Presidential Conspiracy Theories: The Skull-and-Bones Presidents
The Skull and Bones is an undergraduate secret student society at Yale University. It is so secret that during the 2004 presidential campaign, Tim Russert, the host of the NBC Sunday morning news show Meet The Press, asked both President George W. Bush and Democratic Candidate John Kerry about their memberships in Skull and Bones. Bush replied, "It's so secret we can't talk about it". Kerry said "You trying to get rid of me here?"
Skull and Bones is also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death. It is the oldest senior class society at the university, and has become a cultural institution reknowned for its powerful alumni. It has spawned various conspiracy theories. The society's alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, owns the organization's real estate and oversees the membership. The society is known informally as "Bones", and members are known as "Bonesmen", "Members of The Order" or "Initiated to The Order". Skull and Bones was founded in 1832 after a dispute among Yale debating societies Linonia, Brothers in Unity, and the Calliopean Society over that season's Phi Beta Kappa awards. It was founded by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft, the latter being a future Attorney-General and the father of President William Howard Taft. The society's assets are managed by its alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, incorporated in 1856 and named after co-founder William Huntington Russell.
The first description of Skull and Bones to be published was in 1871 by Lyman Bagg. His book "Four Years at Yale" described what he referred to as "the mystery now attending its existence". The society selects new members from its student body every spring as part of Yale University's "Tap Day", a tradition since 1879. The society began including women in the early 1990s, selecting those that it views as campus leaders and other notable figures for its membership.
The society's activities have led to a number of conspiracy theories. According to an article in "The Week", Skull and Bones helped underwrite Adolph Hitler's rise to power and Hitler's financier hid $3 million in the Union Banking Corp., whose directors included Prescott Bush, father of the first President Bush. Similarly, several Bonesmen in the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, including Secretary of War Henry Stimson, were key players in the Manhattan Project. The society has also been blamed for the Bay of Pigs fiasco and for plunging the U.S. into Vietnam because Bonesmen William and McGeorge Bundy held prominent foreign-policy posts during the Kennedy and Johnson years.
Skull and Bones was exclusively a male club until 1992. The Bones class of 1971's attempted to include women for membership, but this was opposed by Bones alumni. This issue was the subject of debate for yearsto come. The class of 1991 selected seven female members for membership in the next year's class, which led to conflict with the alumni association. The trust changed the locks on the society's meeting hall (the "Tomb") and the Bonesmen met at an alternate site in the Manuscript Society building. A mail-in vote was held among the society's members on the issue and the vote was 368-320 to permit women in the society. A group of alumni led by William F. Buckley obtained a temporary restraining order to block the move, arguing that a formal change in bylaws was needed. Other alumni, including John Kerry, spoke out in favor of admitting women. The dispute reached the editorial page of The New York Times. A second alumni vote was held in October 1991, in which it was agreed that the Class of 1992 should include women, and the lawsuit was dropped.
In 1964, the year of the landmark Civil Rights Act, Skull and Bones failed to induct an African American. Future Senator Joe Lieberman was invited to join the society, but declined because of this. He wrote in his letter of rejection, "The changes this year were not sufficiently significant," and instead, he joined a society called Elihu, which was known for its progressive practices.
It was rumored that the society was in possession of the stolen skull of the Apache leader Geronimo. In 2009 Geronimo’s descendants sued the society to get the skull turned over to them, but the lawsuit was unsuccessful. It was alleged that Prescott Bush, George H.W. Bush’s father, broke into his grave during World War I and stole his skull and two bones. Ramsey Clark, a former United States attorney general who is representing Geronimo’s family, acknowledged he had no hard proof that the story was true.
Three Presidents have been Bonesmen: William Howard Taft, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. Bush wrote in his autobiography, “[In my] senior year I joined Skull and Bones, a secret society; so secret, I can’t say anything more.” A reporter once asked Kerry what it meant that two Bonesmen to run against each other for president. He replied, “Not much, because it’s a secret.” President George W. Bush partly bankrolled his first oil company, as well as his run for Texas governor, with loans and donations from fellow Bonesmen. Five of them, including SEC head William Donaldson, went on to serve in his administration.
A controversial 1986 book entitled "America’s Secret Establishment" by Anthony Sutton claimed that Skull and Bones was out to create a “new world order” run by Bonesmen. But while Bonesmen have occupied top-tier positions at a number of powerful institutions, like the CIA, the Council on Foreign Relations, Morgan Stanley, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Federal Reserve, the same could be said of Yale or Harvard graduates generally, or other Ivy League college.
