In the United States, a multitude of ethnic groups
and members of different religions and social classes live together
in relative peace and harmony in a multicultural society.
In general we do not have the sectarian friction which
afflicts many other countries.
Many different religious beliefs and modes of worship coexist
peaceably in our society, and the Orange Order fits into this
mosaic. Therefore,
while we share the same basic principles, there are significant
differences between how these principles are worked out in the
United States and how they may be applied elsewhere.
To a greater and lesser extent, this is also true for all
Orange jurisdictions. One
of the glories and strengths of Orangeism is how it has been adapted
locally to suit the cultures of a diverse and worldwide following.
The Orange Order in the United States is a religious,
charitable, and patriotic American fraternity.
The Grand Orange
Lodge of the United States was organized in 1868, less than eighty
years after the formal institution of the Orange Fraternity in
Loughgall, Northern Ireland, in 1795.
However, the spirit of Orangeism was planted in the United
States as soon as the first groups of Ulster immigrants began
arriving in significant numbers after 1719.
This stream of pioneers, arriving as soon as thirty years
after the Battle of the Boyne, brought with them the knowledge
that they owed their very existence to Prince William of Orange.
Their first settlement was in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Fresh arrivals throughout the 1700s spread quickly
along the frontier and left their mark on the American landscape
with hundreds of places named after towns and regions they had
left in Ulster. At a very early stage these immigrants from
Ulster were given the name Scotch-Irish. While
they had embarked on ships leaving ports such as Larne and Derry,
it was obvious to the colonial authorities that they were not
Irish. So they were called Scotch-Irish, and this name
is proudly borne by Ulster-Americans to the present day.
Some of these early settlers were known as Hillbillies
because of their veneration and respect for William of Orange.
So far as we know, the Hillbillies did not have organized
lodges, but lodges began to appear in the United States in the
early 1800s and resulted in the formation of the Grand Lodge of
the USA in 1868.
Over the past 150 years of independent growth, the formative experiences of United States Orangeism have been different from those elsewhere and this can sometimes be confusing for new members who have been active in foreign Orange jurisdictions before coming to the United States. The Loyal Orange Institution of the United States is an independent entity making its own rules and setting its own standards: it is not an overseas branch of any other Grand Lodge. Friendly fraternal communication and consultation with foreign Grand Orange Lodges is maintained through our affiliation with the World Orange Council.