Major Changes To The Bureau In The 1920s

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The 1920s were some of the most important years for the Bureau of Investigation due to J. Edgar Hoover. The changes made to the Bureau in 1920 shaped how the FBI is run today. Rules and Regulations made in the 1920s are still used today because they were well thought out and benefited the shaping for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Bureau of Investigation was established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt’s Attorney General Charles Bonaparte (Denenberg 9). Congress turned down the idea to create the Bureau because they saw his plan as an unwanted expansion of the power of the president (Denenberg 10). Congress argued that the balance of power among the three branches were one of the principles upon which the country was formed. …show more content…

His plan was to clean up the Bureau and make it presentable again. That year he named 29 year old J. Edgar Hoover Director of the Bureau of Investigation (Denenberg 19). Stone stressed to Hoover that he must make sure the Bureau stopped wasting its time investigating political activities and instead use the time to investigate actual violations of the federal law (Denenberg 28). Hoover had a vision for the Bureau and didn’t plan on stopping till he reached his goal. Hoover felt that the following areas were most important; upgrading personnel, instituting proper training procedures, shaping the Bureau into a closely managed department, organizing and systematizing the storage and retrieval of information, creating a relationship with local law enforcement agencies, and launching programs to educate the public (Denenberg 30). He started by putting an end to giving out jobs in return for a political favor, and firing agents who had criminal records. Many agents quit because they were unwilling to work under the new and strict guidelines (Denenberg 31). To become an agent the applicant had to be a male, United States citizen, between the age of 25 and 40, with 20/20 vision, good hearing, and good health. Applicants possessing law or accounting degrees were given preference. Hoover preferred the applicants to have experience because they would be more mature. Applicants were interviewed by