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Option 9: J Edgar Hoover 1895-1972 – CONTENTS
Syllabus Notes – Pg2-18 Quotes – Pg18-20 Questions Answered – Pg21-26
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Option 9: J Edgar Hoover 1895-1972 Principal focus: Through the study of J Edgar Hoover, students gain an understanding of the role of this personality in a period of national or international history. Students learn about: 1 Historical context
– The period of the USA’s emergence as a world power – Growth of social conservatism and anti-‐communism – The Prohibition era – The Great Depression
2 Backgrounds
– Family background and education – Entry into the civil service as a clerk in the Library of Congress – Law degree 1916; appointment as an intelligence clerk in the Department of Justice 1917
3 Rise to prominence
– Appointed as a special minister to Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer – Coordination of the Palmer Raids 1919 – Appointed as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 1924 – Role of the FBI during World War II – Post-‐war period: relationship to US presidents
4 Significance and evaluation
– Hoover’s creation of the FBI as one of the world’s great law enforcement agencies – Creation of iconic media images of the FBI and J Edgar Hoover – The challenge of finding the ‘real’ J Edgar Hoover – Evaluation: for example super-‐patriot, flawed egomaniac?
Background: Family Background and Education: • J Edgar Hoover was born on 1st January 1895 in Washington DC in a middle class
neighbourhood-‐the youngest of 4 children • Parents were Dickerson Naylor Hoover Snr and Anne Marie Scheitlin • Encouraged by mum to join the local Lutheran Church choir, went on to teach Sunday school • In his teens, Hoover switched denominations to become a Presbyterian-‐ was assistant
superintendent of the church’s junior department • His father had a nervous breakdown in Hoover’s early high school years and never
recovered High School and University: • Hoover went to Central High School where he took up debating • He was obsessive in everything he did at school • His school described him as a “gentleman of dauntless courage and stainless honour”
(Kessler)-‐ he was valedictorian on graduation in 1913 • He studied law at Washington University at night, whole working at the Library of Congress,
receiving his bachelors degree in 1916, and masters degree in 1917
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Entry Into the Civil Service as a Clerk in the Library of Congress: • While at the library of congress, Hoover used the Dewey Decimal System of cataloguing-‐ he
subsequently used this filing system at the Justice Department’s Investigative Units in the coming years
• Hoover received his masters and was licensed to practice law 1917 and the Post-‐War Period: • US declared war on Germany and Austria-‐Hungary in April 1917 • Proclamation of war authorised the Justice Department to apprehend and detain ‘enemy
aliens’ • Congress enacted the Espionage Act • The Bureau of Investigation (BI) began investigating individuals who:
o Opposed military conscription o Sowed dissension within the armed forces o Wilfully aided foreign adversaries
• “Overnight, the bureau had been transformed from an agency that merely investigated violations of criminal law to one that investigated spying and was responsible for the internal security of the country” – Kessler
• BI’s transformation required new recruits; in July 1917, Hoover joined the Justice Department as a clerk on the legal staff as part of this expansion-‐ job carried conscription exemption
• Americans persuaded by govt action to assist in the war effort; Germans became an obvious target for the Justice Department
• Believed that Hoover’s main task at beginning of war was to supervise the registration of Germans, Austrians and Hungarians, monitor their association with the US
• “J. Edgar Hoover’s exact duties during WW1 have long been a mystery, obscured by time, missing documentation, and perhaps some intentional camouflage”- Curt Gentry
• Late 1917, Hoover also began monitoring activities of radicals, communists in the US • At 22 years of age, Hoover was asked by John Lord O’Brian, the special assistant to the
Attorney-‐General, to head the Enemy Alien Registration Section • Thus, Hoover required a secretary-‐ hired Helen Gandy who went on to be his secretary for
55 years until his death Rise to Prominence: Appointed as a Special Minister to Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer: Palmer and the ‘Red Scare’: • O’Brian assisted Hoover in retaining his position by discussing the bright, young, energetic
officer with the new Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer (Gentry) • Ronald Kessler on Hoover, “He dressed better than most, and a bit on the dandyish side. He
had an exceptional capacity for detail work…His superiors were duly impressed” • Between 1919-‐1924, Hoover served as special assistant to the Attorney General • By 1919, with the German menace ended, Attorney-‐General Palmer decided that the way to
fame and power was to crack down on the growing momentum of US radicals, socialists and communists now emboldened by the continuing success of the Bolsheviks in Russia
• Radicals, anarchists and socialists had mailed explosive devices to 36 prominent business magnates, i.e. John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan
Co-ordination of the Palmer Raids 1919:
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• On 2nd June 1919, Palmer’s house was bombed • Similar explosions occurred in 8 other cities across the US within the hour • Hoover was the Bureau of Investigation’s alien expert and was placed in charge if the round-‐
up of the radicals • As special assistant in the Anti-‐Radical Division of the BI, Hoover was given carte blanche by
Palmer to bring the bombers to justice and end the radical threat to the US • Nathan Miller explains how Hoover manipulated events to his advantage, “Radicalism was
equated with communism…gross violations of civil rights and personal freedom became commonplace in the name of Americanism…Hoover played upon the Attorney-General’s fears and exploited the issue of radicalism to enhance his agency’s power and prestige”
• The Alien and Sedition Act (1918) made it legal to deport aliens who promoted anarchism
• In August 1919, the US Communist Party was formed, with a membership of 60,000, 90% of whom were aliens
• Also the Communist Labour Party was formed, membership of 10,000 (most US citizens) • Both organisations became the target of Hoover, he launched his career “as an anti-
Communist crusader” • Hoover used the skills acquired at the Library of Congress to record info about
individual radicals on 450,000 index cards • 6000 radicals arrested; those caught up in raids were badly beaten by agents and police;
500 deported • Emma Goldman was deported for her anarchist beliefs despite being a US citizen (Russian
born) • Agents under Hoover’s supervision illegally entered homes and labour organisations
suspected of radicalism • The Sacco and Vanzetti arrests were “an offshoot of the same whipped-up anti-red hysteria”-
Morison • Palmer emerged as a national hero in early 1920 Civil Rights Abuses: • Civil rights activists assisted in the legal defence of the arrested • President Wilson had told Palmer during an executive cabinet meeting, “Do not let this
country see red!” • Criticisms were growing of the General Intelligence Division’s (GID) abuse of civil rights • Palmer issued a series of warnings of a revolutionary plot to overthrow the govt-‐ didn’t end
up happening-‐ criticised Palmer for his ‘cry wolf’ tactics-‐ support for him decreased
Why Hoover Remained in Power: • Hoover managed to stay clean despite criticisms of Palmer and GID • Factors in Hoover’s favour:
o He belonged to no political party; never voted in presidential elections-‐ Claire Potter says, “had no political entanglements”
o He demonstrated loyalty to his superiors o He was highly qualified for his positions o He was willing to assist presidents when they felt his assistance was required o He was a consummate politician, “he made sure that those in power knew that he was
aware of possible indiscretions”-Kessler • New Attorney General, Harry Daugherty, began reorganisation of the Department of Justice-‐
Hoover survived • Daugherty transferred the General Intelligence Division from the Department of Justice
to the Bureau of Investigation which remained under Hoover’s control • Daugherty made William Burns director of BI, Hoover was named as assistant chief of the BI
in 1921
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• Under Burns, Hoover ran the day to day basis, as well as being involved with Burns confrontations with Congress
• In 1921, Hoover’s father died; he became only support to his mother • Hoover was embarrassed by corrupt reign of Harding presidency; he considered resigning,
and Daugherty was asked to resign by Coolidge-‐ Department of Justice became known as the Department of Easy Virtue at this time
• Daugherty wanted to reorganize the Department of Justice by mostly replacing Republicans with Democrats
• Hoover readily survived his purge and had no problem pledging allegiance to the new administration
• Daugherty knew Hoover had information of Harding’s political opponents and radicals; Hoover was not averse to sharing it
