Transcript J. Edgar Hoover 1895-1972

J. Edgar Hoover
1895-1972
Background





Born January 1, 1895 in Washington, D. C.
Parents: Dickerson and Anna Hoover
Hoover did not obtain a birth certificate until he was
43, which fueled suspicions, in and out of the bureau,
that he was of African-American descent – a family out
of Mississippi tried to prove these allegations, but
failed.
He kept detailed records on himself, teachers, and
family members starting at a young age.
At age 11, started his own newspaper, The Weekly
Review, that he sold to family and friends for 1 cent.
Background continued…




His school nickname was “Speed” because he
thought fast and talked fast.
Hoover’s father, Dickerson, spent the last eight
years of his life in an asylum. His cause of
death was listed as “melancholia” – clinical
depression.
1916 – graduated with a law degree from
George Washington University Law School.
Hoover became a Freemason in 1920.
Background continued…



Hoover’s failure to marry and
his constant companionship
with Clyde Tolson, led to
many rumors about his
sexuality.
Clyde Tolson was the sole
heir to Hoover’s estate and
was also buried next to
Hoover.
Hoover was also an avid dog
lover.
Head of the FBI




Hoover joined the Bureau of Investigation, later known
as the FBI, in 1921.
In 1924 at the age of 29, Hoover was appointed acting
Director of the BOI and by the end of the year he was
officially named Director.
Hoover remained the Director of the FBI until his
death on May 2, 1972 at the age of 77.
The FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. is named
after Hoover. Because of the controversial nature of
Hoover's legacy, there have been periodic proposals to
rename it.
Head of the FBI


During his reign over the FBI, Hoover built an
efficient crime-detection agency, established a
centralized fingerprint file, a crime laboratory and a
training institution for police.
He dictated every aspect of his agents’ lives from who
their friends should or should not be, who they should
or should not marry, what organizations they could or
could not join; decided where they would live;
monitored their morals; even told them what to wear
and what they could weigh; and bestowed praise and
awards, blame and punishments, when he decided they
were due.
Head of the FBI


The FBI, under Hoover, collected information on all
America's leading politicians. Known as Hoover's secret
files, this material was used to influence their actions. It
was later claimed that Hoover used this incriminating
material to make sure that the eight presidents that he
served under, would be too frightened to sack him as
director of the FBI..“
Presidents Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson each considered firing Hoover but
concluded that the political cost of doing so would be
too great. Richard Nixon twice called in Hoover with
the intent of firing him, but both times he changed his
mind when meeting with Hoover.
Head of the FBI


Hoover ignored the existence of organized crime in the
U.S. until famed muckraker Jack Anderson exposed the
immense scope of the Mafia's organized crime
network. It has been suggested that Hoover did not
pursue the Mafia because they had incriminating
evidence (photos) against him in respect to his sexual
orientation.
Despite all of these allegations, during his long career
of public service, Director Hoover received three
presidential awards, sundry citations by Congress, and
following his death was the first civil servant in U.S.
history to lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
Political Views




Conservative
Anti-communist
Against suffrage for women
Opposed the Civil Rights movement
Major Issues of the Time







1st Red Scare (1917-1920)
Espionage Act of 1917
Sedition Act of 1918
The Palmer Raids
House Committee on Un-American Activities
WW II
Iron Curtain in Europe
"Uncle Sam bids good riddance
to the deportees"
(from J. Edgar Hoover's
memorabilia and scrapbook
in the National Archives).

The more famous of the
Palmer raids was
December 21, in which
249 people were dragged
from their homes,
forcibly put on board a
ship and deported.
Intended Audience

Hoover delivered “The Communist Menace”
before the House Committee on Un-American
Activities on March 26, 1947.
The Communist Menace
Main Points
1. The Communist Party of the United States
intends to destroy the American businessman,
take over our government, and throw the
whole world into revolution.

“The Communist movement in the United
States…stands for the destruction of free
enterprise, and it stands for the creation of a
“Soviet of the United States” and ultimate world
revolution.”
The Communist Menace
Main Points continued…
2. The American programs to help society such as,
social security, veterans’ benefits, and welfare are
all communist ideas used to lure the support of
unsuspecting citizens.

“The American progress which all good citizens
seek, such as old-age security, houses for veterans,
child assistance and a host of others is being
adopted as window dressing by the Communists to
conceal their true aims and entrap gullible
followers.”
The Communist Menace
Main Points continued…
3. The greatest threat of communism is not how many Communists are in this
country, but their ability to insert themselves into positions of power and
their ability to persuade through lies and deception. Americans should
FEAR the communist infiltration of their government and society.

“What is important is the claim of the Communists themselves that for
every party member there are 10 others ready, willing, and able to do
the party’s work. Herein lies the greatest menace of communism. For
these people who infiltrate and corrupt various spheres of American
life. So rather than the size of the Communist Party the way to weigh
its true importance is by testing its influence, its ability to infiltrate.”

“…When the Communists overthrew the Russian government there
was one Communist for every 2,277 persons in Russia. In the United
States today there is one Communist for every 1,814 persons in the
country…”
Historical Significance







2nd Red Scare (1947-1957)
1947 - Ronald Reagan and wife Jane Wyman provide to the FBI
names of SAG members believed to be communist
sympathizers.
1947 - Top Hollywood executives decide not to employ
individuals who refused to answer questions about communist
infiltration of the film industry
McCarthyism starts(1950): Sen. Joseph P. McCarthy says he has
a list of 205 communists in the State Department.
1950 - California Legislature passes a bill requiring state
employees to sign a loyalty oath.
1953 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of conspiring to
commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union, are executed.
COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO

COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) is a program of
the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at
investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations
within the United States. Although covert operations have been
employed throughout FBI history, the formal COINTELPRO
operations of 1956-1971 were broadly targeted against
organizations that were (at the time) considered to have
politically radical elements, ranging from those whose stated goal
was the violent overthrow of the U.S. government (such as the
Weathermen) to non-violent civil rights groups such as Martin
Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference to
violent racist and segregationist groups like the Ku Klux Klan
and the American Nazi Party. The founding document of
COINTELPRO directed FBI agents to "expose, disrupt,
misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the activities of
these movements and their leaders.
Questions

Was J. Edgar Hoover paranoid or was
communism a real threat in the United States?