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The FBI came about basically because the Supreme Court of the United States decided to meddle in interstate affairs. Actually they were probably correct in deciding that the states didn't have any power in regulating interstate commerce. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 basically made interstate law enforcement the responsibility of the federal government. That's all fine and dandy except that the Justice Department didn't create any kind of agency. They just kept borrowing investigators from other departments such as the secret Service. Congress passed a law in 1908 making it illegal to use Treasury employees. At that time the Attorney General organize a Board of Investigation. The FBI grew out of that force during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency. The original director of the BOI (Bureau of Investigation) was J. Edgar Hoover, who we all know became the FBI's first director and served in that capacity for 48 years.
While Hoover did a lot of good things, I think History shows that the FBI was a bit heavy handed. For a time Hoover was probably the most powerful person in Washington, if not the country. On one hand Hoover was correct that the left was a threat to the country but not quite the threat that he envisioned.
The video is short, about ten minutes, and chronicles some of the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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