Overview
Albert Pike settled in Arkansas Territory in 1832 after wandering the Great Plains of Texas and New Mexico for two years. In Arkansas he became a schoolteacher, newspaperman, husband, father of eight children, successful lawyer and talented Whig leader, voracious reader of fine literature, polished speaker, popular poet, and important Confederate general. After the Civil War, the economic hardships of Reconstruction forced Pike to leave Arkansas; he eventually settled in Washington, D.C., living out his last years in the Masons' House of the Temple. Elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite in 1859, a post he held for more than thirty years, he completely transformed and popularized the Masonic movement in the American South and Far West. Drawing on the copious writings of Pike, letters, original documents housed in the library of the Supreme Council, and interviews with Pike's descendants, Brown presents a thorough, impartial history of a quintessential American leader.An examination of the Confederate general's diverse experiences, from schoolteacher to lawyer, ambassador to Mason.
Synopsis
An examination of the Confederate general's diverse experiences, from schoolteacher to lawyer, ambassador to Mason.
Booknews
Follows the life of Pike (1809-1891) from his early days in Massachusetts and wandering in the West, through his days as schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, and Whig leader in Arkansas, to his final decades acting as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite (a jurisdiction of the Freemasons) while living in Washington D.C. The author discusses Pike's influence, examines the controversy regarding whether he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and argues that he deserves the credit for turning the Scottish Rite into a more diverse, successful organization. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.