| | Only one Public Enemy was at large, Creepy Karpis. Hoover has been mocked because as a bureaucrat who never actually arrested anyone in April 1936 flew to New Orleans, where he could joined the team that nabbed Creepy; "Put the cuffs on him, boys," Hoover said. | | Only one Public Enemy was at large, Creepy Karpis. Hoover has been mocked because as a bureaucrat who never actually arrested anyone in April 1936 flew to New Orleans, where he could joined the team that nabbed Creepy; "Put the cuffs on him, boys," Hoover said. |
| − | The gangsters got their ballads and films, but the real winner of the war on crime was Hoover and his agency. At first the small bureau was little known. When it ended, Hoover and his newly re-named "Federal Bureau of Investigation" were famous, hailed in newspapers, radio shows, comic strips and James Cagney's hit movie G-Men. Besides an organizational genius, proved a master of the Washington arts, as he convinced the public, and Congress, that the FBI deserved more money, personnel and power. Increasingly he forged direct ties with the president in office, bypassing his nominal superior the Attorney General. By setting up services for local police, especially training programs in scientific methods and a national fingerprint database, the FBI built a solid connection with police departments across the nation. | + | The gangsters got their ballads and films, but the real winner of the war on crime was Hoover and his agency. At first the small bureau was little known. When it ended, Hoover and his re-named "Federal Bureau of Investigation" (1935) became iconic symbols of fighting crime, hailed in newspapers, radio shows, comic strips and James Cagney's hit movie G-Men. The media now lioned the good guys. Besides an organizational genius, proved a master of the Washington arts, as he convinced the public, and Congress, that the FBI deserved more money, personnel and power. Increasingly he forged direct ties with the president in office, bypassing his nominal superior the Attorney General. By setting up services for local police, especially training programs in scientific methods and a national fingerprint database, the FBI built a solid connection with police departments across the nation. |
| | Hoover worked closely with all presidents from [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and after, keeping track of political enemies of the presidents as well as threats to national security. He was especially worried about the ties of [[Martin Luther King]] to Communist leaders. | | Hoover worked closely with all presidents from [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and after, keeping track of political enemies of the presidents as well as threats to national security. He was especially worried about the ties of [[Martin Luther King]] to Communist leaders. |