• Gentry- “he saw in the change an opportunity to more upwards” • Gentry- “Hoover made himself indispensible to Daugherty” • Hoover networked with members of congress, established a congressional base of his own • Hoover was a genius as self-‐aggrandisement • Gentry, he was “highly ambitious” Key People Who Lent Hoover Support: • Albert Johnson-‐ chairman of the powerful House Immigration and Naturalisation
Committee • Lawrence Richey-‐ Commerce secretary and confidante of Herbert Hoover, belonged to the
same Masonic lodge as JEH • Major General Ralph H Van Deman-‐ was “the father of American intelligence”, they held a
mutually beneficial relationship where they shared information with each other, Deman awarded Hoover reserve officers commission in the army’s military intelligence division
Senator Wheeler: • He was a democrat senator • Wanted to investigate the ‘Tea Pot Dome’ Scandal • JEH started to investigate Wheeler’s private life, example of Hoover’s willingness to play the
political game
Appointed as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 1924:
Hoover and Stone: • President Coolidge appointed Harlan Fiske Stone as the new Attorney-‐General with a
mandate to clean up the Justice Department • Stone called for resignation of William Burns in May 1924-‐ Hoover given job of acting
director of BI • Hoover agreed to the job on certain conditions:
o The bureau was to be divorced from politics o Promotions based on ability, not seniority of favouritism o The bureau was to be responsible only to the attorney-‐general
• Stone instructed Hoover to: o Limit the activities of the Bureau to investigations of violations of federal law o Follow the directions from the attorney-‐general conducting the work of the Justice
Department o To reduce staff by firing incompetents o To hire only people with legal training or accountancy backgrounds
• Hoover began restructuring the Bureau to impose discipline and accountability through a clear chain of command
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• Hoover was at the top of command, known as the Seat of Government (SOG) • Hoover created 6 separate divisions with Special Agents in Charge (SAC) who all met
weekly who were in charge of separate field agents • Hoover was made permanent director of the BI in December 1924 • Stone and Hoover began a rebuilding process:
o Cut staff from 441 agents to 339 agents in 1929 o Training schools named National Police Academy established to raise skills in
scientific investigation, establish BI procedures and enforce a behaviour code to increase efficiency
o Created a triangle of standardization and control with systematic record filing o Hoover’s own standards became that of all employee’s, no drinking alcohol o Applied modern management and supervised collection of fingertip files and the
establishment of crime laboratories o Hoover fought for BI agents to have the power to arrest and have guns o Stone said BI must stop collecting information on politics and life however Hoover
continued to widen his secret files by resorting to illegal wire tapping, bugging and mail opening
o Got rid of dollar a day men (not formally appointed but claiming to act as consultants)
o Asked for the return of all Bureau property of assets and re-‐evaluated every employee
o Agents were to dress in a similar manner-‐ dark suits, ties, white shirts o Agents became interchangeable, expected to do case work of others if needed o Agents had to have an appearance described by Hoover as “all-American”
• The changes at the BI from 1924 to 1932 under Hoover’s direction determined its form over the next 50 years. These reforms made it internally different from the lacklustre Bureau of Prohibition and subsequently more effective as Hoover “strove to convince congressmen, policeman and the public that federal enforcement could work” –Claire Potter
• “Hoover’s genius was not in innovation but in recognizing good ideas and finding ways to implement them” –Gentry
• Upon his appointment as director in 1924, Hoover’s “main change was standardisation” (Gentry)
• Gentry- Hoover began to “systematically and aggressively” reform both the BI itself, and also its public image
• Stone wanted the BI to concentrate strictly on violations of law, however Hoover was convinced that information was his claim to power so continued to secretly engage into lifestyles
• Hoover had criticism from head of ACLU (American civil liberties union) due to his ongoing obsession with radicalism and unionism Hoover proved the restructuring of the bureau was not focused on that and gained the support of the Attorney General
• Hoover’s Obscene file created 24th March 1925 kept separate to other FBI files he recognized the value of gossip which could be used to discredit his adversaries or be used for favours, he went to all measures to accumulate this information from individuals to huge public figures
• Stone said that Hoover was a “man of exceptional intelligence, alertness and executive ability”
Why was JEH Determined to Alter the BI’s Image: • Scandals had heightened fears about the BI • Questions raised about honesty and ability of detectives • Americans were afraid that the BI would act as a partisan workforce-‐ and therefore be a
threat to democratic society • Theoharis and Cox, JEH saw the BI, “as a reflection of himself and demanded of its agents
the same puritanical standards of conduct that he demanded of himself”
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• Theoharis and Cox, “the organisation became an image of its director” The Lindbergh Case: • Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr was the son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh • The baby was kidnapped in May 1932, and his body was found 2 months later a short
distance from the Lindbergh home • Hoover wanted to be involved in the case, but couldn’t because it was a state offence • The ‘Lindbergh Law’ was enacted; meant in the case of kidnapping, the FBI could be
involved, even though it wasn’t across state lines • At the end of September, Hoover arrested Bruno Hauptman for the Lindbergh case, however
the credit was back on Purvis for the killing of Charles ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd • Hauptman was sentenced to the electric chair, died in April 1936-‐ he proclaimed his
innocence until his death
The Gangster Era: • Hoover benefited from the New Deal’s war on crime-‐ lots of crime in bank depression era • The New A-‐G Cummings, published a ‘public enemies list’ that was primarily directed
against a crime wave in the Mid west • They were depicted as ‘robin hoods’ robbing from the rich to the poor • The gangsters gained Hoover personal recognition and earned the BI a good reputation • The members of the list had been involved in kidnapping and bank robbery. Notable ones
included: o George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly: captured in September 1933, reportedly shouted “Don’t
shoot, G-Men”-‐ it was used afterwards in the movies, showed status of bureau o John Dillinger: Dillinger’s case was a state one, but when he escaped from prison and
crossed state lines, Hoover had jurisdiction to deal with Dillinger. Melvin Purvis killed him in July 1934. Dillinger was public enemy number 1. Purvis directed the operation, but was forced out of the bureau as Hoover was upset he took so much public credit. Richard Gid Powers, “in a matter of hours, Purvis was famous in the country” Claire Potter, “Hoover saw it as a great personal betrayal”
o Charles ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd: shot to death in Oct 1934 by Purvis o Alvin ‘Creepy’ Karpis: Hoover got personal credit for the arrest of Karpis in May 1936.
Karpis claimed in his autobiography that Hoover hid around the corner until he had been secured, and that his hands were tied with an agent’s necktie. Karpis was Hoover’s first arrest
• Hoover’s vilification of efficient and courageous FBI agents such as Melvin Purvis can be read to have been expedient on Hoover’s behalf to maintain his image as the head of the bureau
• In May and June 1934, Congress passed a package of 9 major crime bills: o Sanford Ungar said they were “one of the most important, if least recognised, New Deal
reforms” o They gave the federal govt for the first time, a comprehensive criminal code, and the BI
also vast new authority with which to enforce it o Under the new laws, the robbery of a national bank was a violation of federal law o Special agents of the BI were given the right to make arrests, execute warrants and carry
firearms o Gentry, “the days of the small Bureau were over. Gone, too, were the days when special
agents were merely investigators”
Hoover and the Media:
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Pittsburgh Post Gazette-‐ September 1933
• Machine Gun Kelly-‐ He said “don’t shoot G-‐Men”; this used to highlight the public relations campaign regarding the G-‐Men, initiated by JEH o JEH emerged as a public hero, gentry commenting on JEH’s use of the
media to gain public attention and adulation, stated, “Hoover went straight to the masses”
o Used this saying of Kelly’s in G-‐Men movies Henry Suydam (journalist)
• Washington Bureau Chief of the Brooklyn Eagle-‐ wrote article lavishing praise on JEH and BI o Suydam placed on JEH’s list to receive releases and documents issued
by BI o Was later hired as a special assistant to handle BI’s press relations o He put JEH in touch with leading radio and movie producers e.g.
