Randy Forbes
American politician
J. Edgar Hoover was the long-serving director of the FBI, leading the organization for nearly half a century. During his tenure, he expanded the FBI’s capabilities and implemented various modernizations, but also engaged in controversial and secretive practices that violated civil liberties and abused his power.
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About the J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hooverwas an American law enforcement administrator who served as the final Director of the Bureau of Investigationand the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). President Calvin Coolidge first appointed Hoover as director of the BOI, the predecessor to the FBI, in 1924. After 11 years in the post, Hoover became instrumental in founding the FBI in June 1935, where he remained as director for an additional 37 years until his death in May 1972 – serving a total of 48 years leading both the BOI and the FBI under eight Presidents.
Hoover expanded the FBI into a larger crime-fighting agency and instituted a number of modernizations to policing technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories. Hoover also established and expanded a national blacklist, referred to as the FBI Index or Index List.
Later in life and after his death, Hoover became a controversial figure as evidence of his secretive abuses of power began to surface. He was also found to have routinely violated both the FBI’s own policies and the very laws which the FBI was charged with enforcing, to have used the FBI to harass and sabotage political dissidents, and to have extensively collected information on officials and private citizens using illegal surveillance, wiretapping, and burglaries. Hoover consequently amassed a great deal of power and was able to intimidate and threaten high-ranking political figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
J. Edgar Hoover was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for over 37 years, from 1935 until his death in 1972.
J. Edgar Hoover served as the director of the FBI for a total of 48 years, including 11 years as the director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), the predecessor to the FBI.
Hoover expanded the FBI into a larger crime-fighting agency and instituted a number of modernizations, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.
Later in his life and after his death, Hoover became a controversial figure as evidence surfaced of his secretive abuses of power, including routinely violating FBI policies and laws, harassing and sabotaging political dissidents, and extensively collecting information on officials and private citizens through illegal surveillance, wiretapping, and burglaries.
Hoover’s extensive abuses of power allowed him to amass a great deal of power and intimidate and threaten high-ranking political figures during his long tenure as FBI director.
8 Quotes by J. Edgar Hoover
- 1.
The cure for crime is not the electric chair, but the high chair.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 2.
Above all, I would teach him to tell the truth Truth-telling, I have found, is the key to responsible citizenship. The thousands of criminals I have seen in 40 years of law enforcement have had one thing in common: Every single one was a liar.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 3.
No amount of law enforcement can solve a problem that goes back to the family.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 4.
Just the minute the FBI begins making recommendations on what should be done with its information, it becomes a Gestapo.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 5.
We are a fact-gathering organization only. We don’t clear anybody. We don’t condemn anybody.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 6.
I regret to say that we of the FBI are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way obstructed interstate commerce.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 7.
Banks are an almost irresistible attraction for that element of our society which seeks unearned money.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)
- 8.
Justice is incidental to law and order.
J. Edgar HooverAmerican law enforcement administrator (1895-1972)