United States
In the United States each state has a Grand Lodge that supervises the lodges within that state and is sovereign and independent within that jurisdiction. The Provincial Grand Lodge of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania was the first of these, founded in 1731, and also the third Grand Lodge ever formed around the world after England and Ireland. These are commonly referred to as the "regular" or "mainstream" Grand Lodges. There is no national Grand Lodge. All regular Grand Lodges in the US are in mutual amity with each other and with UGLE, with the exception of Ohio and West Virginia, which do not currently recognize one another.
In addition, most States also have a sovereign and independent Prince Hall Grand Lodge that is or was predominantly African-American. For many years the mainstream Grand Lodges did not recognize Prince Hall Freemasonry and considered them irregular. Within the last 20 years this situation has changed and today most mainstream Grand Lodges have come to recognize their Prince Hall counterparts and vice-versa. The few exceptions are in the former Confederate states (except Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas), as well as West Virginia, where the mainstream Grand Lodges do not yet recognize their Prince Hall counterparts.
Due to a 19th century argument and a resulting schism, not all Prince Hall Grand Lodges recognize each other, and generally the mainstream Grand Lodges have followed the lead of their Prince Hall counterparts when it comes to recognizing Prince Hall Grand Lodges in other states. UGLE has also granted recognition to Prince Hall Grand Lodges where they are recognised by their mainstream counterparts.
Thus, in most of the States of the US, there are currently two recognized Grand Lodges, each recognizing the other but maintaining independence and sovereignty over their subordinate lodges. This condition (the presence of two recognized Grand Lodges in one geographical area) is uncommon. Traditionally recognition has been granted under the concept of "Exclusive Jurisdiction", meaning that only one Grand Lodge is recognized within any given Jurisdiction.
Throughout the US there are also numerous bodies that claim to be Masonic Lodges and Grand Lodges, but which are not recognized as such by UGLE, the mainstream Grand Lodges, nor their Prince Hall counterparts. These are deemed to be irregular.
Read more about this topic: Regular Masonic Jurisdictions
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