The Many Contradictions of Longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover

J. Edgar Hoover was a man of contradictions. As the Director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, he spearheaded homophobic, racist, and anti-communist policies – which arguably shaped half a century of the United States. But he also had an intimate personal relationship with a man and he believed in the role of government to support social conservatism.  Beverly Gage is the author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century”, which won a Pulitzer Prize in Biography. She is a 20th-century American historian at Yale. She also wrote “The Day Wall Street Exploded” which examined the history of terrorism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show notes:  (0:00) - Who is J. Edgar Hoover? (1:54) - Intimate Relationship with Clyde Tolson (3:17) - The Lavender Scare and Government  (6:16) - Early Years and Racist Fraternity (8:04) - FBI surveilling Civil Rights Movement Leaders (10:58) - Impact of Anti Communism and McCarthyism  (14:30) - Social Conservatism and Big Government (16:50) - Process of Writing Biography  (20:39) - An “Incredibly Honest” Paper Trail (22:31) - Legacy and Impact  (23:55) - Reflection 

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UnTextbooked is brought to you by teen change-makers who are looking for answers to big questions. Have you ever wondered if protests really can save lives, why assimilation required Native American kids to attend boarding schools, how Black-led organizations for mutual aid began, how the fear of communism led the United States to plan the overthrows of many leaders in Latin America, or why Brazilian cars run on sugar? Or maybe you've questioned when Asian Americans will stop being seen as "perpetual foreigners," how African heritage influences Black activism, or what resilience looks like for Iranian women?  Your textbooks probably didn't teach you how American Jews were an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, if history’s greatest leaders were generalists or specialists, how a Black teenager and his young lawyer changed America’s criminal justice system, or if either the US or the USSR won the Cold War. Did you know some of the forgotten BIPOC women of history were spying in aid of the French Resistance, that there's more to being a leader than going down with your battleship, or that there is a long history of gender expression in Native American cultures that goes beyond the male/female binary? Listen in as we interview famous authors and historians who have the answers.  Context is the key to understanding topics like British imperialism, segregation, racism, criminal justice, identifying as non-binary and so much more. These intergenerational conversations bring the full power of history to you with the depth and vividness that most textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. UnTextbooked makes history unboring forever.