FBI Index
Encyclopedia
The FBI Indexes were a series of personnel database
s used by the FBI before the adoption by the Bureau of computerized databases. They were based on paper index cards. They were used to track US citizens and others believed by the Bureau to be dangerous to national security
. The indexes generally had different 'classes' of danger the 'subject' was thought to represent.
and the First Red Scare
, William Flynn of the Bureau of Investigation had Herbert Hoover set up a General Intelligence Division. The division took files from the Bureau and 'systematized' them via index cards; according to Walker the cards covered 200,000 people. The GID was shut down in 1924.
J. Edgar Hoover described it as having come from his resurrected General Intelligence Division in Washington:
Congressmen Vito Marcantonio called it "terror by index cards". Senator George Norris complained as well.
The Custodial Detention Index was a list of suspects and potential subversives, classified as "A", "B" and "C"; the ones classified as "A" were destined to be immediately arrested and interned at the outbreak of war. Category A were leaders of Axis-related organizations, category B were members deemed "less dangerous" and category C were sympathizers. The actual assignment of the categories was, however, based on the perceived individual commitment to the person's native country, rather than the actual potential to cause harm; leaders of cultural organizations could be classified as "A", members of non-Nazi and pro-Fascist organizations.
The program involved creation of individual dossiers from secretly obtained information, including unsubstantiated data and in some cases, even hearsay and unsolicited phone tips, and information acquired without judicial warrants by mail cover
s and interception of mail
, wiretap
s and covert searches. While the program targeted primarily Japanese, Italian, and German "enemy alien
s", it also included some native-born American citizens. The program was run without Congress-approved legal authority, no judicial oversight
and outside of the official legal boundaries of the FBI. A person against which an accusation was made was investigated and eventually placed on the index; it was not removed until the person died. Getting on the list was easy; getting off of it was virtually impossible.
According to the press releases at the beginning of the war, one of the purposes of the program was to demonstrate the diligence and vigilance of the government by following, arresting and isolating a previously identified group of people with allegedly documented sympathies for Axis powers
and potential for espionage
or fifth column
activities. The list was later used for Japanese American internment
.
Attorney General
Francis Biddle
, when he found out about the Index, labeled it "dangerous, illegal" and ordered its end. However, J. Edgar Hoover
simply renamed it the Security Index, and told his people not to mention it.
Note this is not to be confused with Japanese internment
and Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066
; Hoover actually opposed those measures.
<--
In Howard Zinn
's FBI FOIA files, there are two separate pages in which an agent says he should be in category III:
Paul Robeson
was on ADEX as Category III: "because of his long time close contact with CPUSA leaders. He was honored by the CP as recently as 1969"
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s used by the FBI before the adoption by the Bureau of computerized databases. They were based on paper index cards. They were used to track US citizens and others believed by the Bureau to be dangerous to national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
. The indexes generally had different 'classes' of danger the 'subject' was thought to represent.
General Intelligence Division
Around the time of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the First Red Scare
First Red Scare
In American history, the First Red Scare of 1919–1920 was marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism. Concerns over the effects of radical political agitation in American society and alleged spread in the American labor movement fueled the paranoia that defined the period.The First Red...
, William Flynn of the Bureau of Investigation had Herbert Hoover set up a General Intelligence Division. The division took files from the Bureau and 'systematized' them via index cards; according to Walker the cards covered 200,000 people. The GID was shut down in 1924.
Custodial Detention Index
The Custodial Detention Index (CDI), or Custodial Detention List was formed in 1939-1941, in the frame of a program called variously the "Custodial Detention Program" or "Alien Enemy Control".J. Edgar Hoover described it as having come from his resurrected General Intelligence Division in Washington:
"This division has now compiled extensive indices of individuals, groups, and organizations engaged in subversive activities, in espionage activities, or any activities that are possibly detrimental to the internal security of the United States. The Indexes have been arranged not only alphabetically but also geographically, so that at any rate, should we enter into the conflict abroad, we would be able to go into any of these communities and identify individuals or groups who might be a source of grave danger to the security of this country. These indexes will be extremely important and valuable in a grave emergency"
Congressmen Vito Marcantonio called it "terror by index cards". Senator George Norris complained as well.
