Mixing aspects of social, political, and institutional history, authors Athan and Jeanne Theoharis survey the quest for equal rights and social justice in the last half-century. This text shows how individuals have sought to affect civil rights and liberties at the grassroots level, and how government has reacted to these individuals' attempts to affect change. In particular, the authors discuss the problematic status of civil liberties, civil rights, and civil dissent during the Cold War era--providing a vital, critical insight into post-1945 politics. This volume is part of the AMERICA SINCE 1945 series--a collection of brief texts that seek to define the ways in which the United States has changed in the last 50 years.

These Yet to Be United States: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in America Since 1945 (Wadsworth Books on America Since 1945)

History

Theoharis, Jeanne

Theoharis, Athan

Africa

Wadsworth Publishing

For nearly a century, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been famous for tracking and apprehending gangsters, kidnappers, spies, and, much more recently, international terrorists. The agency itself has done much to promote its successes, helping to embellish its legendary aura. Athan Theoharis, however, contends that a closer look at the historical record reveals a much less idealized and much more disturbing vision of the FBI. Created in 1908 with a staff of three dozen, the FBI has grown to more than 27,000 agents and support personnel, while its role has shifted dramatically from law enforcement to intelligence operations. Theoharis, America's leading authority on the FBI, assesses the consequences of this shift for democratic politics, showing how the agency's obsession with absolute secrecy has undermined both civil liberties and agency accountability. As Theoharis reveals, FBI history has been marked by operational failures, overrated abilities, and the frequent use of highly suspect means—wiretaps, buggings, break-ins—that challenge the Constitution's guarantee against illegal searches. The agency has also gathered and disseminated derogatory (and often untrue) information in an effort to discredit citizens whose views are seen as "dangerous." Most disturbing, it has drifted toward equating political dissent with genuine subversion, an approach with potentially grave consequences for free and open public discourse. Theoharis also shows that the FBI's vaunted spy-catching prowess has been vastly overrated, from the early days of the "Communist conspiracy" to the more recent Wen Ho Lee and Robert Hanssen fiascos. And he criticizes Hoover's longstanding refusal to admit that organized crime actually existed, perhaps due to his preoccupation with the sex lives of public figures like JFK, Martin Luther King, and Rock Hudson, whose amorous escapades he recorded in his "Do Not File" files. More recently, the notorious incidents at Ruby Ridge, Waco, and Oklahoma City, as well as the 9/11 attacks, have further eroded public confidence in the FBI and tarnished its reputation. Throughout, Theoharis raises serious questions about the extralegal nature of the FBI's activities and its troubling implications for the rule of law in America.

The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History

Americas

University Press of Kansas

The Boss

Cox, John Stuart

Biographies & Memoirs

Virgin

Abuse of Power: How Cold War Surveillance and Secrecy Policy Shaped the Response to 9/11

Argues that the FBI has a history of an abuse of power through the use of illegal activities, including wiretapping and political surveillance, since the 1930s.

Temple University Press

Argues that the FBI has a history of an abuse of power through the use of illegal activities, including wiretapping and political surveillance, since the 1930s.

In its 9/11 report, the Kean Commission criticized U.S. intelligence for having failed to anticipate the terrorist attacks, basing its findings on the premise of absolute security. But, says Athan Theoharis, absolute security is an illusory quest. His compelling analysis traces the troubled history of relations among American intelligence agencies. By expanding the authority of the agencies and indeed calling for administrative reforms to ensure greater cooperation and coordination among them, these unilateral efforts, particularly by the CIA and FBI, have led not to enhanced security but to abuses of power and violations of individual liberties.

The Quest for Absolute Security: The Failed Relations Among U.S. Intelligence Agencies

Ivan R. Dee

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Theoharis, Athan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Theoharis, Athan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Theoharis, Athan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

These Yet to Be United States: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in America Since 1945 (Wadsworth Books on America Since 1945)

The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History

The Boss

Abuse of Power: How Cold War Surveillance and Secrecy Policy Shaped the Response to 9/11

Abuse of Power: How Cold War Surveillance and Secrecy Policy Shaped the Response to 9/11

The Quest for Absolute Security: The Failed Relations Among U.S. Intelligence Agencies