One of his projects within the freemasonry was, in June 1869, through the America Lodge and together with Olímpio da Paixão, the creation of a free school for children and an evening primary school for adults in the 25 de Março Street. Historian Bruno Rodrigues de Lima also found a manuscript that presents the idea that Gama had been responsible for the creation of a community library with 5 thousand titles, something that was attributed to the Loja América, and his manifestos published in the newspaper "Democracia" demonstrate his commitment to a project of a public and secular school at least 30 years before the first debates on this subject.