J. Warner Louis B. Nichols, “L.B”, Nick the Great
• Most influential figure-‐ hired to promote BI • Helped orchestrate the highly publicised manhunt for Karpis • By 1935, Cummings crusade against crime had become a popular crusade
the hero of the piece was no longer Cummings but JEH • Nichols was the greatest propagandist, Hoover took him on his side
Warner Bros-‐ G-‐Men
• April 1935 released feature film, G-‐Men • James Cagney acted as an FBI agent became the prototype of good
policeman Courtney Ryley Cooper
• Published “Ten Thousand Public Enemies” the first of many mass market books about the BI o Mythologised the BI o Cooper wrote about G-‐MenG-‐Men was designed to enable the
administration to manipulate public opinion-‐ justified this on the grounds that only an aroused public opinion could turn the tide against crime
Walter Trohan • Trohan was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune’s Sunday magazine • He wrote an article entitled, “Chief of the G-‐Men—Record of his Career”, it
displayed all the elements of a high-‐level conspiracy: o “for Mr. Hoover, like the cautious conspirator, did not disclose himself to a
startled public until he was certain he could command its attention” • Later on, Trohan changed his view of Hoover and supported him for his anti-‐
radicalism • Sue Rosenfeld said “he gave the public an image to identify with” and became
according to Gentry “a symbol of law enforcement” The Roosevelt Years: Anti Radicalism: • From 1934, Roosevelt secretly had JEH investigate American Nazi’s and Nazi sympathisers • August 1935, FDR discussed “subversive activities” with Hoover, particularly fascism and
communism • Gentry, “Hoover became obsessed with anti-radicalism” • JEH interpreted this request as permission to resume domestic surveillance activities • By late 1939, JEH had resurrected his:
o General Intelligence Division o And setup a Custodial Detention List of those individuals who might need to be rounded
up in case of war • JEH regularly sent FDR reports on his (FDRs) right-‐wing critics
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• The request for Hoover to monitor the right-‐wing nevertheless afforded Hoover an opportunity to monitor the left as well
• Hoover and Cordell Hull (secretary of state)-‐ 25th August 1936, FDR, JEH and Cordell Hull met-‐ formal presidential authorisation for broad scale anti-‐subversive investigations
• Surveillance Program-‐ enlarged surveillance program to focus on domestic political radicals and trade union activities; 5th Sept 1936 ordered all FBI field offices “to obtain” from all possible sources, information concerning subversive activities being conducted in the US by communists, fascists and any groups advocating overthrow of US govt
• Hoover’s manipulation of Cummings- JEH deliberately briefed Cummings that his meeting with FDR and Hull had taken place on 1 Sept when it hadn’t. He also misrepresented FDR’s instructions to investigate ‘subversive activities’
• Hoover moves beyond FDR’s brief- Although FDR had requested a limited survey of foreign directed movements, Hoover initiated a broad intensive investigation of domestic radical activities that extended to spying on the nation’s college campuses
• JEH’s relationship with FDR- FDR felt he could combat JEH • FBI’s control of “espionage, counter espionage and sabotage matters”- All investigations
involving said matters to be confined to the FBI, and military and naval intelligence services-‐ FDR forbade any other investigative agencies from conducting such investigations
• Hoover and the Special Committee on Un-American Activities (Dies Committee)- JEH linked selected confidential information from FBI files to members of the committee to enable them to publicise the ‘Red Menace’. He attempted to win over the committee and secured the appointment of sympathetic state thus ensuring the committee would not change the FBI
• February 1940: Arrest of radicals- Ordered his agents in Detroit and Milwaukee to participate in simultaneous arrests of radicals accused of having enlisted volunteers who fought against Franco in Spanish Civil War, liberals were outraged
• Not everyone was fooled by Hoover and the G-‐men the conservatives who deplored the New Deal believed Hoover had turned the Bureau into everything it wasn’t meant to be
• Hoover learnt he had enemies and got the media on his side producing articles in favour of the top cop
• One of these enemies was conservative chairman Kenneth Mckellar who reduced the Bureau’s budget accusing Hoover of being a glory finder, wasting tax payers money and ridiculed his crime statistics
• Hoover responded to McKellar as Hoover used his mastering of statistics claiming he made savings in the budget through fines and more captures then any other enforcement agency
Role of the FBI During WW2: • 1940-‐1945-‐ the FBI’s greatest expansion took place, went from 900 agents5000 agents,
employees doubled from 7000 to 14000 • After outbreak of WW2, JEH lobbied to expand FBI jurisdiction globally • JEH hoped to gain a position to control overseas operations. However, William Donovan was
given authority by FDR to start the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)-‐ the forerunner of the CIA o Its main aim was to develop a relationship with British Intelligence
• 8-‐18 December 1941, FDR placed JEH temporarily in charge of censorship; JEH covertly arranged to have items of mail from selected individuals opened and photographed and filed the info for his own personal use-‐ he continued this practice after the war
• Agents recruited to JEH during the war had strong personal loyalty to him • 1936 Hoover asked to look into subversive activities of Fascism and Communism for the
president
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• Hoover interpreted this as permission to continue surveillance as he created a list of individuals to round up in public emergency
• Gentry says FBI expanded exponentially under Hoover administrations • 1938 Annie Hoover died • A deal was struck between ACLU (American civil liberties union) and Hoover where the
ACLU promised to purge itself of any known communists and Hoover would keep ‘House of Un-American Activities’ away from ACLU
• After war broke out Hoover lobbied to have jurisdiction globally to become an intelligence agency, his goal was thwarted
• One of the most potent enemies made during the war was Eleanor Roosevelt • They were at opposite ends of the table when it came down Bureau’s tactics • Hoover investigated first lady’s social secretary Helm and other associate and first Lady
accused Hoover of wasting time, Hoover never forgave her and saw her as a Bureau enemy • 8-‐18 December 1941, FDR placed JEH temporarily in charge of censorship; JEH covertly
arranged to have items of mail from selected individuals opened and photographed and filed the info for his own personal use-‐ he continued this practice after the war
How Hoover Ignored Serious Organised Crime: • Although they were enemies, they also competed for newspaper space • Without Hoover, mafia wouldn’t have reached the height and power it did • Prohibition gave life to the criminal gangs • Hoover refused to stalk crime syndicates, denying the existence of the mafia • Hoover was probably scared that the FBI would become corrupt if it came into contact with
the Mafia • Hoover was scared the Mafia would show him up • Hoover concentrated on easier targets to hit then the Mafia to gain light in front of the
public • Hoover thought Mafia was no immediate threat to established order they believed in
capitalism and hated socialism • Hoover had more important problems to tackle then gambling and prohibition that was the
main income for Mafia • Mafia kept Hoover happy, and Hoover left Mafia alone • Anthony Summers, “J Edgar Hoover did nothing about the mafia”
1940–1945: OSS and Donovan (Bardsley): • JEH wanted to expand FBI jurisdiction globally and hoped to form a relationship between
the FBI and British Intelligence • However, the head of British intelligence favoured William Donovan (AG at the time) who
eventually set up the OSS (office of Strategic Services) • JEH stopped co-‐operating with British intelligence operatives • When the Britain double agent, Popov, reported information about information about Pearl
Harbour to British intelligence and JEH got to hear about a possible invasion by the Japanese-‐JEH did nothing
• After OSS created under Donavon, Hoover went completely sour and this was controversial with the attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese
• Gentry claims it was odd that Hoover didn’t inform the presidents that 2 Germans were ordered to study the defences of Pearl Harbour for the Japanese
JEH and SIS (C Gregg Webb): • This period helped Hoover’s reputation as America’s watchdog
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• 24 June 1940-‐ FDR gave the FBI responsibility for foreign intelligence work in the Western Hemisphere
• JEH immediately established the Special Intelligence Service (SIS); was supposed to operate with military and naval intelligence
• FDR’S directive was “in response to a wave of espionage that had erupted inside the US” (C Gregg Webb) in 1938 as a response to Hitler’s rise to power and redoubling of intelligence efforts by Germany, Japan and Italy in US
• JEH “constructed a top-notch organisation” (C Gregg Webb), especially effective in Latin America
• Many historians claim he was aggressive in running the SIS in wanting to increase his powers
• However, post-‐war he failed to expand into global work was replaced by SOS and CIA
