Kenneth O'Reilly is an American professor emeritus of 20th-century U.S. history who has written several books on the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

and its impact on the

Federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

of America.

Background

O'Reilly was born in New York City in 1951. He obtained a BA from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...

, an MA from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

, and doctorate from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

Career

O'Reilly taught at

, the

University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, and the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Prin ...

. He is emeritus professor of history at the

and now teaches at the Milwaukee Area Technical College. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1988, the ''New York Times'' cited his expertise, stating, "Kenneth O'Reilly, professor of history at the University of Alaska at Anchorage and author of ''Hoover and the Unamericans,'' said that wiretapping was so pervasive from the 1940s to the 1960s that ''virtually everyone was overheard'' who was important in Washington politics."

Awards

O'Reilly has received a Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Research and Teaching, plus grants and fellowships from numerous institutes and foundations that include:

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Foundation, the

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

Institute, the

Gustavus Myers Gustavus Myers (1872–1942) was an American journalist and historian who published a series of highly critical and influential studies on the social costs of wealth accumulation. His name has been associated with the muckraking era of US litera ...

Center for the Study of Human Rights, the Fund for Investigative Journalism, the

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Library Foundation, the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, the

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Foundation, the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, and the

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Library Institute.

Works

''Racial Matters'' was a New York Times notable book of 1989. In 2010, historian

Daniel Leab Daniel Joseph Leab (29 August 1936 – 15 November 2016) was an American historian of 20th-century history. He made significant academic contributions to fields of American labor unions and anti-Communism. He was long-time editor of three journ ...

cited O'Reilly's book as important in understanding the impact of the FBI on other federal bodies such as the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

(HUAC). Specifically, his book ''Hoover and the Un-Americans'' is "still very pertinent... ecause, as O'Reilly wrotethe FBI fed information to HUAC, and it did so consistently from before 1946" s O'Reilly's book traces Books: * ''Hoover and the Un-Americans: The FBI, HUAC, and the Red Menace'' (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983) * ''Racial Matters: The FBI's Secret File on Black America, 1960-1972'' (New York: Free Press, 1989) * ''Black Americans: The FBI File'' (New York: Carol & Graf, 1994) * ''Nixon's Piano: Presidents and Racial Politics from Washington to Clinton'' (1995) * ''Holy Cow 2000: The Strange Election of George W. Bush''

References

External sources