| Description |
348 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
Chronicles the story of the Reconstruction-era Secret Service and its battle against the KKK's effort to suppress the emancipated African-American vote, sharing particular insights into the career of controversial Secret Service chief, Hiram C. Whitley. |
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"In the years following the Civil War, a new battle began. Newly freed African American men had gained their voting rights and would soon have a chance to transform Southern politics. Former Confederates and other white supremacists mobilized to stop them. Thus, the KKK was born. After the first political assignation carried out by the Klan, Washington power brokers looked for help in breaking the growing movement. They found it in Hiram C. Whitley. He became head of the Secret Service, which had previously focused on catching counterfeiters, and was at the time the government's only intelligence organization. Whitley and his agents led the covert war against the nascent KKK wand where the first to use undercover work in mass crime--what we now call terrorism--investigations. Like many spymasters before and since, Whitley also had a dark side. His penchant for skullduggery and dirty tricks ultimately led to his involvement in a conspiracy that would bring an end to his career and transform the Secret Service. Populated by intriguing historical characters---from President Grant to brave Southerners, both black and white, who stood up to the Klan--and told a brisk narrative style, [this book] reveals the story of this complex hero and his central role in a long-lost chapter of American history."-- Jacket. |
| Subject |
Whitley, Hiram C.
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United States. Secret Service -- Officials and employees -- Biography.
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Ku Klux Klan (19th century) -- History.
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United States. Secret Service -- History.
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Ku Klux Klan (19th century)
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Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
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| Genre |
Biographies.
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| Added Title |
Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan and the man who masterminded America's first war on terror |
| ISBN |
9781335006851 (hardcover) |
|
1335006850 (hardcover) |
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