The Pilgrims Society: A study of the Anglo-American Establishment

“There are several curious things about these Pilgrims functions. In the first place there is present at these dinners an array of notables such as it would be difficult to bring together under one roof for any other purpose and by any other society… Among the guests were John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan, Thomas W. Lamont and other members of the House of Morgan… We are entitled to know what the Pilgrim Society is, what it stands for, and who these powerful Pilgrims are that can call out the great to hear a British Ambassador expound to Americans the virtues of a united democratic front.”

- John T. Whiteford asking very reasonable questions in his 1940 pamphlet ‘Sir Uncle Sam: Knight of the British Empire’.

“[The aim of the international bankers was] nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences.”

- Professor Carroll Quigley, ‘Tragedy & Hope’, p. 324. Can the Pilgrims, which Quigley never mentioned, verify his story of an Anglo-American Establishment?

Related

P.I.L.G.R.I.M.$: The mysterious, super-elite Pilgrim Society

Official Pilgrims logo. “Hic et Ubique” means “here and everywhere”, apparently a reference to the idea that the United States and Great Britain should stand together side by side everywhere. The eagle represents the United States; the lion Great Britain.

PEHI | July 17, 2008

by Joël van der Reijden

Intro

Most people have at least vaguely heard of the “Eastern Establishment”. This is a reference to a group of people in the Northeast of the United States which to many appears to wield a disproportionate amount of influence over the nation’s politics. This influence, which goes back even further than the days of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. and J. P. Morgan, Sr. has been illustrated by the fact that a great number of individuals working in the senior positions of government have come from a number of New York-based banks, insurance companies and law firms, only to return to this group of banks and businesses after their public term came to an end. Often these individuals served in more than one administration, and together with a number of other peculiarities – think of controversial policies, suspected cover ups, ignored conflicts of interest, lack of media attention, etc. – some people have become suspicious of what at times appears to be almost like a permanent government. A 1962 newspaper column voiced these suspicions best:

“There is an establishment in the United States. The word “establishment” is a general term for the power elite in international finance, business, the professions largely from the Northeast, who wield most of the power regardless of who is in the White House.

“Most people are unaware of the existence of this “legitimate Mafia.” Yet the power of the establishment makes itself felt from the professor who seeks a foundation grant, to the candidate for a cabinet post or State Department job. It affects the nation’s policies in almost every area.

“For example, the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, subsidized by Rockefeller interests since 1927 boasts a membership of at least 90 per cent establishment figures.” [1]

The WASP elite

The origins of the Eastern Establishment is hardly part of accepted, official history. Authors writing about this topic have regularly been criticized; sometimes for seeing things that aren’t there; sometimes for leaving out important aspects and missing the big picture. Some of the reasons that these discussions exist are quite obvious though:

1) there are large political and business interests involved here which like the way their system of private, behind-the-scenes conferences has evolved;

2) there’s a small group of “insiders” and huge group of “outsiders”, and because of their different lives they often are unable to understand, or refuse to understand, the other side.

What sets an elite apart from the regular population is influence: influence in domestic politics and economy, and influence in foreign politics and the world economy. This influence in many cases is hereditary, because within establishment circles it’s as much about who you know as it is about what you know. In the modern age education is crucial, and in case of the Eastern Establishment of the United States, most members send their children to Yale, Harvard, or Princeton to get a law degree or a MBA. Members of the British establishment usually go to Oxford, with Cambridge coming in second. As soon as these young students graduate they are free to join the family bank or some other establishment business. Outsiders can join “the club” by going to the right schools and befriending other members of the establishment.

The Eastern Establishment is a so-called “WASP” establishment – meaning “White Anglo-Saxon Protestant”. The term specifically refers to Americans of British descent, even though there’s a similar WASP establishment in Great Britain surrounding the royal family, which is closely associated with its American counterpart.

The term WASP when applied to America’s elite is somewhat inadequate. Usually its Anglo-Saxon descent and Protestant values are emphasized, followed by a general description of the historic influence of this group. Whenever the question comes up if this establishment still has great influence today few, if any, scholars come up with clear and definitive answers. Much further than throwing around terms like “Ivy League” and “old boys networks” they usually won’t go.

