Throughout his whole career J. Edgar Hoover misused FBI resources for catching criminals and for his own personal use of blackmail through illegal wiretaps and pictures. He did not care who he hurt as long as he was in control and got what he wanted out of the individual or group he was keeping tabs on. Hoover let presidents know that he had dirt on them as well. For example, “March 22, 1962, Hoover had lunch with President Kennedy. Hoover told him that through bugs and wiretaps, the FBI had learned that Jack was having an affair with Judith Campbell Exner, a twenty five-year-old divorcée. Hoover informed the president that Exner was also having an affair with Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana.” (Kessler secrets of the FBI) . Hoover felt so in control that he would go after the most powerful men in the country so he would never lose his position. He felt everyone had some secret that could be exposed or exploited and he would do anything to get it. The next example was in the Washington post it says “Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon all considered sacking him, Hoover. Even in the 1960s, he had a strong public image as an honest, competent law enforcement technocrat.” (Ackerman Washington post). He was such a powerful public figure and the public were amazed over the FBI that if a president fired him it would be more devastating for the presidents than it would for Hoover. Presidents such as Kennedy and Nixon knew that Hoover would have something on them and if he were let go than whatever he had on them would not only become public but the headline. “In 1936 Roosevelt instructed Hoover to keep him informed on fascist and Communist activities in the U.S. Hoover took the opportunity to increase his d... ... middle of paper ... ...ing organized crime and foreign threats posed during wartime and other foreign spy agencies. Hoover was a very controversial man but thousands of dangerous people to justice. Although he used his resources to blackmail famous and powerful people such as Martin Luther King Jr, Marilyn Monroe and presidents he did this so he could stay in power and protect American citizens. He laid the basis down for crime fighting agencies around the world with his new strategies’ forensics labs and recruitment policies for agencies today. He brought many crime organizations to their knees and stopped many foreign threats from hurting his beloved America. Hoover had many personal enemies and illegally gained information he positively affected the United States with his new crime fighting strategies which led to the take down of big crime organizations along with foreign threats.
Historians claim that Hoovers term during the depression was filled with false promises and accuse the president of doing nothing while the depression worsened. Along with worsening the debt and a fairly aggressive use of government it is clear his approach towards the situation was not the best. FDR’s approach would prove during his administration to suffice in the augmentation of the crisis. Although it seemed like a completely opposite presidency, many ideas came from his predecessor. Roosevelt’s team of advisors understood that much of what they produced and fashioned into the New Deal owed its origins to Hoover’s policies.
The unpopularity of Hoover was shown in many different ways such as in source b where Roosevelt's biographer Alan Hatch write " Hoover showed little patience with those out of work" this is referring to the attitude of Hoover which were the republican belief of "rugged individualism" Hoovers attempts to deal with the depression were not much better he set up places where the homeless could eat and he gave them soup which was named the Hoover soup he also set up
While he used these characteristics to persuade others to act illegal and conduct crimes, he still modeled the characteristics of an exemplar leader which include: modeling the way; inspiring a shared vision; challenging the process; enabling others to act; and encouraging the heart (Kouzes & Posner, 2006). He set the example of how he wanted his administration and those that worked directly with/under him to act. He employed and persuaded others to behave and act in a “by any means necessary” manner. This can be seen from the documentary which details and shows how those closest to him and the Plumbers acted and thought in a manner that was modeled by President Nixon. He further inspired a shared vision by uniting his followers to believe that they were working to keep confidential information safe, that other governmental agencies could not be trusted, and united his follower to believe in his purpose and vision for the country. According to Kouzes and Posner (2006), “leadership is the ability to move people, to change their minds and hearts and actions” (Kouzes & Posner, 2006, p. 67). This is evident within the documentary on which some of those involved in these covert affairs were described as Christian men with good values and hearts, whom never participated in the women, alcohol and corruption that surrounds
Because of the plague known as the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover is often seen as one of the worst presidents in American history. He enacted policies such as the Hawley-Smoot Tariff that flushed America deeper into the depression. Hoover didn't understand that to solve a crisis such as a depression, he needed to interact directly with the people by using programs such as social security and welfare. Instead, Hoover had the idea that if he were to let the depression run its course, it would eventually end. There are three things that can be used to define Hoover's presidency during the depression, his actions, his mentality toward fixing things, and the fact that he helped pave the way for the “New Deal”
He promises swift action to the problems the he and the nation face. The third issue was the impact of the Great Depression. Hoover’s focused on the recovery from World War I; however, the great depression clouded the nation during the rest his Presidency. Even though he, nor the rest of the nation could not foresee the depression, Hoover did indicate the failures of many institutions that could lead to the downfall of an economy recovering from war.
John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” After getting a behind the scenes look at J. Edgar Hoover’s life and accomplishments I consider him to be a very influential leader. I was always familiar with the name J. Edgar Hoover, but I never fully understood his impact on the United States. Edgar, as his mother would call him, wasn’t a perfect man by any standards. He was born with a variety of traits that contribute to his leadership. Some of these traits attributed to his downfall. Throughout the movie there were many instances that tested his leadership in both negative and in positive ways.
