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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.
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After the first political assassination 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\u2019s only intelligence organization. Whitley and his agents led the covert war against the nascent KKK and were the first to use undercover work in mass crime\u2014what we now call terrorism\u2014investigations.
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Like many spymasters before and since, Whitley also had a dark side. His penchant for skulduggery and dirty tricks ultimately led to his involvement in a conspiracy that would bring an end to his career and transform the Secret Service.
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Populated by intriguing historical characters\u2014from President Grant to brave Southerners, both black and white, who stood up to the Klan\u2014and told in a brisk narrative style, Freedom\u2019s Detective reveals the story of this complex hero and his central role in a long-lost chapter of American history. 

Photo Credit: Marvin Joseph, The Washington Post