The symbol of Skull and Bones is, appropriately, a skull with two crossbones. What’s less clear is the meaning of the number “322” beneath them. Yale Alumni Magazine points to a popular theory that it represents the year 322 B.C., when Alexander the Great died.
Skull and Bones is also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death. It is the oldest senior class society at the university, and has become a cultural institution reknowned for its powerful alumni. It has spawned various conspiracy theories. The society's alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, owns the organization's real estate and oversees the membership. The society is known informally as "Bones", and members are known as "Bonesmen", "Members of The Order" or "Initiated to The Order". Skull and Bones was founded in 1832 after a dispute among Yale debating societies Linonia, Brothers in Unity, and the Calliopean Society over that season's Phi Beta Kappa awards. It was founded by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft, the latter being a future Attorney-General and the father of President William Howard Taft. The society's assets are managed by its alumni organization, the Russell Trust Association, incorporated in 1856 and named after co-founder William Huntington Russell.
The first description of Skull and Bones to be published was in 1871 by Lyman Bagg. His book "Four Years at Yale" described what he referred to as "the mystery now attending its existence". The society selects new members from its student body every spring as part of Yale University's "Tap Day", a tradition since 1879. The society began including women in the early 1990s, selecting those that it views as campus leaders and other notable figures for its membership.
The society's activities have led to a number of conspiracy theories. According to an article in "The Week", Skull and Bones helped underwrite Adolph Hitler's rise to power and Hitler's financier hid $3 million in the Union Banking Corp., whose directors included Prescott Bush, father of the first President Bush. Similarly, several Bonesmen in the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, including Secretary of War Henry Stimson, were key players in the Manhattan Project. The society has also been blamed for the Bay of Pigs fiasco and for plunging the U.S. into Vietnam because Bonesmen William and McGeorge Bundy held prominent foreign-policy posts during the Kennedy and Johnson years.
Skull and Bones was exclusively a male club until 1992. The Bones class of 1971's attempted to include women for membership, but this was opposed by Bones alumni. This issue was the subject of debate for yearsto come. The class of 1991 selected seven female members for membership in the next year's class, which led to conflict with the alumni association. The trust changed the locks on the society's meeting hall (the "Tomb") and the Bonesmen met at an alternate site in the Manuscript Society building. A mail-in vote was held among the society's members on the issue and the vote was 368-320 to permit women in the society. A group of alumni led by William F. Buckley obtained a temporary restraining order to block the move, arguing that a formal change in bylaws was needed. Other alumni, including John Kerry, spoke out in favor of admitting women. The dispute reached the editorial page of The New York Times. A second alumni vote was held in October 1991, in which it was agreed that the Class of 1992 should include women, and the lawsuit was dropped.
In 1964, the year of the landmark Civil Rights Act, Skull and Bones failed to induct an African American. Future Senator Joe Lieberman was invited to join the society, but declined because of this. He wrote in his letter of rejection, "The changes this year were not sufficiently significant," and instead, he joined a society called Elihu, which was known for its progressive practices.
It was rumored that the society was in possession of the stolen skull of the Apache leader Geronimo. In 2009 Geronimo’s descendants sued the society to get the skull turned over to them, but the lawsuit was unsuccessful. It was alleged that Prescott Bush, George H.W. Bush’s father, broke into his grave during World War I and stole his skull and two bones. Ramsey Clark, a former United States attorney general who is representing Geronimo’s family, acknowledged he had no hard proof that the story was true.
Three Presidents have been Bonesmen: William Howard Taft, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. Bush wrote in his autobiography, “[In my] senior year I joined Skull and Bones, a secret society; so secret, I can’t say anything more.” A reporter once asked Kerry what it meant that two Bonesmen to run against each other for president. He replied, “Not much, because it’s a secret.” President George W. Bush partly bankrolled his first oil company, as well as his run for Texas governor, with loans and donations from fellow Bonesmen. Five of them, including SEC head William Donaldson, went on to serve in his administration.
A controversial 1986 book entitled "America’s Secret Establishment" by Anthony Sutton claimed that Skull and Bones was out to create a “new world order” run by Bonesmen. But while Bonesmen have occupied top-tier positions at a number of powerful institutions, like the CIA, the Council on Foreign Relations, Morgan Stanley, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Federal Reserve, the same could be said of Yale or Harvard graduates generally, or other Ivy League college.
The symbol of Skull and Bones is, appropriately, a skull with two crossbones. What’s less clear is the meaning of the number “322” beneath them. Yale Alumni Magazine points to a popular theory that it represents the year 322 B.C., when Alexander the Great died.