All of this started to change in 1901 with the assassination of President McKinley and Vice President Teddy Roosevelt took office. He was a big believer in law enforcement and had little patience for the corruption that ran rampant. He had spent two years as the head of the New York Police Department and six years as a Civil Service Commissioner in Washington D.C. It was under his leadership that the FBI would get its start. Roosevelt appointed Charles Bonaparte to Attorney General. Bonaparte became the nation's leading law man but found his actions severely limited when trying to investigate crimes. He had very few investigators of his own and often borrowed from the Secret Service. Congress eventually put a stop to that saying there was no law that allowed it. Bonaparte began hiring his own investigators and created a force of 34 men. Department of Justice attorneys were under orders by Bonaparte to give most investigative reports to Syanley Finch his Chief Examiner who would then refer the cases to one of the 34 agents. This order came on July 26, 1908 and that is the dates celebrated as the beginning of the FBI.
All of this information came from The FBI A Centennial History, 1908-2008 (J 1.14/2: C 33/3). There is plenty more to be found. Each chapter deals with a different section of history. One is titled 1923-1934 The FBI and the American Gangster. In this chapter not only will you read about John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde and Baby Face Nelson, you will learn it was during this time that the FBI consolidated the two major fingerprint files. They built a crime lab and were fast becoming the nation's center for crime reports. Another section is called 1954-1971 And Justice for All. Discover how the FBI became involved in the Civil Rights Movement and what their role was exactly. There are many more sections about many different eras. Find out who the first women were to work in the Bureau. Learn about on of the greatest scandals ever to hit the FBI.. Interspersed in the chapters are small sections of the agency's most famous cases. Some, like the case of the Kidnapping of the Lindberg baby and the Bombing of Oklahoma City were solved. Others like the mystery of D. B Cooper and the Black Dahlia Murder remain without an end. Along the bottom of the pages, you will find a time line running throughout the entire document. This item is full of wonderful information on the FBI. It's perfect if you are working on a research paper, interested in criminal justice or just enjoy history. Stop by and check it out!