The Scariest Costume: An Untold Story of Appropriation

When the team here at First Name Basis was doing the research for our recent episode “Alcatraz: An Untold Story of Indigenous Resistance,” we came across the story of the Tammany Society — and we knew right away that story was too wild not to share!

The Tammany Society — also known as the Tammany Hall or the Columbian Order — was organized in the late 1780s right alongside the founding of the United States. It was a group of white men who were influencing the politics in New York at the time and then spread out geographically from there. 

Their story is one rampant with cultural appropriation that directly relates to injustices and racism we still see in this country today. And to make the story even more bonkers, one of the most notable members of the society is someone who has become a household name in recent years.

“Pardon me. Are you Aaron Burr, sir?”

The twists, turns and wild connections in this story are something you’re not going to want to miss. In this episode, we’ll tell you more about:

• The origins of the Tammany Society.
• How it’s creation was in response to the creation of the Society of the Cincinnati (Spoiler alert: Alexander Hamilton enters in the story here too)
• The Tammany Society’s many instances of appropriation of Indigenous culture.
• A look at a specific example of the Tammany Society’s appropriation that we still see today (Spoiler alert #2: It’s the Atlanta Braves)