Abstract:
An examination of civil governor William Woods Holden's utilization of the state's detective unit - a forerunner to the State Bureau of Investigation - to describe the role that secret agents played during the Reconstruction era in North Carolina. Particular attention is given to Holden's use of the agents in an effort to halt the spread of Ku Klux Klan violence and to thwart the plans of the clan to halt Republican political power and reestablish conservative rule in the state.