Young J. Edgar Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties

In April 1919, a New York City postal clerk discovered sixteen bombs wrapped in individual packages and addressed to federal officials. In the wake of the armistice, America suddenly had a new enemy to fear--homegrown terrorism. Concerned that the new American Communist parties might spur a revolution, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer vowed a crackdown. Meanwhile, J. Edgar Hoover, just twenty-four, had already made a name for himself by zealously assembling a database of thousands of suspected Communists. Enlisted by Palmer, he helped execute a series of raids, bursting into homes and offices without warrants or warning, arresting more than 10,000 Americans suspected of treason. Amid the hysteria, details of abuse emerged, and a backlash against Palmer took shape. Iconic attorney Clarence Darrow came to defend twenty-one members of the Communist Labor Party in a trial that he lost but that ultimately brought freedom of speech to the forefront of public debate. As Palmer fell, Hoover emerged into the spotlight to become a figure uniquely praised, feared, and condemned. In 1924, he was asked to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ackerman brings to life Hoover's coolness and calculation, as well as his drive to gain immense power. He also raises questions of just how much power an official should have and how a society under threat must balance its own self-defense with its citizens' right to free speech. With the Palmer raids as a lens through which to view the terror-hysteria of post-9/11 America, Young J. Edgar reaches the heart of our modern debate over personal freedom in a time of war and fear.Ackerman, Kenneth D. is the author of 'Young J. Edgar Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties', published 2007 under ISBN 9780786717750 and ISBN 0786717750.