He was able to find out almost anything and U.S. Presidents handled him with great care. He amassed significant power by collecting and keeping files that contained compromising and potentially embarrassing information on scores of influential people, including politicians. If there was one thing that J. Edgar Hoover was obsessed about, it was subversion. Under his leadership the FBI spied on, harassed and may have unfairly prosecuted thousands of suspected radicals. Nevertheless, Hoover turned the FBI into a powerful crime fighting organization.
J. Edgar Hoover's Early Years
He was born on January 1, 1895 in Washington, D.C., and was the youngest of four children. Hoover attended Central High School and was attracted to the cadet corps. This organization helped prepare young men and women for military service. Everything about the corps appealed to Hoover's sense of order and discipline. He enrolled in George Washington University with the intention of becoming a lawyer.
While attending school he took a job at the Library of Congress where he learned how to organize books, magazines, newspapers and government documents. This served him well later in his career. By the time he passed the District of Columbia bar exam in 1917, he was a clerk on the legal staff of the Justice Department. Although the United States had entered World War I, Hoover didn't join the army. His job exempted him from military service.
The FBI Crackdown on Crime in the Early 20th Century
Hoover was made acting director of the FBI in 1924. Through the Prohibition years and into the Great Depression, the exploits of high-profile criminals were printed on the front pages of U.S. newspapers. Hoover's G-Men (government men) relentlessly pursued and killed several outlaws, including John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and members of the Ma Barker Gang. Ending the long spree of gangsterism earned Hoover and his agents lots of popular support.
When it came to fighting the Mafia, Hoover's approach couldn't have been more astonishing. Hoover insisted that these criminals didn't exist, and for as long as he was director of the FBI, he steered clear of the Mob. Hoover justified his lack of attention by claiming it would have taken too long to build a case. This made it easier for organized crime to penetrate deep into American society.
J. Edgar Hoover and Communism
It's no secret that Hoover had a burning hatred for Communists. In the aftermath of World War II and the onset of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, he did all he could to expose subversives in tandem with Senator Joe McCarthy. When he collaborated with the House Un-American Activities Committee, Hoover helped McCarthy in all kinds of ways. His assistance included making speeches, monitoring critics and providing background checks.
Hoover cautioned Senator McCarthy to be vague rather than specific about the numbers of Communist radicals, because precise figures had to be backed up with hard evidence. In his 1958 book Masters of Deceit: The Story of Communism in America and How to Fight It, Hoover wrote, "A disciplined Party of hard-core fanatical members is now at work, with their fellow travelers, sympathizers, opportunists and dupes. Communists in our country...want to add America to Soviet Russia's list of conquests." The book was a best seller.
J. Edgar Hoover's Response to the Civil Rights Movement
Hoover used his considerable power to make life rather unpleasant for Martin Luther King, Jr. He convinced Attorney General Robert Kennedy to tap King's and his associates' phones, and to bug their homes and offices. Although nothing suggested that the civil rights leader was under the influence of Communists, details about his private life were collected that would haunt King's family for years to come.
J. Edgar Hoover died on May 2, 1972. No other FBI director has inspired as much controversy. He instituted centralized fingerprinting and statistical files, developed a crime lab and founded a respected training academy. Critics, however, pointed to his prolonged use of questionable investigative techniques such as unauthorized wiretaps and illegal mail-openings. Clyde Tolson was Hoover's second in command at the bureau, and for decades the two men were rarely seen apart. It was rumored that Hoover was gay, but this mystery will never be solved.
References:
The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI by Ronald Kessler, St. Martin's Press, 2002
J. Edgar Hoover: Controversial FBI Director by Kevin Cunningham, Compass Point Books, 2006
You Said What?: Lies and Propaganda Throughout History by Bill Fawcett, HarperCollins, 2007
Scott Hayden - Since joining Suite101 in early 2007, I've contributed articles about travel, history and health. My speciality is writing about workplace ...
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