The Liberals and J. Edgar Hoover: Rise and Fall of a Domestic Intelligence State

229 Pages·1989·11.256 MB·English

by  William W. Keller

The Liberals and J. Edgar Hoover

William W. Keller
The Liberals
and J. Edgar Hoover
Rise and Fall of a Domestic Intelligence State
Princeton University Press
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1989 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press
Guildford, Surrey
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Keller, William Walton, 1950-
The liberals and J. Edgar Hoover: rise and fall of a domestic
intelligence state I William Walton Keller II.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-691-07793-2 (alk. paper)
1. Anti—communist movements—United States—History—
20th century. 2. Liberalism—United States—History—20th
century. 3. Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972.
4. United States—Politics and government—1945-
5. United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
6. Internal security—United States—History—20th century.
I. Title.
E743.5.K35 1989
323.173—dcl9 88-17828
CIP
This book has been composed in Sabon
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are
printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen
for strength and durability. Paperbacks, although satisfactory
for personal collections, are not usually suitable for library
rebinding
Printed in the United States of America
by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
For LONNA

Contents
Preface/ix
Abbreviations/xi
A Note on Sources/xiii
1. Domestic Security in a Modern Liberal State 3
The Role of the FBI/7
The State and Its Security: Three Models/11
Autonomy and Insularity/19
Status of the FBI/23
2. The Liberal Theory of Internal Security 28
Politics of Emergency Detention/36
The Liberal Theory/55
Unintended Consequences /65
3. A Politics of Equivocation:
The Liberals, the Klan, and Dr. King 72
Dimensions of the White Hate Cointelpro/75
Liberal Theory Revised—1964/85
The FBI and Civil Rights in the South/92
Hoover versus King/103
4. The End of the FBI-Liberal Entente 111
Stage I: Uneasy Alliance/117
Stage II: Increasing Alienation/128
Stage III: "The Threat to Liberty"/132
Denouement/145
5. Rise of a Domestic Intelligence State 154
Investigation, Infiltration, and Disruption/160
Toward an Independent Security State/180
6. Conclusion 190
Selected Bibliography/201
Index/213
να

Preface
ANY AUTHOR who writes critically about national security is likely
to encounter a variety of disparaging comments and occasional ad
monitions from colleagues, teachers, and professionals within the in
telligence community. I was warned that my work would be outside
the mainstream of political and historical research, and that I would
encounter hostility from potential sources.
My orienting perspective is that we have only begun to cut through
the ideological moorings of the national security state, and that there
is much to be accomplished by scholars and journalists who can dis
passionately evaluate restrictions and diminutions of the rights of per
sons that are carried out in the name of collective national interests.
There is, for example, a great deal of work that needs to be done on
the system of classification that so many government agencies have
imposed on documentation and distribution of information describing
official government business. In a related area, no definite standard or
policy defines the legitimate limits of covert intelligence activity, either
domestically or in the area of relations with foreign nations. There has
always been a need for secrecy in delicate matters of state. But the
thoroughgoing institutionalization of official secrecy on a grand scale
is an invention of the post-World War II era. Most observers of public
policy have accepted it without considering the profound implications
that too much official secrecy and national security hold for the future
viability of democratic and republican forms of governance.
I was extremely fortunate to have friends and teachers who shared
my perspective and supported my work from the outset. Ted Lowi pro
vided constant intellectual resources, adding to the scope and depth of
the project at every stage. Martin Shefter was a relentless and good-
natured critic. Peter Katzenstein and Sidney Tarrow made many useful
suggestions. John Elliff reviewed early drafts of the manuscript. His
practical knowledge of domestic security intelligence policy informs
this work at many points. Edward Jay Epstein also added important
insights. Peter Sharfman and Lou Pauly each offered useful criticisms.
The official historian of the FBI, Susan Rosenfeld FaIb, and the staff
of the FOIA/PA reading room at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Wash
ington helped me gain access to important documents. Charles South
IX
χ Preface
and Steven Tilley of the National Archives and Senate historian Dick
Baker provided important leads. Page Putnam Miller of the National
Coordinating Council of the Historical Sciences was the source of sev­
eral significant contacts.
The research for this book would not have been possible without the
capable assistance of the reference staff of Olin Library at Cornell Uni­
versity. The staff of the Chicago Historical Society searched the Paul
Douglas Papers for me and located the passages I needed. The Herbert
H. Lehman Suite and Papers of Butler Library at Columbia University
is among the best organized and most accessible collections to be
found.
The Minnesota State Historical Society and the Hubert Humphrey
Family Advisory Committee granted access to the Hubert H. Hum­
phrey Papers, and sent me copies of certain essential letters. I would
never have located these letters without the assistance of Mary Cur­
tain, a fellow researcher I met while in St. Paul. Finally, the staff of the
Mudd Library at Princeton University helped me to find my way, with
pleasure, through the voluminous papers of the American Civil Liber­
ties Union.
I am indeed fortunate to have received the support of a very strong
and extended family network. Two deserve special recognition: Dr.
Frances Richardson Keller, my first and best teacher, and Captain Wil­
liam W. Keller, for his letters.
Jordan Hollow, Va.