Now, anno 2008, let’s change this and write down a detailed list of characteristics which fully describes the traditional Eastern Establishment (or WASP elite).

1 It is a social elite centered around a number of universities, a group of banks, insurance companies and law firms, and a group of influential, privately-funded foundations and think tanks.

2 It is centered in and around New York, even though at any moment a large portion of this group is active within the government and non-government institutions in Washington.

3 There is a close relationship with the British aristocracy and the British royal family via diplomatic officials, individual contacts, and private clubs.

4 The dominant religion is Protestant, in particular the Episcopal (Anglican) and Presbyterian churches.

5 British branches of Freemasonry and Templar orders are popular.

6 This is the group behind the globalization process and members are generally great supporters of the United Nations and the sustainable development movement.

7 Catholic and especially Zionist interests are not very much appreciated.

You probably heard of some of these points before and you may or may not agree with them. So how can we prove to you that this list is true? To do that we need to begin our discussion on the Pilgrims Society.

Pilgrims history

At the turn of 20th century a number of influential persons were interested in bringing the establishments of the United States and Great Britain closer together. The St. George’s

Society in New York, the American Society in London, and the growing network of Anglo-American League branches in England (founded by a good number of later Pilgrims Society members), were seen as inadequate, so the idea arose to form a new, elitist society with branches in both London and New York. This became the Pilgrims Society, which organized regular meetings in such prestigious hotels as the Victoria, the Waldorf Astoria, the Carlton Ritz, and the Savoy.

The idea of setting up what ultimately became the Pilgrims Society was first discussed by a number of Americans working in London. One of them was Lindsay Russell, a well-connected lawyer from New York, who regularly visited London in these days to set up his law firm Alexander and Colby. It was Russell who got together with General Joseph Wheeler (on a visit in London), General Lord Roberts, and Sir Harry Brittain. Together they organized the original meeting of the Pilgrims of Great Britain at the Carlton Hotel on July 11, 1902. The meeting was a success and two weeks later Lord Roberts was elected president of the Pilgrims; Lord Grenfell and Admiral Hedworth Lambton became vice presidents. Two other vice presidents were Americans: Senator Chauncey M. Depew (Yale Skull & Bones 1856; lawyer to Cornelius Vanderbilt; member of J.P. Morgan’s elite Corsair Club, together with William Rockefeller) and General Joseph Wheeler. Sir Harry Brittain became secretary and the Archdeacon of London, William MacDonald Sinclair, was elected chairman of the executive committee [2].

At the July 11 meeting the attendants also discussed their plans of setting up a branch in New York. Lindsay Russell and Chauncey Depew went back to the United States and approached such men as Bishop of New York Henry Codman Potter, J. P. Morgan, Sr., and former U.S. President Grover Cleveland (a good friend of the Morgan family and employed by them since at least the 1880s). Under the leadership of Bishop Potter, the Pilgrims of the United States organized their first formal diner on February 4, 1903. The two societies have been organizing meetings ever since [3].

The Pilgrims network

Over the years more and more influential persons joined the Pilgrims Society, including virtually all the well known bankers, robber barons and their associates. Going through membership lists of the Pilgrims of the United States you’ll find the following families:

Astor
Duke
Mellon
Stillman
Aldrich
(Copeland) Du Pont
Meyer
Vanderbilt
Belmont
Gould
Morgan
Warburg
Baker
Harkness
Peabody
Watson
Carnegie
Harriman
Pyne
Whitney
Dillon
Lamont
Reynolds
Dodge
Lodge
Rockefeller
Drexel
Loeb
Schiff

Within the ranks of the British Pilgrims one comes across a great many Barons, Viscounts, Earls, Marquisses, and Dukes. Member of the British royal family have been patrons of the Pilgrims Society since its inception and regularly attend meetings. Here also well known banking families as Baring, Hambro, Harcourt, Keswick, Rothschild, Kleinwort, Loeb, and Warburg can be found, just as the heads of Barclays and the British managers of U.S. banks as Chase Manhattan and J. P. Morgan.

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