110 years since the creation of the FBI: how the story of the legendary Bureau began

26 July marks 110 since the creation of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Фото: Depositphotos

26 July 1908 in the United States was created by the Bureau of Investigation, to investigate particularly serious federal crimes, including corruption. But the first 16 years of its existence, the Bureau of Investigation was used by politicians to settle accounts and intrigues, because prosecutors controlled the Ministry of Justice, detectives and prosecutors appointed people who were highly negotiable and did not spoil relations with the country's leadership. The apogee of corruption was the administration of 29 US President William Harding.

From top to bottom, President Harding’s administration was led by people who worshiped money and business, despised the government and the law, and misled the American people. Interior Minister Albert Fall took about 300 thousand dollars in bribes from oil companies. The Ministry of Justice became aware of the scandal, but it canceled the investigation. There were also other cases: the head of the newly created Veterans Bureau, Charles Forbes - Harding's buddy in playing poker - put millions of kickbacks from contractors in his pocket. Justice Department official Thomas Miller deposited money received in the form of bribes from corporations to the bank in an attempt to free confiscated assets, and years later evidence showed that Justice Minister Doherty received at least 40 thousand dollars in bribes ...

But in 1923, Harding died suddenly and was succeeded by US Vice President Calvin Coolidge.

Calvin Coolidge
Photo: Flickr / archives.gov

Coolidge was a man of few words who disliked publicity and long speeches, did not like to make promises, and was known for his extreme reticence. Coolidge believed that the problem of perception of corruption depended on the citizens themselves, and once said: “People who elect a man into power with the purpose that he will achieve for his constituency all that he can, will probably find that they have elected a man who achieves everything he can for himself personally.”

Coolidge did not say that he would destroy corruption; no one in America believed these words anyway. Therefore, Coolidge appointed a new attorney general - his friend, the famous lawyer Harlan Fiske Stone. Stone appointed special prosecutors for the anti-corruption investigations, Attlee Pomeran and Owen Roberts.

Calvin Coolidge, for the first time in US history, carried out a genuine anti-corruption reform, and began for the first time a systematic fight against corruption and organized crime.
To quickly ensure the work of prosecutors, Stone reformed the Bureau of Investigation - and on May 10, 1924, a tough and decisive man, 29-year-old Edgar Hoover, was appointed acting head of the Bureau of Investigation.

Hoover became known in 1920 year as the head of the special division of the US Justice Department to combat radical communist groups. About 10 thousands of radical activists and politicians, supporters of the opposition communist and pro-Soviet movements were deported from the United States for one year. By Coolidge’s decision, Stone gave Hoover enormous powers, but the Prosecutor General demanded strict observance of laws and procedures, and banned all political contacts and games.

Edgar Hoover
Photo: Flickr / archives.gov

Stone said: “A secret police organization can become a threat to free government and free public institutions, because it brings with it the possibility of abuse of power, which is not always quickly realized or understood. The huge expansion of federal legislation, both civil and criminal, has made the Bureau of Investigations an indispensable tool for enforcing the law. But it is important that its activities be strictly limited to the execution of the functions for which it was created, and that its agents themselves are not above the law or beyond its reach. ”

The first anti-corruption investigation in US history was launched against the Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall. No one believed in the success of the investigation - after all, the American judicial system does not work quickly, Fall had strong lawyers, the public was extremely skeptical and did not believe that the ex-minister would be brought to justice. The special prosecutors continued their work, enjoying the confidence of the country's leadership.

Minister of Justice Stone Coolidge was appointed judge of the US Supreme Court to be confident in the final result of court decisions.

And then Coolidge’s powers ended; he did not run for a second term. But 5 years after the investigation began, in 1929, for the first time in American history, government minister Albert Fall was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 1 year in prison and a fine of 100 thousand dollars. The bribe-giver, oil industrialist Harry Sinclair, refused to testify against Fall and cooperate with the investigation - and received six months in prison for contempt of court and also paid 100 thousand dollars.

In 1935, J. Edgar Hoover managed to raise the status of the Bureau - and it received its current name - the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Without the reform of Coolidge and his political will, the anti-corruption system in the United States could not have been held for a long time, a blow to corruption was not caused by someone’s feat, it was the result of the work of the state and the entire political system.

Now the anti-corruption structures of the United States are no longer in doubt; they have proven their worth over many years. As a result of an anti-corruption investigation by special prosecutors of the Justice Department and the FBI in 1973, US Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. US President Richard Nixon was also forced to resign in 1974; he tried to fire the special prosecutors who were investigating him, tried to stop the FBI investigation into the Watergate scandal, but nothing worked. The President was unable to stop the FBI and special prosecutors from investigating him.

And here is what Calvin Coolidge said 110 years ago, when he was reproached for many problems in his actions: “Nothing in the world can replace perseverance. Talent will not replace it: there is nothing more common than a talented loser. Genius will not replace him either: unrecognized genius has almost become a proverb. Education is no substitute for perseverance: the world is full of educated outcasts. Only perseverance and determination are omnipotent. The slogan “don’t give up” has solved, solves and will always solve any human problems.”

The original column is published on page Yuri Butusov in the social network Facebook.

ForumDaily is not responsible for the content of blogs and may not share the views of the author. If you want to become the author of the column, send your materials to [email protected]

Read also on ForumDaily:

Big Brother: How are potential criminals secretly monitored in the US?

Who and how much earns on the American prisons

Everything you didn't know about American police

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.