Out of all of the current presidents in our time the most interesting president to explore was President Richard Nixon and out of all of them he was the only one in term to resign. That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment to be executed to the fullest extent of their nature. His poor choices and decisions led to his resignation. Although he did have some good qualities in helping the U.S. the bad however override the good. In the CRS (Congressional Research Service) It states: “ Obstruction of justice is the impediment of governmental activities. There are a host of federal criminal laws that prohibit obstructions of justice. The six most general outlaw obstruction of judicial proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1503), witness tampering (18 U.S.C. 1512), witness retaliation (18 U.S.C. 1513), obstruction of Congressional or administrative proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1505), conspiracy to defraud The United States (18 U.S.C. 371), and contempt (a creature of statute, rule and common law). Simple perjury in a federal investigation or judicial proceedings carries an extensive fine and up to 5 years in prison.” This was the first article president Richard M. Nixon was charged with by the House of Judiciary Committee. The vote was 27 to 1 for Nixon to be charged with the first article of impeachment, which was Obstruction of Justice. In denial of his liability in part taking in the Watergate scandal by saying he wasn't involved in the scandal He pointed finger at others that were involved in the break-in. However, tapes were found of conversations that proved his involvement and he was going to be impeached. Before he was charged, he made a resignat...
police men let him prepare for liquor raids and some of his other men made
The Great Depression was triggered after the stock market crashed in 1929. It was a period of downfall in the economy. This had a great effect on workers, unemployed, and minorities. The amount of unemployed workers increased dramatically. Along with many unemployed workers, it came with 2 long term causes: Many countries were in great debt because of the outcome of World War 1 and banks failed. Hoover got elected because believed in rugged individualism (people are responsible for their successes and failures) and voluntary cooperation (businesses and workers should work together to solve depression). His way of handling the depression was through a wait and see approach. FRD beat Hoover for presidency in 1932. He created programs and
Unlike Roosevelt, Hoover believed if the government were to control businesses and directly interfere with the citizen’s money, it would be steps towards socialism (“Herbert Hoover on the Great Depression,” n.p.). By voting for Hoover, it would keep the government from intervening with businesses. To persuade others to vote for Hoover instead of Roosevelt, citizens could talk about how Roosevelt’s New Deal would prolong the recession while laissez-faire would end the Great Depression much sooner (“Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt,” n.p.). The last reason people could say to why Hoover would become a great President was that Hoover is trying to fix the solution in the long term instead of short term (“Herbert Hoover on the Great Depression,” n.p.). This would help because citizens would know that future generations might not need to experience the Great
In the early nineteen sixties, John Fitzgerald Kennedy held the position as president of the United States. President Kennedy was very popular among the people, but because of his extreme principles and policies, Kennedy had some critics however. President Kennedy became a strong ruler of America in the sixties, which made individuals worried. As for one man named Lee Harvey Oswald, he thought the same. Oswald an ex-military sharpshooter had a plan of his own for Kennedy. On November 22nd of 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository (Wunsch 2). Although, people believe Oswald was accompanied by multiple assassins. This was later disproved by the Warren Commission. Many speculate that Lee Harvey Oswald was not a lone assassin, but much evidence points to Oswald being the lone assassinator of John F. Kennedy.
The experience of American citizens during Hoover's term left them desiring something new from the government. The nation demanded intelligent and effective
During the Great Depression, Hoover worked endlessly trying to fix the economy with different kinds of proposals. He formed government agencies to encourage labor harmony, supported local aid for public works, fostered cooperation between government and business in order to stabilize prices, and as well to struggle to balance the budget. Hoover refused to involve the federal government in forcing fixed prices, controlling businesses, or manipulating the value of the currency, because he felt it was stepping towards socialism. He also was inclined to give indirect aid to banks or local public works projects, but he refused to use federal money for direct aid to citizens, believing the dole would weaken public morale. Instead, he believes in volunteerism to raise money.
Talking about what the government did to help was a touchy subject because American citizens thought the government drew them into the Depression. During the first year of Hoover’s presidency, the economy was booming. Most people thought the economy was fine until Hoover came in. He was a very intelligent war vet who helped stabilize the economies. He also begged shops to rehire/ open the factories for workers, but they could not because they could not pay the employees. Hooverville was a “town” where the homeless lived and tried to help eachother out. Hoover asked Americans to give to charity, but even with the wealthy could not close the huge gap. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt beat Hoover in the election with 472 electoral votes (88.9% of the votes). Americans thought with the new president everything would start to look up. Roosevelt in his first 100 days passed “16 major pieces of legislation” (also known as The New Deal). The New Deal was an “attempt to relieve social and economic suffering of Americans” ). Roosevelt also tried to inform people as much as he could with speeches, and that made Americans feel better about their situations. Roosevelt, in his speeches says inspiring things such as, “The Nation asks for action, and action now.” (Roosevelt). Both presidents tried to help in anyway possible, but it depends on who you ask on rather it really helped or
But for the majority of the country during one of our toughest times, he was what we needed. Without consulting history, it’s impossible to judge what he did very negatively. The old ways weren’t working, and while President Hoover tried to do something, it wasn’t enough. President Roosevelt was more successful with the actions he took for relief during the Great Depression. References: EyeWitness History editors.