Relationship with Presidents • Americans felt secure behind their monopoly of the atomic bomb • Fear of a Russian bomb now came to dominate American thinking • The Soviets denoted their own bomb in 1949 • In 1939 and again in 1943 Presidential directives had authorized the FBI to carry out
investigations of threats to national security • This role was clarified and expanded under President Truman and Eisenhower • Any public or private agency or individual with information about subversive activities was
urged to report to the FBI • 1946 Atomic Energy Act gave FBI responsibility for determining the loyalty of individuals
and having restricted access to Atomic energy data • President Hoover and Eisenhower gave the FBI responsibility for investigating allegations
of disloyalty among employees • After the Korean War ended the number of agents stood at about 6200 while the budget
began a steady climb in 1957 • Through Hoover’s speeches, articles, testimony, and books the FBI helped alert the public of
the Communist threat • Congress gave the FBI new federal laws to fight civil rights violations, racketeering,
gambling such as the Crimes Abroad Aircraft Act 1961 • The 1950’s and the early 60’s-‐ the Bureau began to fight mob influence through the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 1968
Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower: • Hoover persuaded Roosevelt to give the FBI the task of investigating both foreign espionage
in the US-‐this included the collection of information on those with radical political beliefs • By intimidation, the FBI obtained the information needed to convict Harry Gold, David
Greenglass and Julius Rosenberg of spying • Establishment of the ‘House of Un-American Activities Committee’ (HUAC) to investigate into
the entertainment industry and the decision by the major media networks to blacklist artists who were known to hold left of centre political views
• Hoover took out detailed investigations of those he thought had dangerous political views for example his investigation of those opposed to the Vietnam War
• At the same time Hoover virtually ignored organized crime and his investigations into political corruptions was mainly used as means of gaining control over politicians in powerful positions
• 1959 Hoover had 489 agents spying on communists but only 4 on the mafia • Truman made it clear that he did not want personal contact with the director and insisted
that communication be made through the Attorney General or through Truman’s aide, Brigadier General Harry Vaughan
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• Truman had no intention of letting Hoover extend his power and, in fact was planning to limit Hoover’s existing power
• With the approval of the Attorney General, the bureau launched a very thorough surveillance of Alger Hiss and his wife Priscilla
• Hoover decided he would leak the information and force Hiss to resign • 1947 HUAC announced that it was investigating Communist influences in the American
movie industry and Hoover pulled out all the stops to help it • Hoover had been the one source of the Stevenson and Kefauver material • Relationships between Hoover and the Whitehouse improved dramatically when
Eisenhower replaced Hoover • Vice President Nixon was also deeply in Hoover debt after the Alger Hiss case • Herbert Brownwell, the new attorney general got along well with Hoover • Brownwell gave Hoover the approval to use microphone surveillance but only in national
cases, permission that Hoover extended under the Kennedy’s • He had reached the height of his power • Big FBI case-‐Hoover discovered atomic scientists as communists taking down a chain of
communists known as the Rosenberg conspiracy • Julius Rosenberg discovered to be apart of a spy ring and arrested in 1950 for giving
information to Soviets’ • Not long after Rosenberg executions, the cosy relationship between McCarthy and Hoover
began to deteriorate as McCarthy was getting out of control and criticized his friend Ike • McCarthy was becoming a liability to Hoover • Counter Intelligence Program 1956 (COINTELPRO) was the name given to the campaign to
infiltrate and disrupt the activities of the Communist party in the US, aimed at destroying the party through dirty tricks
• Hoover planned mass jailings in 1950 of 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty • Arrests were necessary to protect the country against “treason, espionage and other forms of
sabotage” (Hoover) • Truman passed legislature authorising detention of radicals but only in times of national
emergency, December that year national emergency declared • Hack said that Hoover was in “his element” throughout the tense and unpredictable
years of McCarthyism in the 1950s
McCarthyism: • McCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty,
subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term specifically describes activities associated with the period in the United State known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s and characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents
• Many thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in entertainment industry, educators and unionist activities
• McCarthy was arguably one of the most hated senators of US he capitalised on fear of Communism and accused some of the most influential Americans as Communists
• Hoover covertly and illegally shared FBI files and information with McCarthy during the height of the Red Scare
• McCarthy used Hoover as a source of information and Hoover took advantage of McCarthy’s position in the national spotlight to wage a proxy war
• Truman “and I recognized him as a fake and phony and as a real menace to our country and our principles of freedom and democracy”
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• Truman and his administration were major targets of McCarthy for being soft on communists
• A number of incidences signalled to Hoover that he should disassociate himself from McCarthy
• “By the spring of 1954 Hoover was telling Eisenhower that McCarthy had reached a point where he was actually impeding the investigation of Communists”-Gentry
• McCarthy would have most likely remained an unknown senator if it wasn’t for Hoover
COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program): • Counter intelligence Program was a series of covert and illeagal projects conducted by the
FBI aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States
• FBI used covert operations from its inception however formal COINTELPRO operations took place between 1956 and 1971
• The motivation was the protection of national security, preventing violence and maintaining the existing social and political order
• Targets were, Communist and socialist orgamizations, women’s rights movement, nationalist groups and those in the non-‐violent right wing movements such as Martin luthar King
• FBI agents told to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise neutralize the activities and movements of these party leaders
• The program was secret until 1971 when FBI office in Media was burglarized by a group of left wing radicals calling themselves the Citizens Committee to investigate the FBI
• Several collections of documents were taken and information was passed to news agencies, Hoover declared COINTELPRO over
• Methods: o Infiltration discredit and disrupt o Psychological warfare plant false media stories o Harassment through legal system make them appear to be criminals o Extralegal Force and Violence threatened, instigated and conducted break ins,
vandalism, assaults and beating
Relationship with The Kennedy’s: • John Kennedy was 22 years younger than Hoover and Robert Kennedy was 30 years
younger • Hoover and his rigid beliefs had isolated him from the youth culture that was emerging in
American society • John Kennedy’s legendary love life was thoroughly documented in Hoover’s files and
encouraged Kennedy to not anger Hoover on suspicion of the files • Relationship between Bobby and Hoover was tense • Even before Kennedy became Hoover’s boss, the FBI director had significantly changed his
attitude to organized crime • 1961 Bobby Kennedy’s crusade against organized crime, Hoover made it a major priority
and was supported by new crime laws from Kennedy that strengthened Bureau jurisdiction • The Kennedy’s target of gangsters was not the only source of tension between Bobby
Kennedy and Hoover, another was the Bureau’s attitude towards Afro-‐Americans and the civil rights movement
• Hoover just did not see an expanded role for people of colour • Naturally this bigotry like all of Hoover’s other beliefs became part of the entrenched
culture of the Bureau • Hoover bombarded Kennedy with memoranda linking King with two hardcore Communists-‐
alleged these men were seeking to gain control over King and hence over the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the civil rights movement
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• Bobby was appalled Hoover associated King with communism; Hoover asked for wiretaps and Bobby reluctantly agreed, as he believed a refusal would lend credence to the allegation of communist influence, and by permitting the tap, this would demonstrate the contrary
• The wire taps that night in the Williard Hotel had revealed a rich extramarital sex life for King; Hoover was appalled
• Kennedy era saw the address the issues of crime, race and poverty rather then subversion • Hoover intensified attention to charismatic King and civil rights movement • Tapes of King’s affairs were later mailed anonymously to him • Robert was given directions to keep the Director at bay
Relationship with LBJ: • Hoover sent to Johnson a preliminary report indicating the Oswald was the lone
assassin, a view that never changed regardless of information to the contrary • The Bureau’s initial internal investigation after the assassination convinced Hoover that
the FBI’s handling of the case was so deficient that the only way to minimize criticism was to fix all blame on Oswald as a lone assassin, unaided by any conspiracy
• LBJ as president meant a whole new lease on life for Hoover, Johnson was one of his oldest and closest friends in government
• Johnson waived the retirement age of Hoover • Hoover gave Johnson his unswerving loyalty, everything Johnson asked to be done was
done • The Bureau was used to collect political information on Johnson’s enemies and
eventually, to disrupt the activities of organizations that Johnson perceived as a threat • Hoover began to bypass Bobby Kennedy and go straight to Johnson • Hoover saw the rise in crime rate as a failure of traditional morals • LBJ’s accomplishment as president was crushing the rampant terrorism going on in the
South • Hoover directed massive investigations of racial violence and he forestalled more
violence by disrupting and eventually destroying the South’s network of murderous Klan’s
• Demonstration of Hoover’s loyalty to LBJ evident in that he put aside his own prejudices and focused the Bureau on breaking the power of the Klans
• Hoover did everything he could to discredit ML King • Hoover hated King for his promiscuous terrible private life of sex, gambling etc • Hoover initiated the largest man hunt in FBI history of 3000 agents to find King’s killer
despite hating him • Hoover’s anxiety about what he regarded as Kennedy’s radical departures meanwhile
led him to cement his relations with his old friend, the free wheeling Lyndon Johnson • The vice president continued dealings with a host of unsavoury characters that
threatened to end his political life and his vulnerability played directly into Hoover’s hands for the director kept in his files questionable information about Johnson
• Hoover had supported policies of every president, his relationship with Johnson was unique: o Johnson was not afraid to turn to Hoover for information o Johnson like Hoover enjoyed derogatory information and like confidentiality
• Johnson sought to contain efforts of civil rights activists as they could hurt his election credentials
• Hoover’s intelligence service to Johnson was performed illegally • Johnson as a president could no longer afford to challenge Hoover as the director might
retaliate • During a rare press conference in November 1964, Hoover gave a strong vent to his
prejudices-‐ He savagely attacked Martin Luther King Jr on the same score, Hoover branded him the most notorious liar in the country
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• Defending the FBI’s civil records, he denounced the criticisms of fanatic pressure groups and made crude attempts to discredit his critics who called for his resignation
• Johnson characterized the public disagreement between Hoover and King as a difference between strong minded individuals and defended their rights to freedom of expression
• Hoover’s growing intemperateness was an aspect of ageing alone and the decline of Clyde Tolson
• Tolson suffered a serious minor stroke in the late 1960’s and was taken care of by Hoover
• Hoover insisted on Tolson returning to work prematurely as he was in denial of his compatriots decline
• Hoover’s patriotic image was being overlooked by an undeclared war, student revolts and scepticism of the Cold War
• Hoover and the FBI’s action in South East Asia attracted large anti-‐war movement which changed the course of human events and Hoover if he had lived long enough would have finally been on the losing side
• J Edgar Hoover Foundation 1965 was created to safeguard the heritage and freedom of the USA and promote good citizenship through the appreciation of its form of government
• Hoover’s detractors were gathering strength and were galvanized by press releases that the FBI had been bugging and wire tapping
• Hoover’s secret operations had finally been unravelled by a committee led by Chairman Long
Hoover and ML King • Hoovers agency stood for fair and decent law enforcement, the rule of law and was a
model of integrity and efficiency • Hoover was an national hero, responsible for putting killers away • Hoover was getting old and he believed the world were questioning and rejecting
fundamental values • He detested the growing culture of promiscuity and questioned racial equality • King publically criticised the Bureau and Hoover was suspicious of his activities • Bobby was furious when Hoover asked to wiretap King • However no attorney general could fully exercise control over Hoover • Katzenbach (AG) agreed to wire tap and King was suspected of no crime • FBI tapes however caught King having extramarital affairs • Horrowitz and Carroll said, “the King incident illustrates the enormous power
Hoover derived from domestic surveillance”
The Files: • Official and Confidential File, Personal and Confidential File and about a draw and a half
of Bureau files kept in Hoover’s office under lock and key • Had personal correspondence, tax records, memorabilia etc. • If these files were exposed to the public it would have jeopardized his tenure as Director
and blacked the reputation of the Bureau • Hoover’s personal file was a formidable collection and its destruction forever limits our
understanding of how he operated, the scope and nature of the information he personally collected
• Sixty four of 164 folders held derogatory information on two presidents, a first lady, a cabinet member and countless other prominent personalities
Hoover and Nixon: • Hoover helped Nixon immensely by supporting on the Alger Hiss case • Hoover gave Nixon his first big political boost and they were good friends
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• Nixon was a victim forced forever to defend himself against unrelenting unscrupulous enemies
• Nixon saw Hoover as a man who could help him fight those many enemies just the way he had done for LBJ and other presidents before him
• Nixon’s staff saw Hoover as a tired old relic who lived in the past • Hoover continued his COINTELPRO against the Black Panthers and the new left • Like Johnson, Nixon had to deal with leaks and demonstrations • Nixon counted on Hoover to control these leaks and demonstrations that were undermining
his presidency • Nixon arranged for Henry Kissinger to provide Hoover the name of those individuals
suspected of leaking critical information • Hoover refused as these wiretaps were reckless and very dangerous if the American public
got wind of them • 1970 relations between White House and Hoover were very strained • While Hoover was in sympathy with Nixon on controlling student activists and black
nationalists, he was not about to jeopardize his own position by involving the Bureau in widespread intelligence gathering programs, except for ones that he closely supervised such as COINTELPROs
• Nixon was not pleased and called the heads of intelligence agencies to the White House to tell them they are inefficient in providing anti-‐war movement activity
• FBI was under siege after public found out about COINTELPRO after burglary • Documents were now being released on its large expenditures on bullet proof limousines,
poor record on minority hiring, capricious firing of an agent whose wife had died and sagging morals
• Hoover was no longer untouchable but a target • April Hoover and the FBI had to fend off full scale investigations of practices • Pentagon Papers were leaked and Hoover found out Daniel Ellsberg had leaked the
information • Hoover gave it low priority however when Nixon found out he was furious and saw Ellsberg
as apart of a conspiracy whilst Hoover refused to interrogate him • 1971 was not a good time for Hoover, William Sullivan his protégé had betrayed the
director • Nixon decided to get rid of Hoover but lost his nerve when Hoover refused to take Nixon’s
gentle prodding to resign • Beard sent a memo to ITT officials to settle antitrust actions in exchange for $400,000
Republican campaign contribution • John Dean of Watergate sent to Hoover to take part and Hoover agreed however the only
problem was that the letter was not a forgery and Hoover refused to change the lab reports despite overwhelming pressure
• Hoover never made it to his fifty-‐five year anniversary, he died at the age of 77 on May 2nd 1972
• Painter said, “Hoover was more powerful than the presidents he served”
Significance and Evaluation: Evaluation: • Despite his overpowering “stridently conservative” views, Hoover ultimately
“standardised, professionalised and modernised” the FBI • Theoharis posits that the agency, though privy to crucial decryptions of Soviet messages
provided by US military intelligence, broadly failed to use the information to ferret out and prosecute Soviet agents and their American contacts
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o He argues further that as of the late 1940’s, Hoover politicized the FBI as he increasingly deflected FBI resources into monitoring American individuals and organizations whose beliefs and activities he deemed subversive
• Theoharis offers a chilling portrait of a national law enforcement agency turned to largely political purposes and away from the real needs of national security during a dangerous period of the Cold War
• Theoharis and Cox also maintained that Hoover had ulterior motives in pursuing improvements and changes, as seen through the FBI’s proficient handling of the mid-western crime war of the mid-1930s and the capture of violent criminals such as John Dillinger
• FBI shot itself in the foot by depending on information obtained illegally, such as through break ins and wire taps, the inadmissibility of such evidence precluded prosecution in numerous instances
• Horrowitz and Carroll, “most successful bureaucrat in American history” • Anthony Murtagh (former FBI agent) Hoover structured an, “organisation designed to
perpetuate a sort of dictatorial control of both the FBI and…the minds of Americans” • Richard Hack found no evidence of J.Edgar Hoover’s bisexuality • Hoovers sex drive was virtually non-‐existent • He and Tolson took annual inspection trips to Miami area and Southern California • Hoover’s fame:
o Virulent and unceasing anti-‐communism o Destruction of independent criminals in the Depression period o Ability to create and expand the FBI’s influence within the government intelligence
community by any means necessary o Acquisition of salacious material about anyone he thought was subversive and useful to
black mail • Painter says “while biographers of the late 1950’s lionized Hoover, those of the 1990’s
emphasized scandalous aspects of his life” • Despite this, during Hoover’s lifetime the FBI’s known successes combined with the
Bureau’s highly successful public relations campaign made Hoover one of the most admired Americans
• By 1935 Attorney Generals were unwilling to challenge him • Hoover often dealt directly with presidents and vice versa • Attributes his longevity to the requested intelligence assistance he provided each
administration and the support he commanded from the public, the media and Congress • He left the legacy of a professional American law enforcement community and a FBI
internationally respected for its competence and efficiency • His body was the first other then a president to lie in the ‘State rotunda’ • Greatest achievement were the creation of the most effective federal law enforcement
agency in the world and the infusion of professional and scientific methods into American police work at all levels
• Hoover must be recognised as a major portal through which the American public regained their positive impression of law enforcment following the corruption enquiries of the 1920s and 30s
• Deloach “prestige drove the FBI into becoming the world’s foremost law enforcement agency. New innovations introduced under his watch – the centralization of finger prints for used by all authorized police organizations; the famed FBI laboratory also used by such organizations; the solution of crimes through scientific analysis; the intense and constant training of agents and police in new methods; the National Crime Information Center – not only brought higher standards to his profession, but forever branded him as the father of modern day law enforcement”
• Kessler complains “There is nothing about Hoover bugging, harassing and trying to discredit Martin Luther King, acts then Attorney General Katzneback called shocking and grossly improper when he found out about them. There is nothing about illegal, surreptitious entries
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or about bureau spying on political activities at the 1964 Democratic National Convention for the Johnson White House. There is no mention how Hoover had FBI agents paint his house each year; build a front portico, a redwood fence, a rear deck, and a flagstone walk at his home, or install artificial turf and plant outside his home. Nor is there reference to Hoover’s pocketing a portion of the royalties from Master’s of Deceit after Bureau employees wrote the book on government time.”
• “Hoover remained throughout his professional life a creature of the 1920’s”-Painter • He ended his life embittered and isolated, the FBI a monument of his past • Power said Hoover’s greatest achievements:, “reorganising he Bureau along
progressive and scientific lines in the 1920s, spearheading a dramatic and convincing display of govt power during the gangster days of the early New Deal, demonstrating to the public during WW2 that it was adequately protected against Nazi espionage and sabotage, reassuring a tense and nervous nation that it was safe from communist subversion during the great surges of international communist expansion that followed the two world wars”
• Joseph Rosenberg said, “his decision to ignore organised crime activity was the main reason the Mob was able to flourish during and after prohibition”
• Joseph Rosenberg, “Hoover was more concerned about bureaucratic intransigence than civil liberites”
Man and Myth: • Known for his organisational genius, for professionalising and standardising the FBI, re-‐
establishing confidence in the US govt and building an organisation that has lasted • On his death it was said the US has lost a “giant amongst the patriots” (Gentry) • Or his criticisms:
o He defied the original charter of the FBI o He had a negative attitude to black militants o He used the FBI for personal financial gain and personal glorification o He was always more threatened by the left than the right o McCarthyism was largely fed and sustained by Hoover o He knew Ethel Rosenberg was innocent and allowed her to be executed o He used illegal means in his activities and was never held responsible for this
J Edgar Hoover Quotes and Sources: • His school described him as a “gentleman of dauntless courage and stainless honour” -
Kessler he was valedictorian on graduation in 1913
• “Overnight, the bureau had been transformed from an agency that merely investigated violations of criminal law to one that investigated spying and was responsible for the internal security of the country” – Kessler
• He had an exceptional capacity for detail work…His superiors were duly impressed” –Kessler
• Hoover played upon the Attorney-General’s fears and exploited the issue of radicalism to enhance his agency’s power and prestige”- Miller
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• President Wilson had told Palmer during an executive cabinet meeting, “Do not let this country see red!”
• Claire Potter says Hoover “had no political entanglements”
• “He made sure that those in power knew that he was aware of possible indiscretions”-Kessler
• Gentry- “he saw in the change an opportunity to more upwards”
• Gentry- “Hoover made himself indispensible to Daugherty”
• Gentry, he was “highly ambitious”
• Upon his appointment as director in 1924, Hoover’s “main change was standardisation” (Gentry)
• Gentry- Hoover began to “systematically and aggressively” reform both the BI itself, and also its public image
• Theoharis and Cox, JEH saw the BI, “as a reflection of himself and demanded of its agents the same puritanical standards of conduct that he demanded of himself”
• Theoharis and Cox, “the organisation became an image of its director”
• Richard Gid Powers, “in a matter of hours, Purvis was famous in the country”
• Potter, “Hoover saw it as a great personal betrayal” (Purvis)
• Sue Rosenfeld said “he gave the public an image to identify with”
• Became according to Gentry “a symbol of law enforcement”
• Gentry, “Hoover became obsessed with anti-radicalism”
• Anthony Summers, “J Edgar Hoover did nothing about the mafia” • Theoharis and Cox believed that Hoover tended to exaggerate the dangers of subversives
, and thus overstepped his bounds in his pursuit to eliminate this perceived threat
• Hack said that Hoover was in “his element” throughout the tense and unpredictable years of McCarthyism in the 1950s
• Arrests in 1950’s were necessary to protect the country against “treason, espionage and other forms of sabotage” –Hoover
• Church Committee on COINTELPRO, “many of the techniques used would be intolerable in a democratic society even if all the targets had been involved in violent activity”
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• James William Fulbright on McCarthyism, “he has started a prairie fire which neither he or anyone else may be able to control”
• Robert J Morris on McCarthy and Hoover, “they were fighting the same enemy”
• In 1964, Hoover branded ML King “the most notorious liar in the country”
• Horrowitz and Carroll said, “the King incident illustrates the enormous power Hoover derived from domestic surveillance”
• Painter said, “Hoover was more powerful than the presidents he served”
• Theoharis and Cox argue that as of the late 1940’s, Hoover politicized the FBI as he increasingly deflected FBI resources into monitoring American individuals and organizations whose beliefs and activities he deemed subversive
• Horrowitz and Carroll, “most successful bureaucrat in American history”
• Anthony Murtagh said, Hoover structured an, “organisation designed to perpetuate a sort of dictatorial control of both the FBI and…the minds of Americans”
• Deloach “prestige drove the FBI into becoming the world’s foremost law enforcement agency
• Deloach branded him as “the father of modern day law enforcement”
• Painter- “Hoover remained throughout his professional life a creature of the 1920’s”
• Joseph Rosenberg said, “his decision to ignore organised crime activity was the main reason the Mob was able to flourish during and after prohibition”
• Joseph Rosenberg, “Hoover was more concerned about bureaucratic intransigence than civil liberties”
• Gentry-“giant amongst the patriots”
