The FBI director who led initiatives to find communists. Under his direction, the FBI created new information-gathering tools and systems to surveil suspected traitors. Under his leadership, the list of suspected traitors was very expansive, because he saw many types of activism as subversion.
This FBI director was J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover served as the director of the FBI from 1924 until his death in 1972. He believed in the importance of aggressively pursuing individuals and organizations he deemed as threats to national security, particularly communists and other subversive elements.
Hoover's tenure at the FBI was marked by a fervent anti-communist crusade, leading to the creation of the infamous COINTELPRO program, which targeted activists, political dissidents, and civil rights leaders. Hoover's expansive definition of subversion led to the surveillance and harassment of countless individuals and groups, often based on flimsy or fabricated evidence.
Despite the criticism and controversy surrounding his actions, Hoover remained a powerful figure within the FBI and was able to maintain his grip on the agency for nearly five decades. His legacy is a mixed one, with some praising his efforts to combat crime and maintain national security, while others decry his widescale abuse of power and violation of civil liberties.