Negative Intelligence: The Army and the American Left, 1917-1941

Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.A.: Univ Pr of Mississippi, 1991. 303pp. During World War I, in the period of the Red Scare, and throughout the Great Depression, the army's domestic spy agency mounted an extensive surveillance campaign focused on civilians and groups deemed subversive. This book traces the fascinating and astonishing story of military espionage on the home front. Created by Major General Ralph H. Van Deman in 1917, the Negative Branch of Military Intelligence, or MI, spied on American reformers in a program of civilian surveillance that surpassed even that of the Department of Justice's Bureau of Investigation. Among the targets were the Industrial Workers of the World, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Negro Subversion. Documentation of MI's program of domestic espionage is from recently opened Military Intelligence archives. Closely allied with private vigilante groups, the Army conducted illegal raids, made illegal arrests, subjected many citizens to interrogation, and developed an elaborate filing system for its dossiers. After World War I the hysteria continued, with MI's direct focus beamed upon a new enemy, the Bolsheviki. Clean. 1st Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall.