FBI History

FBI Nomenclature July 26, 1908 - Created with no specific name; referred to as Special Agent Force March 16, 1909 - Bureau of Investigation July 1, 1932 - U.S. Bureau of Investigation August 10, 1933 - Division of Investigation (The Division also included the Bureau of Prohibition) July 1, 1935 - Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Department of Justice has always had the power to investigate federal crimes, but it didn't always have the means to do so. In the 19th century, government agencies often hired private detective firms such as the Pinkertons to solve crimes [ref]. In 1908, Illegal land sales in the western United States angered President Theodore Roosevelt, who then gave Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte the authority to create a small bureau of detectives to investigate these crimes. By 1909, they were given an official name: The Bureau of Investigation.

Initially, very few crimes were under the Bureau's jurisdiction. Land fraud, national bank scams, anti-trust crimes and criminals who crossed state lines were under the Bureau's purview. Over the next decade, new laws expanded the scope of the federal government to investigate national crimes, and the number of agents increased as well. During World War I, agents focused on stopping espionage and sabotage, and cracking down on men who avoided the draft. By the 1920s, there were more than 300 agents and 300 support personnel operating a growing number of field offices [ref].

Until the early 1920s, unprofessional agents who were poorly trained and unqualified for their jobs plagued the Bureau of Investigation. Politics was a strong influence, and agents could be easily bribed to overlook crimes. Agents sometimes gathered incriminating information to discredit political opponents [ref, ref]. All that began to change in 1924, when Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone elevated 29-year-old Assistant Director J. Edgar Hoover to the office of Director. Hoover immediately began reviewing procedures and agent records. He personally reviewed every agent's file, and was amazed at how many agents were on staff solely because of political connections or favors. He fired more than 100 of them within a few months [ref]. Then, Hoover raised the standards for hiring new agents, requiring college educations and law enforcement experience. He created rules and regulations for agent conduct and investigative procedure, ensuring that Bureau activity would be uniform across the nation. As Hoover put it, "We all should be concerned with only one goal -- the eradication of crime."

Hoover was also responsible for many reforms in the field of criminal investigation. He created the FBI Crime Lab in 1932, and opened a training academy in 1935, the same year the Bureau became the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This academy trained FBI agents as well as numerous local and state police officers. Another Hoover innovation was the Ten Most Wanted list. Created in 1950, this list provides photos and information on the ten fugitives (in no particular order) the FBI most wants to catch, and is posted in public places such as post offices. As of 2002, 458 people had been shown on the list, and 429 had been captured [ref]. Today, the Ten Most Wanted list is available online.

Through World War II and into the Cold War, the FBI continued to take on new duties under Hoover's guidance. The Bureau investigated German and Japanese spies during the war and rooted out Communists in the post-war years. The FBI's priorities changed once again in the wake of the 9/11 attacks; now, counterterrorism is a top priority. The Bureau tracks known terrorists and cooperates with other agencies, such as the CIA, and intelligence and law enforcement agencies from other countries to gather information. Unlike many other government agencies, the FBI was not folded into the Department of Homeland Security -- it continues to operate within the Department of Justice.

J. Edgar Hoover

Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division J. Edgar Hoover in 1961

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover amassed a lot of political power during his tenure -- much of it acquired by using the FBI to intimidate and gather incriminating information about his opponents. In his exposé of FBI corruption, "The Bureau," author Diarmuid Jeffreys wrote, "It was rumored that the director [Hoover] had detailed information about the sexual, political, and financial indiscretions of some of the country's most powerful and famous people and that he had used this information to blackmail his way to power and influence." Hoover remained in his position as FBI Director until his death, although several presidents considered firing him.

After Hoover's death in 1972, some of his personal files were transferred to former agent Mark Felt, the man who was later revealed as "Deep Throat" in the Watergate scandal. The files contained gossip on entertainers, intimidating letters sent to Martin Luther King, Jr., allegations that certain political candidates were homosexual, and documentation of illegal FBI wiretapping [ref]. Hoover's controversial (and mostly illegal) COINTELPRO operation targeted so-called radical groups that protested the Vietnam War or worked for civil rights, alongside other groups that promoted violent overthrow of the government.

At times, Hoover's drive to root out subversives within the United States bordered on paranoia. In a 1966 magazine interview, he proclaimed that American was threatened by "a new style in conspiracy -- conspiracy that is extremely subtle and devious and hence difficult to understand. A conspiracy reflected by questionable moods and attitudes, by unrestrained individualism, by nonconformism in dress and speech, even by obscene language, rather than by formal membership in specific organizations" [ref].

Both in life and in death, persistent rumors pegged Hoover as a deeply closeted homosexual and cross-dresser, and that proof was in the hands of the Mafia. However, solid evidence of these allegations has never been found.

Next, we'll learn about some of the investigative methods and tools used by the FBI.