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In 1826, William Morgan, a New York bricklayer, disappeared. Morgan was reportedly a former member of the Freemasons and preparing to release a book exposing the society’s secrets. People around the mid-Atlantic and Eastern seaboard were already suspicious of Freemasons for their secrecy, and Morgan’s disappearance helped galvanize that suspicion into political action leading to the creation of the Anti-Masonic party. The party was the first “third party” (non-major party, often with specific issue focuses) in United States History. The party condemned the secrecy and exclusivity of the Freemasons and other secret societies of the time as its main position, but as it grew in popularity it began to take other positions, such as support of protective tariffs. The party also released the first-in-the-United-States electoral platform outlining its positions. The party held the first party presidential nomination convention in American history, nominating former attorney general William Wirt to run as an anti-Mason in the 1832 presidential election. Wirt carried the state of Vermont and won about 7.8% of the vote. As the 1830s progressed, most of the members of the Anti-Masonic party moved to the Whig party, and some former Anti-Masons found political success as Whigs (including president Millard Fillmore).