J Edgar Hoover, 1932
History Today
In 1919 young Hoover worked in the Justice Dept's Radical Division, gathering data on radical political organisations. His surveillance system came by creating a database of all American radicals. After the 1920 Wall St bomb, anarchists and communists were located via Hoover’s system and questioned, since Hoover believed that the bombing was directed by Russian forces.
The Washington Post (Sept 1920) described the Wall St bombing as exemplifying the extent to which the alien scum from the sewers of the Old World had polluted the clear spring of American democracy. The Dept of Justice launched raids, rounding up thousands of leftists and deporting many out of the US. The D.O.J charged young Hoover with investigating the attack, along with the N.Y Police Department. The nasty repression of immigrants led to the civil liberties movement; American Civil Liberties Union was formed in 1920 to address this government crackdown on free speech & political activism
In 1924 at 29, Hoover was appointed as FBI Director. As America’s top cop, he turned the FBI into a blend of a Sunday School, private-members club and white supremacist clique. He demoted all non-white special agents, as well as most Jews, and made Christianity part of FBI training and social events. In contrast to the anti-Catholic sentiment in US society, Hoover respected Catholicism for its theological rigour. He welcomed Catholicism to the FBI, instigating an annual FBI mass.
Hoover believed the U.S was God’s chosen nation. Director from 1924-72, Hoover thought the Bureau’s mission was to defeat the godless forces of liberalism, women’s rights, civil rights, radical clergy, students, anti-war protestors and particularly gay men. To overcome these foes, America had to yield to his preferred Christianity i.e unerringly conservative, patriotic and white.
Dr Lerone Martin is Director of the Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute and Prof of Religious Studies at Stanford University. Martin’s book Gospel of J Edgar Hoover (2023) showed how the FBI director, infamous for persecuting Martin Luther King, worked systematically to champion his own religion. Using newly declassified FBI documents, Martin described how Hoover bent the culture of the FBI, and collaborated with famous evangelicals and Catholics to try to establish his Christian America. Together they fuelled the political rise of white Christian nationalism, with vast consequences for electoral politics, views of national security and role of race and religion in US identity.
Hoover had an fanatic hatred of Albert Einstein because he was Jewish, foreign and left wing. Einstein got to the USA in 1933 and involved himself with racial justice, was against lynching and for quality black educational institutions. Einstein befriended Paul Robeson, Hoover’s MOST despised human being. Hoover wanted to have Einstein deported!
Einstein and actor Paul Robeson (right)
Washington Post
After WW2, Hoover launched a public relations campaign outside the Bureau eg his popular essays in the conservative magazine Christianity Today dealt with theological and patriotic concerns. Pre-eminent Catholic evangelists Fulton Sheen and Billy Graham praised FBI!
Martin reported that during 1956-71 Hoover sanctioned 2,000+ illegal direct actions targeting domestic civic organisations he'd hated. Some of his religious operations were both unconstitutional and bizarre eg when he investigated one word in a new Bible translation. This communist plot undermined U.S Christianity, Hoover said!
Regarding Hoover’s flagrant abuse of the Separation of Church and State, the details Martin published were based on the exhaustive use of archives. But the FBI were still unsympathetic to Martin’s project in 2020, so he had to sue the Bureau for not responding to a Freedom of Information request. Even then, Martin wrote, the Bureau did not admit to breaking any law.
Some of Hoover’s later issues
The Nobel Prize Committee cited philosopher Albert Camus’ persistent efforts to illuminate the problem of human conscience! It was largely as a champion of philosophical moral truth that Camus was honoured in 1957 and is still admired today. Hoover was furious that he couldn’t stop Camus receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Re John Lennon, Hoover wrote to HR Haldemann, Pres Nixon’s White House Chief of Staff indicating the high priority the Lennon case had for Nixon; Lennon had been interested in extreme British left-wing activities and was a sympathiser of communists there. It’s telling that Hoover died in May 1972 and a memo was sent from the FBI’s Acting Director Patrick Gray saying the FBI was ending its surveillance of Lennon. In any case Nixon was easily re-elected in Nov, and the Immigration Service and FBI succeeded in pressuring Lennon to withdraw from anti-war activity. How strange then that Lennon still received Immigration and Naturalisation Service deportation notices. So immigration lawyer Leon Wildes sued Att Gen John Mitchell and others for their conspiratorial attempts to throw Lennon out of the country. Their investigation turned up documents from Hoover to HR Haldeman, informing him of the FBI’s progress.
