To Thomas it seemed that honor in a republic could be found only among the “band of Brothers” within the Masonic craft that was increasingly composed of artisans and middling sorts like Thomas himself. Perhaps only within such Masonic societies or in other such organizations could one find the social networks that Nathaniel Chipman believed crucial for the cultivation of any sense of honor or shame. Such social networks, said Chipman, made “all the individuals of the same connection, in some measure sponsors for the actions of each.” Only when enmeshed in such social webs does each person
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