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Outline the life of the personality you have studied (10 marks): J. Edgar Hoover’s life was one of immense power and authority. J Edgar Hoover’s early years demonstrated his conservative and diligent nature. He was born in Washington DC to a conservative, middle class family. Throughout his life, he was strongly influenced by a domineering mother. Hoover’s meticulous attention to detail, which became invaluable during his time as chief of the FBI, became evident during his schooling career, where he was obsessive with everything he did. His participation in the debating team at school provided him with important speaking skills for the future. as did his leadership of the school cadet corps. After finishing school, he studied law at Washington University at night, whilst working at the Library of Congress, Thus his early life prepared him for the life of a bureaucrat. Hoover’s ability to work hard was recognised when he was recruited to the Justice Department in 1917 as a clerk on the legal staff. There he developed a unique filing system, with Kessler acknowledging, “He had an exceptional capacity for detail work…his superiors were duly impressed.” This was a factor in his promotion to special assistant to Attorney General Mitchell Palmer in 1919. It was in this period, where Hoover began to monitor the activities of radicals and communists in the US. Palmer placed a large emphasis on halting the growing momentum of ‘subversives and agitators’ and Hoover was instrumental in helping to lead this movement. After the Palmer Raids, Hoover continued to record information about individual radicals, . Hoover remained in this position under Harding’s government in 1920, and in 1921 was promoted to assistant chief of the Bureau of Investigation. He avoided the corruption that plagued the Harding administration, and subsequently retained his position under Coolidge. Later he was promoted to acting director of the Bureau of Investigation, and was made permanent director at the end of 1924. As director, Hoover began to “systematically and aggressively” (Gentry) reform the BI and its public image by modernising it, raising standards and using scientific methods to pursue crime, therefore, demonstrating how his life was devoted to the BI. Hoover’s desire for media attention throughout his life is evidenced in the Gangster Era. In the 1930’s, he earned himself and the bureau a sound reputation through his assault on bank robbers. This included the arrests of high-profile robbers Dillinger and Karpis, as well as Hoover’s personal arrest of Bruno Hauptman. The G-men movies were initiated depicting Hoover as a public hero, with Sue Rosenfeld acknowledging, “he gave the public an image to identify with” thus bringing himself to public notice Hoover’s early anti-radicalist tendencies were further exposed in the Roosevelt years. Roosevelt gave Hoover license to investigate American Nazis and Nazi sympathisers, as well as monitor FDR’s right-wing critics. However, Hoover abused these requests by expediently monitoring the left as well to collect information for his files. World War 2 saw the increasing surveillance of ‘subversive’ interests, with Hoover establishing the ‘House of Un-American Activities’ (HUAC). The Roosevelt years also saw an increase in Hoover’s authority with an expansion within the FBI, as the number of agents increased from 900 in 1940 to 5000 by 1945. However Antony Summers also claims this era was defined by the mafia, which “J. Edgar Hoover did nothing about”. It has been widely suggested that throughout his life, Hoover
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neglected fighting the mafia. He spent most of his life pursuing small time criminals, fighting those whom he viewed as being subversive and promoting his own public image and authority. Throughout his life, Hoover attempted to ingratiate himself with American presidents.. Truman made it clear in his presidency, that he didn’t want personal contact with Hoover, as he had no intention of letting Hoover extend his power. Hoover’s relationship with the White House improved dramatically when Eisenhower replaced Truman. This period was also characterised by ‘McCarthyism’, with Hack acknowledging that Hoover was “in his element” in this period. McCarthy was originally fed information by Hoover, however, Hoover disassociated himself from McCarthy after he leaked information against him, while Hoover was highly intolerant of anyone he viewed as acting against his own interests. Hoover who had spent much of his working life disrupting dissident political organisations within the US, formed Cointelpro at this time in order to further these aims. Hoover’s close relationship with Eisenhower differed from his relationship with the Kennedy’s in the early 1960’s. Hoover saw their youthful culture as being polemical to his conservative outlook. Hoover came into conflict with the Kennedy’s over organised crime and the civil rights movement. However his loyalty to LBJ led him to later take action against the Ku Klux Klan. This period of Hoover’s life was also characterised by his conflict with Martin Luther King. Hoover was opposed to racial equality and the Civil Rights Movement and called King “the most notorious liar in the country,”. Hoover commenced an illegal wiretapping operation against MLK, thus reflecting his lifelong conservatism and racist attitudes. Horrowitz and Carroll acknowledged, “the King incident illustrates the enormous power Hoover derived from domestic surveillance.” Hence, Hoover’s life in the period of the 1960’s was defined by his conservatism. Hoover’s last years were served under the presidency of Nixon. Hoover refused to take Nixon’s gentle prodding to resign, and it’s widely acknowledged that Hoover was losing touch with the world and was not as effective as in his earlier life. He died at the age of 77 on May 2nd 1972, having never married and leaving no offspring. He had lived a life of immense power. Painter sums up Hoovers life, claiming, “Hoover was more powerful than the presidents he served”.
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Assess the contribution of the personality you have studied to their period of national and/or international history (15 marks) Hoover’s contribution to his period of national history was immense, however it was also clouded by controversy, thus compromising some of his achievements. His positive contributions include the formation of a strong Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), his fight against gangsters, his espousal of patriotism and his WW2 surveillance which provided internal security for America. However Hoover’s negative contributions to his period of history can be seen in his role in McCarthyism, his upholding of conservative values and his inability to appreciate the changing needs and values of the time as well as his handling of the Mafia. Hoover’s main contribution to his period of history was his creation of the FBI. Unquestionably, Hoover was single-handedly responsible for facilitating the “FBI into becoming the world’s foremost law enforcement agency” according to Deloach, forever branding Hoover “as the father of modern day law enforcement” (Deloach). Hoover’s unprecedented and methodical changes to the bureau, by applying scientific theory to crime investigation, such as including the use of fingerprint files, defined law enforcement sequentially thereafter. His promotion of himself and the FBI was achieved through his close association with the media, giving the public “an image to identify with” (Sue Rosenfeld), thus illustrating how Hoover’s actions in promoting public opinion were integral to promoting the law enforcement agency. and making it the formidable institution it became. Hoover also standardised work practices and cut staff to improve efficiency. Hoover’s “exceptional ability for detailed work” (Gentry) meant he created a highly effective law enforcement agency, which was in contrast to the corruption that plagued the early 1920’s under the Harding administration. His organisational genius, and the professionalisation and standardisation of the FBI, is evident in that the bureau is still functioning today, even 40 years after his death. Hence, Hoover’s contribution to his period of national history was immense Hoover also positively contributed to his period of national history through his fight against crime. Hoover suppressed the gangsters, demonstrated through his arrest of Hauptman and the FBI’s murders of Floyd and Dillinger, thus earning himself and the FBI a solid reputation, with Powers acknowledging his ability in “spearheading a dramatic and convincing display of government power during the gangster days.” This cemented his position as “the most successful bureaucrat in American history” (Horrowitz and Carroll). The ‘G-men’ movies were instigated in the 1930’s to propagandise the FBI, with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette exclaiming, “Hoover went straight to the masses.” Courtney Ryley Cooper mythologised the BI and Hoover’s contributions in the era. Therefore, Hoover’s tactics in gaining the support of the public emphasised his positive contribution in this time period, whilst his fight against the gangsters demonstrated his affirmative impact on society. Hoover’s role in WW2 took on extra importance and he contributed to the formation of a General Intelligence Division, the SIS and the arrest of many neo Nazis and radicals. The period of WW2 reinforced Hoover’s reputation as America’s watchdog. The size of the FBI increased immensely from 900 agents in 1940 to 5000 in 1945. Hoover was wholly responsible in maintaining America’s internal security in World War Two. Hoover increasingly monitored Nazis and it’s been suggested that this positively contributed to America’s protection. Gregg Webb tells us the FBI’s
