Review: The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover

Published in History Today

A diligent use of archives and a relentless pursuit of the truth

J. Edgar Hoover, 16 May 1932. Wikimedia Commons

J. Edgar Hoover believed the United States was God’s chosen nation. Hoover, who was director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, thought the Bureau’s mission was to defeat the godless forces of liberalism, feminism and civil rights. In Hoover’s view, to overcome these foes America had to yield to his preferred brand of Christianity – a Christianity unerringly conservative, patriotic and white.

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