The Development and Centralization of a National Intelligence Apparatus

William Schuman-Kline, University of Montana, Missoula

Abstract/Artist Statement

During the years preceding World War I, the American public held hostile views on espionage, spying, and surveillance, a view similarly echoed in news publications. Following scandals within the Secret Service, the government created the Bureau of Investigation in 1908, what later became the F.B.I., as an investigative agency dedicated towards tackling issues both within and outside of the government. Shortly after the United States entered the First World War in 1917, Congress passed the Espionage Act, which granted Congress extensive power to monitor the country for subversion both through the post and through printed media and speeches. The experience of World War I and the prevalence of both real and perceived spies and covert operations, allowed the United States government to significantly expand their purview, especially in regards to domestic surveillance. The nature of wartime and media coverage worked together to create both a fear of and desire to expand espionage and intelligence operations.

The purpose of my research and presentation is to show how and why the creation of the first national intelligence agency, the Bureau of Investigation, came to be. My research examines how lawmakers and the general public understood espionage and spying during this period, and how they originally associated it with foreign actors. Furthermore, my research examines how the wartime experience contributed to the creation of formal intelligence agencies, and the expansion of government power and surveillance. In order to acquire the sources and information for this research project, I spent considerable time examining Congressional archives, the National Archives, and the F.B.I.’s archives. Additionally, I canvassed periodicals and newspapers from the period to see what publications wrote and how their attitudes and media coverage shifted over time. By bringing these sources into dialogue with one another, I hope to paint a complete picture about the creation of the Bureau of Investigation and early intelligence.

Most histories of U.S. intelligence focus on the official beginnings of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and J. Edgar Hoover’s role in its proliferation. My research attempts to add to the existing historiography by focusing on the earliest developments in formal U.S. intelligence organization. Additionally, I hope that my emphasis on widespread publications will help capture public sentiment and provide an important contextualization and new dynamic in the creation of intelligence agencies. It is important to understand the origins and complex conditions that affected the original creation of intelligence agencies, if people are to understand contemporary issues of domestic and foreign surveillance like the recent N.S.A. controversies.

 
Mar 4th, 11:40 AM Mar 4th, 11:55 AM

The Development and Centralization of a National Intelligence Apparatus

UC 330

During the years preceding World War I, the American public held hostile views on espionage, spying, and surveillance, a view similarly echoed in news publications. Following scandals within the Secret Service, the government created the Bureau of Investigation in 1908, what later became the F.B.I., as an investigative agency dedicated towards tackling issues both within and outside of the government. Shortly after the United States entered the First World War in 1917, Congress passed the Espionage Act, which granted Congress extensive power to monitor the country for subversion both through the post and through printed media and speeches. The experience of World War I and the prevalence of both real and perceived spies and covert operations, allowed the United States government to significantly expand their purview, especially in regards to domestic surveillance. The nature of wartime and media coverage worked together to create both a fear of and desire to expand espionage and intelligence operations.

The purpose of my research and presentation is to show how and why the creation of the first national intelligence agency, the Bureau of Investigation, came to be. My research examines how lawmakers and the general public understood espionage and spying during this period, and how they originally associated it with foreign actors. Furthermore, my research examines how the wartime experience contributed to the creation of formal intelligence agencies, and the expansion of government power and surveillance. In order to acquire the sources and information for this research project, I spent considerable time examining Congressional archives, the National Archives, and the F.B.I.’s archives. Additionally, I canvassed periodicals and newspapers from the period to see what publications wrote and how their attitudes and media coverage shifted over time. By bringing these sources into dialogue with one another, I hope to paint a complete picture about the creation of the Bureau of Investigation and early intelligence.

Most histories of U.S. intelligence focus on the official beginnings of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and J. Edgar Hoover’s role in its proliferation. My research attempts to add to the existing historiography by focusing on the earliest developments in formal U.S. intelligence organization. Additionally, I hope that my emphasis on widespread publications will help capture public sentiment and provide an important contextualization and new dynamic in the creation of intelligence agencies. It is important to understand the origins and complex conditions that affected the original creation of intelligence agencies, if people are to understand contemporary issues of domestic and foreign surveillance like the recent N.S.A. controversies.