Young J. Edgar: Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "THE DOOR CLOSED and J. Edgar Hoover found himself alone with his boss, Harlan Fiske Stone, the new attorney general of the United States..." (more)
Key Phrases: red raids, criminal anarchy statute, communist labor party, Mitchell Palmer, United States, Louis Post (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ackerman, a Washington lawyer (Boss Tweed), examines the "red scare" hysteria that swept the country in 1919. The linchpin in the government's actions was the notorious Palmer Raids, a series of raids and arrests ostensibly designed to rid the country of anarchists and Communists. Though many at the time believed J. Edgar Hoover played only a small role in the raids, in fact they were organized by Hoover, then only a 24-year-old Department of Justice agent who Ackerman describes as possessing an uncanny ability to please his superiors, a preternatural ability to attend to detail and a dangerously distorted moral compass. The mixture of Hoover and the other personalities prominent in the story—Clarence Darrow, Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs and Felix Frankfurter, to name a few—makes for a compelling story that features demagogues; terrorists; a gullible, xenophobic public; rogue law enforcement officials; and good guys, both in and out of government, who discredit the raids. Ackerman captures well the pathological character of the young Hoover and argues effectively that there is a cautionary tale in the corrosive effect of the denial of civil liberties and extralegal measures employed in the red scare raids. Illus. (June)
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From Booklist

The eager beaver who organized the so-called Palmer Raids of 1919–20 is the main actor in Ackerman's crowded cast. John Edgar Hoover, ex-librarian, applied cataloging skills to his assignment from Attorney General Mitchell Palmer: open files on radicals, and jail and deport them. Backward to no civil libertarian in condemning the raids, in which several thousand suspects were collared and famous anarchist Emma Goldman was expelled, Ackerman concedes that Palmer was not reacting to nothing, describing the wave of bombings, race riots, and strikes—in the wake of war and pandemic—that made 1919 a febrile year. Within its permissive political environment, Ackerman narrates the crackdown of the presidency-seeking Palmer in terms of the bureaucratic battles in which it played out. The youthful J. Edgar's antagonist turned out to be one Louis Post, a Department of Labor official who had to sign off on the dragnet. Post's resistance put Palmer's point man on defense, and Hoover saved his own career by avoiding responsibility. This should engage veterans of full-life biographies, such as Curt Gentry's J. Edgar Hoover (1991). Taylor, Gilbert

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786717750
• ISBN-13: 978-0786717750
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #832,678 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading, June 9, 2007

By	Thomas K. Glenn (Atlanta) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

And we thought Joe McCarthy invented "McCarthyism!" Fascinating and well written. We not only learn that Attorney General Mitchell Palmer wrote the book on creating mass hysteria to assault anything one happens to dislike, but we gain a broader understanding of how easily attitudes can be swayed for egregious purposes in this country. Given that Young J. Edgar earned his stripes by implementing Palmer's plans, it's not hard to understand how he could so easily pick and choose the information he wanted to assail Martin Luther King, Jr. and scores of others he disliked. Ackerman did his homework and presented it very nicely.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised to find this is a page turner, September 19, 2007

By	Loves the View "Louise" (Hawaii) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I knew the content would be interesting and was pleasantly surprised to see the well crafted text. The paragraphs flowed from page to page and chapter to chapter. It was hard to put down. Well selected photos accompany the text and add even more understanding.

This is more than a bio of one man, it is a bio of the times. I did not know that Hoover cut his bureaucratic teeth on the Red Scare, so this book rounds out his portrait for me.

Ackerman's engaging prose brings to life the colorful people of the times. He presents Palmer in all his complexity. President Wilson is totally detached not only from the Red Scare but also the upcoming election where he has a son-in-law in contention. The totally obscure Louis Post is a true hero. Many great legal minds, Frankfurter, Darrow, Cardozo, Holmes and others play a role. I had not known of the eccentric millionaire socialist Lloyd before nor the colorful immigration official from California, Caminetti.

The most intriguing story of all, of course, is Hoover's. The reader learns how his character and style were formed. As a young man he got away with a tremendous breach of the US Constitution and he lied to his mentors. He knew how and when to be on and off the stage and who to play up to. He was probably given a pass for his presumed honesty, long hours of work and his youth.

I was struck by narrow the decision making. Only a few people held the reins than made life impossible for many. While the book doesn't spell it out, I would imagine people lost their homes (be they foreclosures or evictions) and children went hungry. None of the perpetrators suffered much. Hoover went on to great "success", Caminetti went on to comfortable obscurity and Wilson is heralded for his international vision. Palmer suffers somewhat but not in proportion to his deeds. The main hero is virtually unknown to history.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars J. Edgar Hoover: The Beginning . . ., August 10, 2007

By	W. S. McKenzie (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One line brought home to me how different the times were shortly after the First World War: ". . . a doctor told Edgar he needed to start smoking cigarettes to relax his nerves." But more important to this story of the Red Scare were the attitudes toward freedom of speech and individual legal rights that allowed wholesale abuses as the U.S. Government and the young, energetic J. Edgar attempted to remove every last threat of Communism through massive raids and deportations. As inconceivable as a medical doctor recommending cigarettes is the thought that running roughshod over legal rights on such a scale could happen without raising an immediate uproar in the press; what a difference 24 hour television news makes!

Understanding Hoover is critical to viewing the evolution of law and individual rights in America during the 20th century. For good or bad, he certainly had an impact during his half-century tenure and as Ackerman summarizes "Of all the experiences shaping him . . . none loomed larger that the Red Raids." The author gives us an excellent account of these events, the times, and important players including Felix Frankfurter, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Clarence Darrow.