Skull and Bones

For 170 years they have met in secret. From out of their initiates come presidents,Our Judges, and cabinet secretaries, and plenty of spooks. They are the titans of finance andIndustry and have now installed a third member as United States President George W. Bush Jr.

This intriguing behind-the-scenes look is going to document some of Yale's secretive society, theOrder of the Skull and Bones, and its prominent members, numbering among them Tafts,The Rockefeller Family, The Pillsbury's, and last but not lease, The Bushes. Far from being aCampus fraternity the society is more concerned with the success of its members after college.

Founded in 1832, The Order of Skull and Bones (formally known as the Brotherhood of Death)is Yale's oldest secret society. Headquartered in a "windowless tomb" on High Street, Skull andBones is only open to 15 Yale seniors, who are "tapped" to join in the spring of their junior year.

Congressional portrait with U.S. flag in the backg...

English: View of the exterior of the Skull and Bon...

Yale Skull and Bones tomb

Those on the inside know it as The Order. More formally, for legal purposes, The Order wasIncorporated as The Russell Trust in 1856. It was also once known as the 'Brotherhood ofDeath'. Those who make light of it, or want to make fun of it, call it 'Skull & Bones', or justPlain 'Bones'.

Upon graduation from Yale and Skull and Bones, quite a few former Bonesmen use their bondsOf power and influence to make their way up through the ranks of America's power elite.

In the area of foreign policy. A select few Bonesmen have parlayed their Skull and BonesConnections to make a play for the White House. A few examples of these men would be ourCurrent president George. W.Bush Jr. and, past Democratic nominee John Kerry. Given theSociety's history as an incubator and meeting point for rising generational elites, it is notSurprising that Skull and Bones has long been...