As the former director of the FBI, Edgar Hoover is a household name in the United States. Even among the many star-studded Hollywood stars in American history, or the presidents of the past, Hoover's popularity is no less impressive.
(Old photo of Edgar Hoover)
Hoover is only the head of the U.S. federal government, so why is he famous and occupies a place in the centuries-old history of the United States?
That's because Hoover, who reigned for 48 years and ran the FBI for nearly half a century, personally created the FBI.'s glory.
Under Hoover, the FBI has grown from a general bureau of investigation with just a few hundred people to a vast intelligence agency with more than 20,000 employees and 10 different departments, with offices in all cities and U.S. embassies in more than 20 countries around the world.
Hoover also single-handedly created the world's first fingerprint database, changing modern investigative science; established the world's first specialized criminal investigation laboratory, providing theoretical support for criminology.
The most peculiar thing is that during Hoover's 48 years in office, the United States has changed 8 presidents and 16 attorneys-in-chief, but the FBI director has remained unchanged as always, as steady as Tarzan, firmly controlled by Hoover.
The United States has had to issue a decree that the FBI director's term of office from Hoover onwards should not exceed 10 years. A federal government agency that was forced to change by legislation because of one person is unique in the history of the United States.
Why Hoover can become a "tumbler" in American politics for 48 years. One of the reasons for this is that he is talented and accomplished, and has been highly relied upon by successive presidents.
Let's first look at how Hoover climbed to the position of director step by step.
(U.S. Public Enemy John Dillinger)
Hoover was born in Washington, D.C., on January 1, 1895, across the street from the White House. His mother's grandfather was Switzerland's first ambassador to the United States, and his father was a humble printer who later became mentally ill. This has always been a pain in hoover's heart in the pursuit of perfection, so hoover after the power has been reluctant to mention his father.
In 1917, after graduating honorably from the University of Washington, Hoover relied on his cousin's connections to successfully enter the U.S. Department of Justice, starting from the rough work of sorting mail in the communication room and later serving in the WarTime Operations Division of the Bureau of Investigation. After World War I, Hoover became assistant director of the Bureau of Investigation.
On December 22, 1924, Harlan Stone, then Minister of Justice, appointed Hoover as Director of The Bureau of Investigation. However, this bureau of investigation is only the predecessor of the FBI, and its authority is quite limited.
After taking office, Hoover took measures such as streamlining the organization and laying off personnel, which greatly increased the strength of the bureau, cracked the "Lindbergh kidnapping case", and killed the notorious bank robber John Dillinger.
For a time, Hoover became famous and became the "number one hero of the country" at that time.
On March 22, 1935, the Bureau of Investigation was renamed the FBI, also known as the FBI. At this time, Hoover rose to the top, ushered in the era of domination of the FBI, and became the nightmare of the presidents of the United States at that time, so that all the presidents wanted to oust him.
But no president dared to do so, because Hoover had a killer in his hands — a "secret archive" of political leaders.
It was these secret files that became Hoover's chips in the FBI directorship.
At the beginning of Hoover's tenure, he ordered FBI agents to collect scandals from high-level figures and then build a secret archive. But Hoover never revealed the details to people outside the scandal, but only let the parties know that they held each other's secrets in their hands, turning these secret files into tools of political blackmail.
During Roosevelt's time, Hoover collected evidence that First Lady Eleanor was dating someone, which led to the breakdown of his relationship with Roosevelt.
After Truman took office, he intended to replace Hoover, but when Hoover sent Truman a wiretap material, Truman's attitude changed at the age of 180, never mentioning the FBI's negligence and the removal of the director.
(Old Kennedy photo)
Before Kennedy became president, he was transferred to the war-torn Pacific Theater, which was also due to Hoover. Because Hoover discovered that Kennedy, who was a lieutenant in the Navy at the time, seemed to be close to a woman suspected of espionage, he suggested that he be sent to the front line of the war, but this in turn completed Kennedy and made him the president of the United States. And this handle remained in Hoover's hand until Kennedy was assassinated.
Until President Nixon took office, he was still helpless against Hoover. This is because when Nixon was still vice president, he was friendly with Miss Liu Meili, a tour guide in Hong Kong, and Nixon flew to Hong Kong almost every year before becoming president to date Liu Meili. And these materials are precisely in the hands of Hoover.
So even if the American people demanded Hoover's resignation, Nixon could only ignore it. He even asked his subordinates, "Will Hoover live to be 100 years old?" ”
Hoover controlled others by such means, but he was also controlled by others.
Hoover never married, because Hoover was said to be a homosexual object of his subordinate, Clyde Tolson, the successor to the FBI director.
The American Mafia seized on Hoover's homosexuality and controlled hoover, making Hoover a rat-rat thrower at them. The mafia leader once said triumphantly: "We are not afraid of Hoover, because he is held in the palm of our hands." ”
On May 2, 1972, the glorious Hoover finally came to the end of his life. Nixon at this point made an intriguing statement: "He died at the right time." Fortunately, he died during his reign. If he had been forced to step down or voluntarily resigned, he would have been killed. ”
(Reference: The Complete Biography of Edgar Hoover, the Creator of the FBI Myth)