J. Edgar Hoover For nearly half a century J. Edgar Hoover was one of the most powerful officials in the Federal government of the United States. Hoover was an extremely intelligent and shrewd individual. Credited for the reconstruction of the Bureau of Investigation, Hoover was a national hero and did everything in his power to insure is great country would be safe and snug at night. As head of the Bureau of Investigation (later named the Federal Bureau of Investigation) from 1924 until his death in 1972, his incredible knowledge of politicians and government operations made him a man to be feared by elected officials, and none of the eight presidents under whom he served dared fire him. Hoover, almost single handedly, created one of the greatest domestic federal justice bureaus in history. Both feared and beloved within his own organization, Hoover was clearly a complex and often confounding character that helped change the American justice system, forever. From the time Hoover was born to his death, he was a life-long D.C. man. Born on January 1st, 1895, young John had acquired many honors and accolades throughout his school years. While in high school, Hoover was a member of Central High’s undefeated debate team and Captain of Cadets. In 1913, Hoover graduated as valedictorian of his Central High School class. However, lacking funds for living expenses he was unable to accept a scholarship offer at the University of Virginia. Instead, he took a clerical position at the Library of Congress. Hoover’s experience with the Library of Congress and its innovative organization of knowledge has often been credited with influencing the creation of the FBI’s own knowledge management system (FBI.gov). As he was working in the Library of Congress, Hoover was also working on completing courses in night school to take the BAR exam. Hoover graduated near the top of his class from George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in Law. (Powers, pp.48-52)As he grew older and became more experienced his prestige and power skyrocketed. Hoover entered duty with the Department of Justice on July 26, 1917, and rose quickly in government service. In 1919 he became the assistant to Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in the Department of Justice. It was Palmer who instigated the post World War I “red scare,” an anti-Communist hysteria that led to the deportation of many aliens. Hoover was put in charge of the deportations (Powers 43). In 1921, Hoover was finally introduced to the Bureau of Investigation, as he was named assistant director and later in 1924 was appointed Director.
As the new Director, Hoover put into effect a number of institutional changes to correct criticisms. He professionalized its personnel and operations. Hoover fired a number of agents whom he saw as not loyal or unqualified. He ordered back ground checks, interviews and physical testing for new agent applicants. Under Hoover, the Bureau grew in responsibility and importance, becoming an integral part of the National government and an icon in American culture (FBI.com). The mid- 1930’s was the coming out of the FBI, and Hoover was right at the forefront. His first bust involved the capture of Machine Gun Kelly. Hoover made the arrest at Kelly’s farm without the firing of one bullet. The newspapers loved it. They praised Hoover and the articles made up ground in the public trust. The Bureau was taking on a whole new image with the American people. When John Dillenger, a convicted bank robber, and Public Enemy Number One, escapes from prison another Special Agent, Melvin Purvis, asks for Hoover’s help. They set Dillenger up with the help of a local madam and Dillenger is gunned down in an alleyway as he leaves a theater. Again the media swarms over this real-life drama. Other great successes with hoodlums and gangsters were the killings of Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson (Powers, 228-275). Introducing forensics and fingerprinting was a major improvement.
