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Bell 2024 ch. 7 claims that:

The Skull and Bones Society also known as The Order of Death was founded at Yale University in 1832. The founding of this elite secret society came as a result of President John Quincy Adams purging freemasons from roles in government.

Did John Quincy Adams purge Freemasons from roles in government?

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    First off, let's not confuse John Adams and John Quincy Adams. It does looks like JQA had a particular thing against the Masons. Most likely this is referring to roles in Yale student government. I haven't read it, but this book looks like it might go into it.
    – T.E.D. ♦
    Commented Jun 5 at 22:25
  • Well, 1832 would be 3+ years after his term. Perhaps more of an issue was John Quincy Adams was a Harvard graduate...
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Jun 6 at 19:40

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You are kind of asking to prove a negative by this question, however, I can say that there is no well-known instance in which John Quincy Adams had a US government minister or employee removed due to participation as a Freemason.

Adams was a vocal critic of Freemasonry and an entire book ("Letters on the Masonic Institution", 1847) was published documenting his critiques the practice of Freemasonry.

Adams was definitely concerned with Masonic and Anti-Masonic platforms in political parties and legislatures, so indirectly there were certainly "acid tests" that could have led to the exclusion of people from party roles and thereby, indirectly to them getting governmental appointments.

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John Quincy Adams was against Freemasonry, as his Letters on Freemasonry show.

The first letter, ibid. pp. 3-9, is his defense of his father: "Vindicating the venerable John Adams from the Malignant Charge of Supporting Freemasonry" (22 August 1831).

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    This is true. It looks like there was a somewhat lurid incident where an anti-Mason announced he was going to publish Masonic secrets, and then completely disappeared. After that, the Masons started to seem like less of a diverting social club to keep men busy in their spare time, and more like a malignant shadowy conspiracy. Which is why some politicians who said nice things about them before (or in JQA's case, his father did) needed their positions explained and/or walked back.
    – T.E.D. ♦
    Commented Jun 6 at 19:40
  • 3
    But did he purge the government of Masons?
    – MCW ♦
    Commented Jun 6 at 23:48

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