J. Edgar Hoover's FBI - The Department of Easy Virtues | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2019

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

By the turn of the century, radical anarchists were becoming a growing -- and volatile -- political movement. As shifting workplace conditions exploited and endangered American workers, anarchists increasingly turned to violence to spur everyday citizens to upend the capitalist system. The growth of these politically motivated shootings and bombings stoked fear among American citizens — fear of immigrants, outsiders, and anyone else whose ideas might be considered a threat. Soon President Woodrow Wilson was calling on his attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer to investigate, arrest and imprison any noncitizen suspected of spouting “disloyal” or “radical” ideologies.

The so-called Palmer Raids would move the little-known, poorly funded and notoriously corrupt Bureau of Investigation into the national spotlight. And it would eventually launch the career of an ambitious young civil servant named Edgar Hoover.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:07.0	Imagine it's September 6, 1901.
0:14.8	It's a hot afternoon, and you're standing in a line that snakes around a glass-doned
0:19.9	marble building, the brand-new Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York.
0:24.6	It was built specifically for today's event, the 1901 Pan American World Exposition.
0:30.8	You're happy to count yourself among the lucky fair goers waiting the shake the hand of
0:34.5	the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley.
0:38.8	Everywhere you look, people are dressed for a Friday afternoon outing.
0:42.4	Women in fancy hats and men in their best suits.
0:45.1	Finally, it's your turn to step inside a set of gold-trimmed glass doors.
0:49.4	The President's personal security detail stands inside the door looking each visitor over
0:53.5	carefully.
0:54.7	The 58-year-old McKinley exudes vigor reaching out and grasping each hand, saying hello,
0:59.9	and guiding each well-wisher along and out of the way for the next.
1:03.9	The man in front of you looks eager to meet the President.
1:06.9	You lean toward him to speak, and notice that his right hand is heavily bandaged.
1:10.9	Say, did you read the President's speech in the newspaper yesterday?
1:14.6	No.
1:15.7	The man turns away.
1:17.2	Clearly, he's not interested in talking, but a man behind you picks up the conversation.
1:21.7	I did.
	...

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