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United States History Research Paper

John Edgar Hoover
Hannah Randall
May 15, 2016
Period 5.

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An influential person is one who has done something to make a lasting impact on people
around the world. Many Americans can fit the description of influential, but some people really
stand out. J. Edgar Hoover was one of those people. J. Edgar Hoover is known for his
controversial intelligence work through the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the FBI. J. Edgar

Hoover was born on January 1, 1895 in Washington D.C and was named the director of the
Department's Bureau of Investigation in 1924. Hoover remained as the director of the FBI until
his death on May 2, 1972. When Hoover assumed his position as director he made an assortment
of changes in order to investigate cases while keeping his name and reputation in tact. John
Edgar Hoover was the most influential American because he conducted covert investigations
which at times were illegal in order to find the truth and help stop crime, Hoover also separated
politics from the bureau so that decisions were not influenced by political powers and so that he
only had to consult with the attorney general on his cases, in the name of National security,
Hoover also conducted his own vendettas against political adversaries when needed. John Edgar
Hoover was the most influential American because he cared more about National security and
safety then a set of rules; Hoover has set the tone for investigations for centuries to come by
setting aside his personal life to conduct business affairs.
John Edgar Hoover conducted undercover investigations in order to catch criminals and
radicals. Hoover kept files on more than 20,000 Americans that he called subversive.
According to Master of Deceit, a book written Marc Aronson it states, Hoover mapped the
network of people who might be radicals, looking carefully for the nodes- the neighborhoods,
clubs, and publications- where they gathered (Aronson, 23). John Edgar Hoover was a man with
directions, he carefully thought out the movements of the radicals under his investigations to pinpoint their movements and document them waiting for the right time to catch them and prosecute
them. Because of J. Edgar Hoovers elaborate span of files on radicals, he had to find a system to
organize all his evidence. According to J. Edgar Hoover The Man and the Secrets, a book
written by Curt Gentry, Since taking over the Bureau 1924, J . Edgar Hoover had found it
advisable to separate from the General Files certain highly sensitive information...These

materials- which included dossiers, memos, letters, photographs, depositions, case summaries,
microphone and wiretap logs, presidential correspondence, and special investigations- were kept
in a confidential investigation in Ms. Gandys office (Gentry, 45). Hoover kept expansive files
that contained any and all information gathered of the people he kept watch over. Many times
though, these investigations were not approved and were considered illegal. According to Crime
Magazine- An encyclopedia of crime, a website containing information on Hoovers illegal
investigative techniques, Critics of Hoover point to the extensive use of illegal investigative
techniques including "black bag jobs," illegal break-ins) wiretaps, bugs and illegal mailopenings. Hoover often ordered his agents to commit aggressive and sometimes illegal acts
against individuals and organizations engaged in legitimate political activities This shows
how dedicated Hoover was to his job and he wasn't going to let anyone, not even the law get in
the way of his line of

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work. Aside from undercover and occasionally illegal investigations, J. Edgar Hoover was also
influential for separating politics from investigations.
J. Edgar Hoover was the most influential American because he knew how messy politics
get in the Federal Government and was smart enough to separate them from his undergoing
investigations as to not have political persuasions come in contact with judgement. Hoover knew
not to get caught up in the many different political views and opinions, but rather to just
disregard them and create his files on those who were subversive whether they were political
leaders or not. According to Spartacus Educational, a website talking of the life of John Edgar
Hoover, Hoover persuaded Franklin D. Roosevelt to give the FBI the task of investigating both
foreign espionage in the United States. This included the collection of information on those with

radical political beliefs. John Edgar Hoover was able to persuade the president to allow him to
conduct his cases and collect information. Hoover only worked with few higher officials and
only trusted few. According to History.com, He became involved in law enforcement as a
special assistant to the attorney general, overseeing the roundups and deportations of suspected
communists during the post-World War I Red Scare. Hoover was constantly working with few
high officials that he trusted in order to gain access into a variety of more cases and evidence
collecting opportunities in order to solve his crimes and keep track of the subversives under his
watch. According to an article from the New York Times, Mr. Hoover always understood the
subtle currents of power among officials in Washington better than anyone knew him. Because
Hoover understood what power meant and what it could control he never wanted to get
controlled by the powers that higher officials had over him so he decided to separate himself
from their affairs. While conducting secret investigations, and separating himself from higher
government officials, Hoover also kept personal vendettas against other political adversaries in
order to have political blackmail hanging over their heads to keep them in check.
John Edgar Hoover kept immense files containing pieces of evidence on over 200,000
Americans from all different backgrounds. Some of these files contained information on
Government officials which were used as blackmail. According to The Secrets of the FBI, a
book Written about the FBI and Mr. Hoover, While there is ample evidence that Hoover used
the information in his files for blackmail, there was usually no need for it. Simply the perception
that he had such information was enough to keep politicians in line (Kessler, 41). John Edgar
Hoover was unconventional in his investigative methods, but he was efficient and organized
allowing him to catch and document a lot of subversives in his time. Hoover didnt discriminate
against social classes of people, or the way that people dressed or looked. Hoover didnt care if

the person he was documenting was of a higher rank than he was, if he saw something wrong
with what that person was involved with he took actions into his own hands in order to preserve
National Security meaning if he had to dig up information on a person that was above his
ranking than he would because he cared about the protection of American Citizens not the
protection of the reputations of others. By holding this evidence, Hoover has the power to
blackmail these political adversaries but he didnt because he would have had to stoop down to
their levels, so by holding onto the information Hoover was able to prevent the political higher
ups from
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committing crimes out of fear of being exposed by Hoover's evidence. ...Hoover was busy
fighting off still another threat to his authority, this one much closer to home. From his agents in
New York, the FBI director learned that Police Commissioner Lewis Valentine- a Hoover enemy
since the Brunette incident- had set up a sabotage squad; fifty detectives had already been
assigned, with another hundred to be added later (Gentry, 210). Hoover was always ready to
fight crime, meaning he always had his men looking out for suspicious or unusual activity. When
Hoover found out about Police Commissioner Valentines plans he was quick in writing a letter
to the Attorney General to have Valentine call of his sabotage squad and back down. Hoover
could be seen as someone who goes behind others backs to make himself look good to higher
officials because he was that person. John Edgar Hoover was that person, he didn't have many
friends, he never got married, and he hardly dated, Hoover focused on his work and that's all.
Hoover did whatever was necessary to keep his work the priority in his life and to keep his high
ranking position.

John Edgar Hoover was the most influential American because he used his high ranking
position in the FBI to conduct investigation to help better our country with new policing methods
while keeping the National Security of the time in mind. J. Edgar Hoover literally changed the
course of U.S. History with files known in the Justice Department as twelve drawers full of
political cancer (Gentry, Introduction). Hoover was effective at his job, meaning he was able to
find information on anyone. Political cancer is used to show that Hoover had information on
political parties and political figures that can ruin them and eventually kill their careers like
cancer would. By comparing Hoovers blackmailing techniques to that of Cancer, it is portraying
an image of a disease spreading and eventually killing off cells.In the words from Hoover
himself, Theres something addicting about a secret. Hoover loved secrets and loved to
uncover secrets and find the truth hiding behind these secrets. John Edgar Hoover was and will
always be remembered as the most influential American because of his need and drive to find the
truth. Hoover was a dedicated and focused man who changed the ways that crimes are solved
and the ways that investigations are conducted. Some may say that although Hoover paved the
way for future crime solving in America others have done more. While this may be true, others
may have started the first library or first museum, but John Edgar Hoovers success revolved
around the safety of the country and the well being of the American people. Therefore, John
Edgar Hoover was the most influential American.