The American Philosophers

The American Philosophers was the American faction of the Philosophers formed after World War II.

History
When the members of the Wisemen's Committee (the original group of the Philosophers) died after World War II, these funds were divided and hidden in secret bank accounts in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, and other such economic strongholds; the deposition known only by a select few. The records of the transactions were stored on a single microfilm; the only means to access the vast fortune. This fortune became known as the Philosophers' Legacy.

With the death of the Wisemen's Committee and the loss of the Legacy, the whole organization lost control with tensions rising between the nations and among the Philosophers, tearing the group and the world into three superpowers; America, Russia, and China. Cause and effect were as one; the tension between the three feuding remnants of the Philosophers was the hidden face of the Cold War as each group attempted to concentrate power in their own nation. One of the main reasons why the Cold War started was the rivalry and fight for the Legacy, between the three nations. All of the three nations were fighting for the wealth since they required the Philosophers' Legacy to win the Cold War and become the dominant superpower. In the midst of the chaos, the Philosophers's financial manager was able to maintain complete control of it when its leadership died.

In 1964, The Boss was considered an annoyance to the American Philosophers, thus they had the DCI of the CIA formate a plan to elimnate The Boss. Meanwhile, Colonel Volgin (the son of the financial manager) inherited the Legacy and used it to build a fortress and forced Sokolov to create the Shagohod, which Volgin would use to continue the Cold War. With ulimited wealth, Volgin contacted The Boss and the two formed a pact. At the same time, the CIA had the FOX unit send their first agent Naked Snake to rescue Sokolov. However, Snake was outmatched by The Boss, losing Sokolov in the process. To make matters worse, Volgin fired an American made Davy Crocett on Russian soil. A week later, FOX agent Snake was sent to elimnate Volgin and The Boss, in order for America (the American Philosophers) to prove its innocence to Russia (The Russian Philosophers). After Snake destroyed the Shagohod and killed both Colonel Volgin and The Boss, the DCI was forceably removed from office and the new DCI took possession of the Legacy via the American Philosophers' triple agent Ocelot. Meanwhile, The Chinese Philosopher's agent EVA returned with data on the Shagohod but was subsequently fired for failing to retrieve the Legacy.

In 1970, the American Philosophers were in an internal power struggle within between the CIA and the United States Department of Defense. Tired of the American Philosophers's bickering, Zero and Ocelot decided it was time to reform the Philosophers.

After Naked Snake destroyed the Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear, former Philosopher sleeper agent Ocelot (working together with Zero) killed the second DCI, thus accquiring complete control of the Philosophers' Legacy and the complete list with the identities of the Philosopher members. In the aftermath, Zero ended the Philosophers and led The reorganized American Philosophers to continue the omnipotence over the American government and way of life, eventually gaining worldwide influence as Zero's misinterpretation of The Boss's wish for a united world led him to become as tyrannical as the organization he had overthrown.