Origins of an Ivy League Secret Society

In the hallowed halls of Yale University during the tumultuous year of 1832, a secret society emerged that would become the stuff of legend and conspiracy theories alike. William Huntington Russell, a Yale senior descended from the university’s founding family, established what would become known as the Skull and Bones society after returning from studies in Germany where he encountered secret student organizations.

Russell came from a family deeply embedded in American power structures – his ancestor Noah Russell helped found Yale, and the Russell family had amassed considerable wealth through the controversial opium trade with China. This combination of academic prestige, family connections, and international exposure created the perfect conditions for what would become America’s most famous collegiate secret society.

The original name, “The Brotherhood of Death,” reflected the organization’s fascination with mortality and secrecy. The society adopted the number “322” as its symbolic identifier, with conflicting explanations – some claiming it referenced the death year of Greek orator Demosthenes (322 BCE), others suggesting it marked the society as the second chapter of a German secret organization founded in 1832.

Rituals and Symbols of the Tomb

The physical heart of Skull and Bones remains its windowless brownstone building on Yale’s campus, known as “the Tomb.” This 1856 structure houses an astonishing collection of macabre artifacts and serves as the setting for the society’s elaborate initiation rituals.

Inside, visitors would find:
– Human and animal skeletons decorating the walls
– A mummy in the upstairs hall
– Tableware engraved with “S.B.T” (Skull and Bones Tomb)
– Drinking vessels shaped like skulls
– The infamous Room 322, containing symbolic artifacts representing mortality’s equalizing power

Initiation ceremonies involve psychological conditioning, physical challenges, and symbolic rebirth rituals. New members (called “neophytes”) experience:
– Being blindfolded and led to the “Firefly Room”
– Reciting oaths of secrecy
– Drinking “blood” from a skull
– Being tapped on the shoulder with a sword and dubbed “Knight of Eulogia”

Perhaps most controversially, early initiates reportedly engaged in nude mud wrestling and confessed sexual secrets while lying in coffins – rituals purportedly symbolizing death of their old selves and rebirth into the society.

The Bones Network: From Campus to Capital

What began as a collegiate club evolved into one of America’s most powerful networking systems. The society’s limited membership – just fifteen Yale juniors selected annually – created an exclusive pipeline to positions of national influence.

Notable Bonesmen include:
– William Howard Taft (U.S. President and Supreme Court Chief Justice)
– Henry Stimson (Secretary of War and State)
– The Bush political dynasty (Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush)
– John Kerry (Senator and Presidential candidate)
– Henry Luce (Time magazine founder)

This concentration of power has fueled theories about the society’s influence over American policy and institutions. The organization’s alumni placement in key government, judicial, and media positions suggests an informal network that transcends partisan politics.

The Bush Dynasty and Bones Connection

No family better illustrates the society’s generational influence than the Bushes. Their century-long relationship with Skull and Bones demonstrates how elite networks perpetuate power:

1. Prescott Bush (1917 initiate) – Established family political legacy through connections made at Yale and Bones
2. George H.W. Bush (1948) – Leveraged society connections throughout his CIA and presidential career
3. George W. Bush (1968) – Despite downplaying the connection, benefited from Bones-affiliated appointments
4. Barbara Bush (recent initiate) – Continues the family tradition

The Bush story reveals how Skull and Bones membership can provide:
– Access to capital and business opportunities
– Political appointments and campaign support
– Social legitimacy among East Coast elites
– Intergenerational continuity of privilege

Yale’s Culture and the Bones Ethos

Skull and Bones didn’t emerge in isolation but reflected Yale’s historical culture of:

1. Elitism – Early class rankings based on family status rather than merit
2. Secrecy – Tradition of clandestine student organizations
3. Hazing – Brutal initiation rituals for underclassmen
4. Anglophilia – Preference for British aristocratic values

The society became the ultimate expression of these values, taking Yale’s hierarchical traditions to their logical extreme. Membership criteria emphasized:
– Eastern establishment pedigree
– Prep school education
– Athletic achievement
– Military service potential
– Discretion and loyalty

Modern Controversies and Enduring Legacy

In recent decades, Skull and Bones has faced increased scrutiny regarding:

1. Alleged stolen artifacts – Including claims about Apache leader Geronimo’s skull
2. Political influence – Perceptions of a “shadow government”
3. Wealth concentration – Reinforcement of elite power structures
4. Gender exclusion – Only admitting women since 1991

Yet the society persists, adapting while maintaining its core mystique. Its continued relevance speaks to enduring American fascinations with:
– Elite power networks
– Ritual and tradition
– The interplay between secrecy and influence
– The Ivy League’s role in shaping national leadership

The truth about Skull and Bones likely lies between conspiracy theories and official denials – not an all-powerful cabal, but certainly a privileged network that amplifies its members’ advantages. In a nation theoretically opposed to aristocracy, it represents one of America’s closest approximations to hereditary power – not through titles, but through carefully cultivated connections passed down through generations.

As new initiates enter the Tomb each year, the society’s dual legacy continues: fostering leadership among America’s elite while perpetuating questions about how democratic a nation can truly be when so much influence remains concentrated in so few hands – hands that once gripped the same skull-shaped goblets their fathers and grandfathers held before them.