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positive contribution was “in response to a wave of espionage”, and is a testament to Hoover in that he was able to keep America safe in this period. Therefore, Hoover’s role in WW2 emphasised his positive contribution to national history. Furthermore, Hoover’s anti-radicalist stance helped to shape his period of national history by shaping perspectives, and can be seen to have been a negative contribution as this dovetailed into manipulation and underhand activities. Gentry stated, “Hoover became obsessed with anti-radicalism” and became committed to the surveillance of subversive activities. Hoover’s attitudes towards communism, radicalists and trade unions in his lifetime shaped public perspectives. Hoover ‘s assault on communism in America can also be interpreted as helping to foster ‘McCarthyism’, which instilled in ordinary Americans a fear of communism. This can be seen to have been a negative contribution as it spread unnecessary fear. Theoharis and Cox believed Hoover’s relationship with McCarthy was expedient on Hoover’s behalf and had ulterior motives. They believed he was fighting communism to benefit himself, as he was adding information to his files, hence illustrating his negative contributions through his expedient motives and his aid to the progression of McCarthyism. Hoover’s illegal surveillance and private files came to the fore after his death, which underlined his negative and illegal contributions to his period of national history. Hoover’s methods of wiretappings and ‘bugging’ may be viewed as setting a precedent for future directors and presidents to participate in similar activities. Some may read this behaviour as rationalising and setting a precedent for the ‘Watergate scandal’, because of Hoover’s reliance on underhand activites, thus showing how Hoover’s methods have made a negative contribution to national affairs. While Hoover’s contribution to his period of national history was undoubtedly immense, his neglect of organised crime, most notably the Mafia, undermines his positive contribution to this period of national history. Hoover formed a law enforcement agency designed to enforce the law, but ironically Hoover ignored the mafia until the Kennedy administration. It has been speculated that Hoover and the Mafia had a mutual relationship in relation to betting, thus clouding the view that he made a positive contribution to America. It’s also seen that Hoover overlooked the mafia to maintain his reputation as America’s ‘watchdog’, as it was very possible the mafia was unenforceable. Anthony Summers corroborates this stating, “J Edgar Hoover did nothing about the mafia.” As such, Hoover focused on easier targets to ensure his image with the public would remain unharmed. Furthermore, historian Joseph Rosenberg implies that Hoover’s contribution to his time period was negative stating, “his decision to ignore organised crime activity was the main reason the Mob was able to flourish.” Therefore it is evident that Hoover’s decision to delay fighting organised crime until the Kennedy administration, undermined his other successful contributions to this period of history. To conclude, Hoover undoubtedly contributed to this period of history in many ways. His ability to enact a “standardised, professionalised and modernised” (Gentry) law enforcement agency underpinned the FBI successes in this period of time in dealing with gangsters and setting up an agency that would transcend even himself. This led to the assessment of Hoover after his death as a “giant amongst patriots” (Gentry). Other positive contributions include his fight against the gangster era and his success in WW2. However his contributions are undermined when observing the prosperity of the mafia during this period, and the fear he instilled in ordinary Americans pertaining
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to communism. His underhandedness that was revealed after his death shattered his public image as being loyal, patriotic and hardworking. Outline the main features in the background and rise to prominence of the personality you have studied J. Edgar Hoover’s background and rise to prominence foregrounded the power he was to later accumulate. J Edgar Hoover’s background demonstrated his conservative and diligent nature. He was born in Washington DC to a conservative, middle class family. Throughout his life, he was strongly influenced by a domineering mother. Hoover’s father had a nervous breakdown in Hoover’s early high school years, from which he never properly recovered. Hoover’s meticulous attention to detail, which became invaluable during his time as chief of the FBI, became evident during his schooling career, where he was obsessive with everything he did. His participation in the debating team at school provided him with important speaking skills for the future, as did his leadership of the school cadet corps. Kessler tells us that his school described him as a “gentleman of dauntless courage and stainless honour”, and he displayed honour in his early life during the Harding administration as he was exempt from the corruption that plagued his presidency. He was recognised as a valedictorian on graduation in 1913. After finishing school, he studied law at Washington University at night, whilst working at the Library of Congress. Thus, his background was important in his rise to prominence. A major feature in Hoover’s rise to prominence was his ability to work hard. This was recognised when he was recruited to the Justice Department in 1917 as a clerk on the legal staff. There he developed a unique filing system, with Kessler acknowledging, “He had an exceptional capacity for detail work…his superiors were duly impressed.” This was a factor in his promotion to special assistant to Attorney General Mitchell Palmer in 1919. It was in this period, where Hoover began to monitor the activities of radicals and communists in the US. Palmer placed a large emphasis on halting the growing momentum of ‘subversives and agitators’ due to the Palmer Raids in this period, whereby his house was bombed by radicals. Hoover was instrumental in helping to lead this movement, especially as he came from a conservative background. Palmer gave Hoover ‘carte blanche’ to bring the bombers to justice and end the radical threat to the US. This was important in Hoover’s rise to prominence as it extended his early powers, while the Palmer Raids where the first time JEH was brought to public notice. After the Palmer Raids, Hoover continued to record information about individual radicals. Hoover remained in his position of special assistant to the attorney-general under Harding’s government in 1920, and in 1921 was promoted to assistant chief of the Bureau of Investigation. This was important in his rise to prominence, as he familiarised himself with the BI, through running the day to day business. He avoided the corruption that plagued the Harding administration, and subsequently retained his position under Coolidge. Claire Potter tells us that a significant factor in Hoover’s rise to prominence was the fact that Hoover “had no political entanglements.” This was important as Hoover was loyal to his attorney-general, regardless of the generals political party in government. Later he was promoted to acting director of the Bureau
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of Investigation, and was made permanent director at the end of 1924. Thus at a very young age, Hoover was given immense authority and responsibility for the internal security of America. As director, Hoover began to “systematically and aggressively” (Gentry) reform the BI and its public image by modernising it, raising standards and using scientific methods to pursue crime. Therefore, the transformation of the BI was a key feature in his rise to prominence. Hoover’s rise to prominence was largely facilitated by his handling of the Gangster Era. In the 1930’s, he earned himself and the bureau a sound reputation through his assault on bank robbers. This included the arrests of high-profile robbers Dillinger and Karpis, as well as Hoover’s personal arrest of Bruno Hauptman. The G-men movies were initiated by Hoover so as to depict him as a public hero, with Sue Rosenfeld acknowledging, “he gave the public an image to identify with” thus bringing himself to public notice. Therefore, his role in the Gangster Era was a key feature in Hoover’s rise to public prominence. Furthermore, a key characteristic of Hoover’s rise to prominence was the role he played in WW2. Roosevelt gave Hoover license to investigate American Nazis and Nazi sympathisers. The size of the FBI increased immensely from 900 agents in 1940 to 5000 in 1945. Hoover was wholly responsible in maintaining America’s internal security during World War Two. Hoover increasingly monitored Nazis and it has been suggested that this positively contributed to America’s security. Gregg Webb claims that the FBI’s affirmative contribution was “in response to a wave of espionage”, and is a testament to Hoover in that he was able to keep America safe in this period. Therefore, Hoover’s role in WW2 gained him recognition as an efficient and patriotic leader and was a key feature in his rise to prominence. Overall, the main features in Hoover’s background and rise to prominence were his conservative values and support for his country, his positive handling of the Gangster Era and his role in WW2 and his transformation of the BI into a powerful organisation.