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In the feverish, money-making age of railroad barons, political
machines, and gold rushes, corruption was the rule, not the
exception. Yet the Republican mogul 'Big Alex' McKenzie's audacity
was remarkable. Charismatic and shameless, he arrived in the
recently purchased Alaskan territory with a federal district judge
in his pocket, intent on claiming stewardship over any ambiguously
claimed gold mines and promptly draining them of all of their ore.
Working-class miners who had rushed to the frozen tundra to strike
gold were appalled at his open greed and disregard for maintaining
even the pretense of good faith. A Most Wicked Conspiracy tells the
story of McKenzie's misdeeds, the resistance of the wronged miners,
and the way the scandal captured the national spotlight -- with the
press eager to show how America's political and economic life was
in the grip of domineering, self-dealing, seemingly-untouchable
party bosses in cahoots with robber barons, Senators and even
Presidents. These events resonate well into the 21st century. At
the core is an eternal question: should the law be a tool of the
rich and the powerful for the accomplishment of their nefarious
schemes, or an impartial force for justice from which no person can
escape?
In the mid-1800s, Charleston, South Carolina, embodied the
combustible spirit of the slave South. No city was more fervently
attached to slavery, and no city was seen by the North as a greater
threat of rebellion. And so, in 1860, with Abraham Lincoln's
election looming, Charleston's leaders faced a climactic decision:
they could submit to abolition-or they could drive South Carolina
out of the Union and hope that the rest of the South would
follow.Madness Rules the Hour tells the story of how Charleston
succumbed to war fever as its leaders demanded secession and its
white masses joined in the uprising with a wild excitement. Through
in-depth research and vibrant storytelling, Paul Starobin brings to
life the city's propagandists, politicians, populists, and
pro-slavery pastor to chart the relentless progress of the
contagion. The result is a portrait of a culture in crisis and an
insightful investigation into the folly that fractured the Union
and started the Civil War-with echoes in our raucous politics
today.
In the mid-1800s, Charleston, South Carolina, embodied the
combustible spirit of the slave South. No city was more fervently
attached to slavery, and no city was seen by the North as a greater
threat of rebellion. And so, in 1860, with Abraham Lincoln's
election looming, Charleston's leaders faced a climactic decision:
they could submit to abolition-or they could drive South Carolina
out of the Union and hope that the rest of the South would follow.
Madness Rules the Hour tells the story of how Charleston succumbed
to war fever as its leaders demanded secession and its white masses
joined in the uprising with a wild excitement. Through in-depth
research and vibrant storytelling, Paul Starobin brings to life the
city's propagandists, politicians, populists, and pro-slavery
pastor to chart the relentless progress of the contagion. The
result is a portrait of a culture in crisis and an insightful
investigation into the folly that fractured the Union and started
the Civil War-with echoes in our raucous politics today.
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