When politicians advocated for stricter gun laws
J Edgar Hoover tests a gun, opposing gun controls
The Nation
Conclusion
Hoover’s influence on the FBI remained. The Bureau had been too slow to combat the security threat posed by white Christian nationalists, a group concerned with violent, terrorist attacks, including the 6th Jan 2021 killings. White Christian nationalism and the FBI’s inertia were part of Hoover’s legacy, from a man who believed he and his religion were above the law. Hoover was working for God, not for the Constitution or Americans.
"Top Cop, Bad Cop" by Daniel Rey, History Today July 2023; "Ringleader" by Adam Hochschild The Nation , March 2023; and "Hoover's War on Gays" by Douglas M. Charles, UP Kansas 2015 are well worth reading.
Hoover’s influence on the FBI remained. The Bureau had been too slow to combat the security threat posed by white Christian nationalists, a group concerned with violent, terrorist attacks, including the 6th Jan 2021 killings. White Christian nationalism and the FBI’s inertia were part of Hoover’s legacy, from a man who believed he and his religion were above the law. Hoover was working for God, not for the Constitution or Americans.
26 comments:
This is such a frightening bit of history to read. Yet, this Christianity obsession resembles a lot of coworkers I have met in the past.
What an extraordinarily bigoted and misguided man. His behaviour ran contrary to his Quaker upbringing, which he did not in any case follow in adulthood. Fanaticism does not make for balanced leadership. It is frightening to consider how such people rise to positions of considerable influence and it is apparent in society today.
The largest file in Hoover's collection was about Eleanor Roosevelt, filled with hatred and accusations of her communism, treason and criminality. What a dangerous man he was.
Interesting read Hels. No one is above the law, well that's how it is supposed to be.
Ever so interesting. Those pesky lefties aren't the real problem in the US. It's the right wing religious nutters like Hoover.
roentare
Yes! I have never heard anyone express these dangerous views in a democracy, not even from ordinary citizens, let alone from people with real power eg the FBI Director. But in a nation that had a separation of Church and State, his decisions were even more offensive than people realised.
jabblog
Thanks for commenting. I don't know about a Quaker background, but I do know his Christian background was deep and sincere. My issues are twofold:
1. Hoover was working for God, presumably receiving personal instructions from above. But I cannot imagine a Christian God ordering Hoover to oppress, gaol or exile blacks, socialists, women, Jews, gays and anti-gun activists.
2. Protecting the White Christian Nationalists was an evil political choice, not a religious choice.
Deb
I knew nothing about Eleanor Roosevelt, but Gale said the following: As an outspoken woman and humanitarian, Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was a prime target for an investigation by J. Edgar Hoover. Her work with youth movements and the civil rights of minorities made many Americans of the time uneasy, and Hoover, of course, felt obligated to investigate her alleged radical, subversive, and un-American activities.
Of all people for Hoover to attack :( She was the U.S First Lady from 1933-45, during her husband Pres Franklin D Roosevelt's four terms in office. Then she was the U.S's top diplomat, human rights worker and political activist.
Andrew
Nutters from both ends of the political continuum are a bit insane, but when the decisions are truly dangerous, the outcomes can be tragic. His preferred Christianity might well have been "unerringly conservative, patriotic and white", which is ok inside his house, church and school, but not for the nation. To overcome Hoover's foes, America had to tolerate the FBI permanently defeating the godless forces of liberalism, women’s rights, civil rights, radical clergy, students, anti-war protestors and gay men.
The New York Times showed that Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison c12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty. Hoover sent his plan to the White House in July 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. He was going to put suspect Americans in military prisons.
Margaret
Noone is above the law? You wish! Just take one Hoover example. If the writ of habeas corpus demanded that a person incarcerated be brought before the court to determine whether there was lawful authority to detain the person, it got in his way. So he planned to scrap it!
Other important people in positions of power (kings, government ministers, archbishops, head of police etc) have often been able to do what they wanted, even when their behaviour was illegal, immoral or disgusting. Often without consequences.
