it was not nearly so simple. (Note: The Builder is such an amazing magazine that it deserves its own thread) Here is the article I read. I highly recommend you read it and discuss it.
http://www.masonicdictionary.com/american.html
In this article, Bro. Kress attributes the differences in the rituals to the schism we are all familiar with between the Moderns and the Antients. "Let us keep in mind, then, that in the United States we have preserved essentially the ritual of the "Antients", while in England the ritual is essentially that of the "Moderns"."
The Moderns are not well thought of in the article as Bro. Kress states, "In referring to the ritual of the "Moderns", I intentionally said it was divided into three lectures, for it was distinctly true of the "Moderns" that the real "work" of their lodges consisted not in making of Masons, but in the rehearsal of these lectures to the accompaniment of eating and drinking."
The article is an excellent academic look at this subject.
http://www.masonicdictionary.com/american.html
In this article, Bro. Kress attributes the differences in the rituals to the schism we are all familiar with between the Moderns and the Antients. "Let us keep in mind, then, that in the United States we have preserved essentially the ritual of the "Antients", while in England the ritual is essentially that of the "Moderns"."
The Moderns are not well thought of in the article as Bro. Kress states, "In referring to the ritual of the "Moderns", I intentionally said it was divided into three lectures, for it was distinctly true of the "Moderns" that the real "work" of their lodges consisted not in making of Masons, but in the rehearsal of these lectures to the accompaniment of eating and drinking."
The article is an excellent academic look at this subject.