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The FBI in American Politics

Page history last edited by Owen 2 days, 12 hours ago

Flag of the FBI

Topics on the Page

Brief History

FBI Records: The Vault

The Agency's Early Background and J. Edgar Hoover

The Palmer Raids

The Rosenberg Spy Case

The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.

FBI Surveillance of African American Writers

FBI and Police

The Osage Murders

CROSS-LINKS:

AP Government, The Role of Institutions in the Enactment of Policy

The Lavender Scare

eBook Connection: The FBI and the Post Office in American Politics

Brief History

The FBI: A Brief History from the Federal Bureau of Investigation

See also FBI History from Syracuse University

Top 10 Moments in FBI History

FBI Records: The Vault

Contains 6,700 documents including materials on civil rights, political figures, anti-war protestors and more

Civil Rights: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X (Pt 2), Cesar Chavez, NAACP, ACLU, National Organization for Women

Popular Figures: John Lennon , Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix, Biggie Smalls

Helen Keller FBI Files

Eleanor Roosevelt FBI Files from PBS American Experience

Eleanor Roosevelt Files from the Vault

Click here to see a detailed timeline of the FBI's history, provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation itself.

To watch a video providing a brief overview of the history of the FBI, click here.

The Bureau: My thirty years in Hoover's FBI by William Sullivan

Sullivan served as Hoover's right hand man for many years. He provides a unique perspective to life in the Bureau under Hoover.

** Some question Sullivan's credibility, yet he predicted his own death days before testifying about the Kennedy assassination.

J. Edgar Hoover, 1961

J. Edgar Hoover, 1961
The Agency's Early Background

The agency was created by executive order on July 26, 1908 by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte (grandson of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother) as a special detective force within the Department of Justice.

It was called the Bureau of Investigation and was charged with enforcement of the Mann Act

The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act, NPR (March 11, 2008)

Agents were involved in the Palmer Raids in 1919 that were part of the First Red Scare period in American politics

J. Edgar Hoover became director in 1924

The agency was re-named the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935.

J. Edgar Hoover

J. Edgar Hoover is one of the most controversial figures in both FBI history and American politics

J. Edgar Hoover was the FBI's first and longest tenured director, serving from 1924 to 1972.

Hoover's actions as director launched the Bureau of Investigation from a minor policing force to an integral part of the national government and an beacon of freedom in the face of crises such World War II, the Cold War, conflicts with criminals such as John Dillinger and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and more.

Hoover collected files on perceived criminals, political adversaries, and even celebrities and presidents alike in the interest of "national security", forcing both the FBI and himself into the realm of American politics.

For more information on the life and accomplishments of J. Edgar Hoover, click here.

To see a trailer for the biographical film J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, click here

Video: Secrets of J. Edgar Hoover

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The Palmer Raids

Reds and Americans from America in Class, National Humanities Center

The Palmer Raids from the FBI's Famous Cases and Criminals website

The Palmer Raids from Stuff You Missed in History Class

The Rosenberg Spy Case

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, found guilty, 1951.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

They were a husband and wife team who worked with atomic weapons development during WWII. The were accused of being spies, tried in 1950, convicted in 1951 and executed in 1953. They were the first spies to be killed for their actions.

Here is a selection of letters written between Ethel and Julius Rosenberg while in prison.

Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963

The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The FBI vs. Martin Luther King: Inside J. Edgar Hoover's Suicide Letter to Civil Rights Leader, from Democracy Now news network

Click here to read about the relationship between the FBI and the Civil Rights Movement under President John F. Kennedy.

For information on the complex relationship and dislike that existed between J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI's most popular and controversial director, and Martin Luther King Jr., click here.

FBI Surveillance of African American Writers