The Spy and the State The History of American Intelligence

by Rogg, Jeffrey P.

• ISBN13: 9780197678732
• ISBN10: 0197678734
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780197678749
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-06-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

A novel and comprehensive narrative of American intelligence from the Revolutionary War to the present day.

Intelligence is all around us. We read about it in the news, wonder who is spying on us through our phones or computers, and want to know what is happening in the shadows. The US Intelligence Community or IC, as insiders call it, is more powerful than ever, but also more vulnerable than it has been in decades. It is facing the threat of rival intelligence services from countries like Russia and China while fighting to keep up with new technology and the private sector. Still, the IC's greatest struggle is always with the American people, who expect it to keep them safe but not at the cost of their liberty and principles. This foundational problem is at the center of The Spy and the State.

Based on original research and a new interpretation of US history, this masterful book offers a complete history of American intelligence from the Revolutionary War to the present day. Jeffrey Rogg explores the origins and evolution of intelligence in America, including its overlooked role in some of the key events that shaped the nation and the historical underpinnings of intelligence controversies that have shaken the country to its constitutional core. With the American public in mind, he introduces the concept of US civil-intelligence relations to explain the interaction between intelligence and the society it serves.

While answering questions from the past, The Spy and the State poses new questions for the future that the United States must confront as intelligence gains ever greater importance in the twenty-first century.

Author Biography

Jeffrey P. Rogg is Senior Research Fellow at the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida. He previously held academic positions at the Joint Special Operations University at US Special Operations Command, the Department of Intelligence and Security Studies at The Citadel, and the National Security Affairs Department at the US Naval War College. He has a BA from Swarthmore College, a JD from Villanova University, an MA in Security Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a PhD in history from The Ohio State University. He serves on the boards of the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence and the Society for Intelligence History. He lives in Tampa, Florida.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations

Introduction: The Secrets Behind the Stars and Stripes

Part One: The Eagle's Eyes: The Dawn of American Intelligence
Chapter 1: A Revolution Sub Rosa: The Shadow War for Independence
Chapter 2: The Founders, the First Citizen, and the First American Intelligence System
Chapter 3: Bitter Bedfellows: Ideology, Intelligence, and Opposition Politics
Chapter 4: The President's Fund for Part-Time Spies
Chapter 5: Uncivil-Intelligence Relations in the Civil War

Part Two: The Competition to Control Intelligence
Chapter 6: Intelligence in the Service of a New Empire and Old Institutions
Chapter 7: A Blurry Blue Line: The Origins of the FBI and Domestic Intelligence
Chapter 8: Intelligence in No Man's Land
Chapter 9: A Return to Normalcy
Chapter 10: Navigating the Gathering Storm with Hoover at the Helm
Chapter 11: Donovan's Finest Hour
Chapter 12: An Intelligence Failure and an Intelligence Insurgency
Chapter 13: Coordination at Last?

Part Three: The Covert Cold War and Construction of the Secret National Security State
Chapter 14: Central Intelligence and Central Problems
Chapter 15: The CIA and a Clash of Cultures
Chapter 16: New Oversight and New Organizations
Chapter 17: Who Will Watch the Watchers?
Chapter 18: Americanizing Intelligence?
Chapter 19: The Executive Strikes Back

Part Four: An American Intelligence State
Chapter 20: The Illusory Peace Dividend
Chapter 21: A New National Consensus and New National Security State
Chapter 22: Reform Without Resolution
Chapter 23: Revelation Without Reform
Chapter 24: In Intelligence We Trust?

Conclusion: America and the Intelligence Revolution

Notes
Bibliography
Index