preview

The Investigation Of The Fbi

Good Essays

The FBI began in 1908, as a small offshoot of the Justice Department. Due to increased complexities that The Justice Department could no longer handle, President Roosevelt, through much controversy, commissioned the bureau to aid in the work of The Justice Department. The creation of the bureau did not come about easily, but with the support of Attorney General Charles Bonaparte, Roosevelt bypassed Congress to establish the force, which later became known officially as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In its early days, the FBI’s responsibilities differed greatly from the role it plays today. Because there were “few federal crimes,” agents “investigated violations of law involving national banking, bankruptcy, naturalization, …show more content…

Hoover, “[given] the title of Special Assistant to the Attorney General,” devised plans to “arrest thousands of foreign-born Communists and turn them over to immigration officials to face non-criminal deportation proceedings.” These plans were heavily debated in terms of “their total disregard for basic human rights,” and further contributed to corruption of President Harding’s administration; this also resulted in a negative perception of the FBI. Ironically, to fix the FBI’s image, “Attorney General Stone named 29-year old J. Edgar Hoover Acting Director of the Bureau of Investigation.” Hoover’s actions in the years to come mirrored those of his beginning days in office. Everything he did help shape the FBI as a powerful component of the government, but his actions were often self-centered, and did not completely benefit the country as a whole. Despite this, the FBI would not have become such an important agency if it hadn’t be for Hoover’s work. Through Hoover’s strong leadership, though corrupt and sometimes inhumane, he shaped the FBI into a powerful federal agency, achieving these changes through his use of investigative techniques, strict standards, and strategic political relationships; whether positive or negative, most perceptions many have about the FBI can be attributed to Hoover.
Hoover took his leadership position seriously, relentlessly working to improve the

Get Access