The Secrets of the Hopewell Box: Stolen Elections, Southern Politics, and a City's Coming of Age

by James D. Squires

"Squires' . . . grandfather was a sheriff's deputy who carried a gun and a clenched fist, a man whose talk with cronies was full of references to 'sonofabitching judges' and 'goddamn n*****s.' He was also, Squires relates, one of the muscle men behind a vicious cabal of power brokers headed by one Boss Crump. . . . That machine involved, for a time, much of Nashville's leading citizenry. It engineered elections, stole votes, organized lynch mobs, ran an illegal gambling empire, and in the 1950s, when it appeared that the traditional Democratic Party was going soft on civil rights, brokered the advent of Republicanism in one corner of the South."
-- Kirkus Reviews "His richly-textured narrative charts the Nashville machine's rupture with the state's top political boss, Edward Crump of Memphis, and traces the sweeping reforms that shattered rural white control of the state legislature. Squires dramatically reenacts the downfall of Nashville lawyer Tommy Osborne, convicted of jury tampering in 1964 after defending Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. He follows Nashville's transformation into a crucible of the civil rights movement in this stirring chronicle of the South's coming-of-age."
-- Publishers Weekly Back in print (the book was originally published by Random House in 1996) and available for the first time in electronic form.

Genres: Nonfiction

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Mark Bunch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book about Tennessee political bosses in the 1990s. This one connects the dots. Read about the machine that controlled Nashville politics and the rest of the state via rural politics. I enjoyed reading about Ed Crump, Briley, Clement, Ben West, Buford Ellington, etc. Understand how the sheriff and funeral home form a seat of power. I see why Franklin Book store recommended this one to me.... a student of Tennessee History.

[Sheri Spears · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a book club. I am not a Tennessee native nor am I interested in politics. This was a hard read for me. It was interesting to hear the stories about the names that certain roads are named after and that the Jimmy Hoffa trial was here in Nashville. It did broaden my scope of reading literature.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information about Nashville's past and governing history. In many ways not much has changed. If you're interested in the history of Nashville, this is a good read. Its probably about 100 pages too long however.

[Lisa Discenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting insight in Nashville’s political history.

[Debbie Heibert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good history of Nashville from the 1930’s on but a bit too wordy.

[Amanda Bradley]

Recommended by Jack Welch

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fast paced book about the political and social scene centered in Nashville TN in the 1950's reveals a lot about the area. It's entertaining so could appeal to anyone, but Tennessee transplants like me can learn much and develop some understanding about why things work the way they do in this area. It's also a good picture of the politics and society of the day and some of the changes that were forced on them, which could probably apply to many locales.

The author was born into a political family but a penchant for writing led him into journalism. He worked with John Siegenthaler on The Tennessean and was involved with John Kennedy's campaign in Washington. He was present during the sit-ins in Nashville. But most of his story is about the world that these events sprang from, when votes were often forged or stolen, corruption rampant and niceties ignored. A fascinating book.

[Russ Adcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decided to read it after the third person recommended it to me. Interesting on three fronts. Local politics, local history, and mention of direct involvement in Columbia's Race Riot. Squires promised a second book about the latter, but it has never been published (to my knowledge). Some interesting stories about the corrupt politics of Nashville's yesteryear.