J. Edgar Hoover essays

J. Edgar Hoover essays John Edgar Hoover was born on January 1, 1895. His father's name was Dickerson Hoover. His mother was Anne Marie Scheitlin Hoover. He was the youngest of 3 children, his brother, Dickerson Jr. who was 15 years older and his sister, Lillian, who was 13 years older. After he quit school after his father's mental breakdown, John became a messenger boy for the Library of Congress. During that time he spent his evenings studying for a law degree at George Washington University. He graduated in 1917. After graduation his uncle helped him get a job with the Justice Department. In 1919, the attorney general of the United States, made Hoover his special assistant. His job as the special assistant was to lead an organization formed to gather evidence on communists in the United States. In 1921, Hoover became assistant director of the Bureau of Investigation. In 1924, Hoover became the director of the Bureau of Investigation. In 1935 Hoover pushed for and was eventually approved by Congress, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Before then Bureau agents had few powers. They were not armed and were not allowed to arrest individuals. After the Congress act, agents were armed and had the power to arrest individuals all around the country. Hoover then started a scientific crime detention laboratory. He also started the FBI Academy. He then appointed Clyde Tolsen assistant director. After World War 2, Hoover believed that many ranking Government officials were members of the communist party. President Truman didnt believe his accusations, so he bagan to leak information about the suspected communists in the government. As a member of the HUAC, House Un-American Committee, he started the investigation of suspected communists in the entertainment industry and was able to name 151 entertainers that had communist belie ...