Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • What is the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)?
  • Who have been the most powerful people in the history of the U.S. government? Why?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of Yale University professor Beverly Gage talking about the two images that the public often holds regarding long time FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's life and career. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: Two Images (1:26).

  • What is the first image that “comes to mind” when thinking about J. Edgar Hoover?
  • According to Beverly Gage, what is the second image that often tends to come up about Hoover?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage.

  We recommend having your students complete the activity in a jigsaw format to save time. Or, depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students engage in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student is responsible for completing one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson.

  Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct students to the engagement section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following two video clips that provide a brief overview of J. Edgar Hoover’s career. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #2: Long Career (6:04).

  • What is “worth noting” about J. Edgar Hoover’s funeral?
  • Based on the clip, for how long was Hoover the FBI director and under which presidents did he serve?
  • According to Beverly Gage, what did people say when Hoover died in 1972?
  • How was Hoover’s funeral a “landmark event?”
  • For Gage, what was “surprising” about Hoover’s career? Why?

• Clip #3: Three Themes (3:46).

  • From what does the life and career of J. Edgar Hoover “turn our gaze?”
  • Based on the clip, how was Hoover a ‘political puzzle?’
  • Summarize the third theme of Hoover’s career, as discussed by Beverly Gage.

• ANALYSIS

  Direct students to the analysis section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following six video clips that detail eras of J. Edgar Hoover’s life and work. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #4: Early Life and Washington (6:24).

  • Based on the clip, when and where was J. Edgar Hoover born and raised?
  • Into what was Hoover’s family “steeped?”
  • What was Washington, D.C. like during the era and how did it impact Hoover, according to Beverly Gage?
  • How did Washington D.C.’s status as a “southern city” impact Hoover?
  • What was “Kappa Alpha?”

• Clip #5: Early Federal Service (5:07).

  • Based on the clip, what did J. Edgar Hoover do in 1917?
  • What was Hoover’s first “job” at the Department of Justice?
  • According to Beverly Gage, what promotion did Hoover get in 1919 and what did this new job focus on?
  • For what work did Hoover receive “criticism?”
  • When did Hoover become director of the Bureau of Investigation, and what “remarkable consistency” and “re-molding” would develop?

• Clip #6: A Reformer (6:35).

  • What is “funny” to think about J. Edgar Hoover’s start as director of the Bureau of Investigation?
  • For what “two things” was Hoover brought in to do at the Bureau, and what did he promise?
  • On what did Hoover “concentrate his energy” during his early years as director? Why?
  • Who was Clyde Tolson and what “relationship” did he have with Hoover?
  • According to Beverly Gage, how did the Bureau change during this period?

• Clip #7: FBI's Growth (6:21).

  • Of what was J. Edgar Hoover a “big believer” in, and how did this influence his work as the director of the FBI?
  • What was Hoover’s “selling point” and “image” of the FBI?
  • According to Beverly Gage, how did the FBI change under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt?
  • Based on the clip, summarize the new roles that the FBI gained during this era.
  • How did World War II (1939-45) impact the FBI, according to Gage?

• Clip #8: A Cultural Force (6:39).

  • Why is the “second half” of J. Edgar Hoover’s career more familiar?
  • How did Hoover’s “anti-Communism” work compare to Joseph McCarthy’s?
  • Based on the clip, why did Hoover work closely with Congressional committees?
  • According to Beverly Gage, how were Hoover and McCarthy perceived by the American public?
  • How do the photos shown at the end of the clip illustrate Hoover as a “cultural force?”

• Clip #9: Later Career (8:59).

  • Why didn’t the Kennedy presidency “go so well” for J. Edgar Hoover?
  • What is one of the “earliest things” Lyndon B. Johnson did as president?
  • Based on the clip, what relationship did Hoover have with Presidents Johnson and Richard Nixon?
  • According to Beverly Gage, what important investigations marked Hoover’s later years as director of the FBI?
  • What “surveillance and disruption” did Hoover conduct during the 1960s and 70s?
  • Of what does the FBI’s investigation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “symbolize?”
  • What was “COINTELPRO,” and what efforts were “surprising” during this era?
  • How was public “opinion” of Hoover changing toward the end of his career? Why?

• REFLECTION

  After students share their findings from the lesson, direct them to the reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following video clip of Gage talking about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’s death and legacy. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #10: Death and Legacy (1:21).

  • Summarize Beverly Gage’s closing comments about J. Edgar Hoover’s life and work.
  • Of what other things do we “take measure,” when examining Hoover’s story?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished sharing their findings from the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having learned about the life of J. Edgar Hoover, assess his impact on the United States. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your response.