Rhetoric Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rhetoric Paper - Essay Example What then were the odds of a black society infringing on a white society’s copyrights stand of winning a legal battle against the latter if the case was heard by an all- white jury? The answer to the question would obviously be very slim if any. Past Imperial Potentate Caesar Blake, Jr. and his Black Shriners fought such a battle and won. The win remains embalmed in the Masonic history and is celebrated every year as the Jubilee day. Freemasonry is one of the World's largest and oldest men’s fraternity. The fraternity has its roots on the middle ages guilds established by stonemasons who constructed the great cathedrals and castles of medieval Europe. Modern Freemason fraternities use the traditions, tools and terminologies to symbolize building men’s. Though many claim that the group is secretive, the freemasons themselves dispute this and claim that even though they exhibit high levels of discipline, no society of their size could be secretive (Shriners). In th e United States freemasons are in two distinctive societies based on their race; the White masons and the Black masons. The masons refer to themselves as Shriners. They claim to be a fraternity based on fun and fellowship and upholding the Masonic principles of relief, truth and brotherly love. The White Masonry society was established in 1872 with an aim of being a source of fun and to extend charitable actions through their activities. The fraternity these Masons established was referred to as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and was exclusively for the Whites. In 1893 the Black Masons created their own Shrine society which they referred to as the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order (AEAONMS) also referred to as Prince Hall Shrinedom. Both societies called their chapters "temples†. The term "imperial potentate† was used by both groups to refer to their leader. This paper suggests that the Rhetorical Skills of the Past Imperial Potentate Caesar Blak e had a Big Role in Winning the Legal Tussle with the White Shriners. The paper also looks into the issue of administration of the Black Masonic Society and comes to the conclusion that the success of the same during the early 20th Century can also be partially attributed to the rhetorical skills of their leader ( Shriners home page). However, the paper is of the opinion that there were many other factors that led to the success of the Black Shriners. It is also imperative to consider the fact that other side of the legal battle had skilled orators too. The paper therefore concludes that rhetoric is not enough to win a cause. Action must support the rhetorical skills for any cause to succeed Historical background Jubilee Day Both Masonic groups coexisted harmoniously, in some cases in the same cities with each carrying its activities without the other’s interference for at least twenty years. However, the harmony between them broke with the White masons claiming that the Blac k masons had imitated their name, emblems, regalia and titles. The discontent within the White group culminated into a lawsuit in 1914 by a White Georgia Mason’s lodge which sought for orders to restrain the Black Masons from using the same. A similar lawsuit was raised in Arkansas. The matter reached the United States Supreme Court when a White Mason group in Houston sued