Hoover’s Bureau: How He Shaped the Image of the FBI, 1924-1938
Abstract:
Today, the name J. Edgar Hoover is commonplace, but in the early years of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover was a young lawyer recruited to the Bureau from the Office of the Postmaster General. From 1924 when he stepped into the position of Director of the controversial and underperforming Bureau of Investigation until the late 1930s, J. Edgar Hoover revolutionized the BOI, carrying out a complete overhaul of internal and external operations, and developing a public relations juggernaut that completely changed the role(s) and image of the Bureau. With the support of the polarizing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Attorney General Homer S. Cummings, Hoover relentlessly publicized the Bureau and its endeavors on an unprecedented scale for a government agency. Hoover and Cummings hired multiple former newsmen to form a team of publicists that ghost wrote journal articles and essays for Hoover and taught him the ways of the world of public relations. Hoover staged and exaggerated high profile arrests, gave reporters an inside look into the Bureau, and masterfully exploited the contemporary fears of Congress to bolster his and his Bureau’s image both internally and to the public. The Roosevelt administration’s “war on crime” from 1933-1934 further bolstered Hoover and the FBI’s image. 1934 marked the year the term “G-Men” came to prominence and Hoover and his “G-Men,” or government men, became the brave champions of American justice. Hoover took the inception of the term in stride, and shortly after G-Men toys and other novelties were flying off the shelves. Hoover opened up a part of the FBI headquarters for public tours, characteristically staging agents to be working tirelessly. Concurrently, Hollywood began to shift from film glorifying gangsterism to film glorifying the exploits of law enforcement, especially the FBI. The success of his public relations campaign was critical in time that the public’s trust of the government was dangerously low, as it proved to his Congressional doubters that the Bureau was a valuable asset on multiple fronts. Through these extensive efforts among others, Hoover was able to give the Bureau a complete makeover, both internal and external. He had successfully won the hearts and trust of the American public, while proving to Congress that his Bureau was dependable, effective, and a valuable asset.