Hello Hels, Thank you for this summary of Hoover's vile career. Since it's hard for me to focus my mind on him without getting too upset (and thinking about similar hatred-based politics that will arise in 2024), let me just hope that, since he was so "religious" he is getting his due reward and will be roasting in hell for a long time.
--Jim
Fulton Sheen autographed my football when I was six, before discovering reason. Hardly anyone mentions Herbert Hoover drug czar Harry Anslinger. Thanks to him the government learned to refer to everything except cigarettes and gin as "narcotics," and press the narcotic limitation convention on Germany in summer 1931. Eighteen months later Big Pharma installed Hitler in the Chancellery.
Parnassus
I wondered if there was any chance that the journal articles and newspapers had overstated Hoover's malevolence. But the more information that comes out about his secret files and official decisions, the more I think the story has been underestimated.
Ditto in the 2020s, yes :(
Hank
I hope you didn't mix up President Herbert Hoover (1929-33) with FBI Director J Edgar Hoover (1924-72). They had the same surname, similar dates in power and met often enough, but they were not related at all.
Religious Hoover believed "the U.S is God's chosen nation". Orthodox Jews claim the Jews are God's chosen nation. That belief about a chosen nation is a dangerous one, leading to dangerous situations.
Law and religion don't always go well together. We see that in Hoover's case, and we have examples of that also in jewish reality.
Hi Hels - I was put off him ... when I read David Gann's 2018 book 'Killers of the Flower Moon' - which made a huge impression on me ... I don't want to see the film, but I have the book here, which I bought on my return to the UK, to read again - very eye opening. Interesting details - thank you - Hilary
Hilary
The sub title of the book is Oil, Murder, Money and the Birth of the FBI. No Wonder it made a great impression on you.
DUTA
Yes! There must be a separation of church and state in a democracy, otherwise it will lead to very dangerous situations. God told Afghans to execute women who didn't wear the hijab properly whereas God instructed Protestant Kings to burn witches in bonfires.
Every nation believes it is the Chosen Nation.
Hoover a name every man and his dog has heard of, but a man most know bugger all about including me, thus I found this post an interesting read with so what the hell thoughts.
Well He would definitely have been a signed up member of the Nazi party and probably active in carrying out their horrors .I have heard that he was "in the closet" which might explain some of the persecution he meted out to others , It seems that a failure to be our true selves twists us spiritually and emotionally making us into horrible people, at least in his case. .
Helen I don't know if you are familiar with the journalist and historian Rachel Maddow . She has a podcast Ultra which I think you would find riveting . Its about the extremism in the US earlier in the 20 the century and how it is a forerunner of what is happening at present .
Also fancy letting a 27 year old run the FBI . NUTTS
Also It was more often Catholic kings who burnt witches and heretics . The inquisition was definitely Catholic .
Jo-Anne
Me too. I did a lot of history at school and uni, but entirely British Empire and European history. I wouldn't have known Hoover if we tripped over each other on StKilda beach.
But it became increasingly important to catch up on nasty right wing politics, particularly once WW1 ended.
mem
Hoover never allowed a woman to touch him because that would have given her some power to ignore his commands. And he REALLY disliked disobedient women. Most historians assumed he was gay, although his treatment of gays via the FBI was relentless.
I can find the Maddow podcast in time for our driving around next week. Thanks for the perfect timing.
mem
I cannot remember any witch burning by Catholic kings because they were far too busy pursuing and burning heretics. As in the vicious Spanish Inquisition.
J. Edgar Hoover was a scary man, and the sad part is that there's still too many people like him in powerful positions. At least here in the US. I hope you're having a great week.
Erika
I agree with you, but I do not understand how aggressive and powerful men get as far as they do, without the surrounding people supervising and controlling. I know that Hoover introduced many training programmes to improve law enforcement, improved FBI recruiting and expanded forensic analysis in federal and state law enforcement investigations. For that, I suppose, FBI and political authorities would have been happy, but what about his racism, misogyny and viciousness to migrants. Did nobody say anything?
How did he remain as Director for decades until his death in May 1972, leading the FBI for 48 years?? Not even Putin or Mussolini managed that.
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