The Custodial Detention Index was a list of suspects and potential subversives, classified as "A", "B" and "C"; the ones classified as "A" were destined to be immediately arrested and interned at the outbreak of war. Category A were leaders of Axis-related organizations, category B were members deemed "less dangerous" and category C were sympathizers. The actual assignment of the categories was, however, based on the perceived individual commitment to the person's native country, rather than the actual potential to cause harm; leaders of cultural organizations could be classified as "A", members of non-Nazi and pro-Fascist organizations.
The program involved creation of individual dossiers from secretly obtained information, including unsubstantiated data and in some cases, even hearsay and unsolicited phone tips, and information acquired without judicial warrants by mail cover
Mail cover
Mail cover is a law enforcement investigative technique.It is defined as follows by the Internal Revenue Manual:In the United States, the United States Postal Service regulations constitute the sole authority and procedure for initiating, processing, placing, and using mail covers, and are...
s and interception of mail
Postal interception
Postal interception is the act of retrieving another person's mail for the purpose of ensuring that the mail is not delivered to the recipient, or to spy on them....
, wiretap
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
s and covert searches. While the program targeted primarily Japanese, Italian, and German "enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
s", it also included some native-born American citizens. The program was run without Congress-approved legal authority, no judicial oversight
Judicial oversight
Judicial oversight describes an aspect of the separation of powers prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, specifically the process whereby independent courts may review and restrain actions of the administrative and legislative branches...
and outside of the official legal boundaries of the FBI. A person against which an accusation was made was investigated and eventually placed on the index; it was not removed until the person died. Getting on the list was easy; getting off of it was virtually impossible.
According to the press releases at the beginning of the war, one of the purposes of the program was to demonstrate the diligence and vigilance of the government by following, arresting and isolating a previously identified group of people with allegedly documented sympathies for Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
and potential for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
or fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
activities. The list was later used for Japanese American internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
.
Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Francis Biddle
Francis Biddle
Francis Beverley Biddle was an American lawyer and judge who was Attorney General of the United States during World War II and who served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg trials....
, when he found out about the Index, labeled it "dangerous, illegal" and ordered its end. However, J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
simply renamed it the Security Index, and told his people not to mention it.
Note this is not to be confused with Japanese internment
Japanese internment
Japanese internment is a term generally used to refer to one or both of the following events:*Japanese American internment, the internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II...
and Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
; Hoover actually opposed those measures.
<--
Rabble Rouser Index / Agitator Index
-->Security Index
The Security Index itself was merged together with the Agitator Index and the Communist Index, (itself renamed to the Reserve Index in 1960), to the Administrative Index (ADEX) in 1971, and discontinued in 1978, though the records are still kept as inactive at FBI headquarters and 29 field offices.Administrative Index
ADEX, or Administrative Index, lasted from 1971 to January 1978. It integrated the Security Index, the Agitator Index, and the Reserve Index. It was used to track people "considered to be a threat to the security of the country". ADEX had four 'categories'.In Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
's FBI FOIA files, there are two separate pages in which an agent says he should be in category III:
"He has been a member of the Communist Party, 1949-1953. A chief critic of the United States Government politices. A familiar figure at anti-war demonstrations up to 1972. Organized a protest rally to protest serious indictments against Father Berrigan and other members of the East Coast Conspiracy in the Summer of 1971"
"It is recommended that subject be included in ADEX, Category III, because he has participated in activities of revolutionary organizations within the last five years as evidences by overt acts and statements established through reliable informants"
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
was on ADEX as Category III: "because of his long time close contact with CPUSA leaders. He was honored by the CP as recently as 1969"
See also
- FBI Silvermaster Files (from the 1940s)
- Investigative Data WarehouseInvestigative Data WarehouseThe Investigative Data Warehouse, or IDW, is a searchable database operated by the FBI. It was created in 2004. Much of the nature and scope of the database is classified. The database is a centralization of multiple federal and state databases, including criminal records from various law...
(Modern analogue) - Project SHAMROCKProject SHAMROCKProject SHAMROCK, considered to be the sister project for Project MINARET, was an espionage exercise that involved the accumulation of all telegraphic data entering into or exiting from the United States...
(NSA) - Project MINARETProject MINARETProject MINARET was a sister project to Project SHAMROCK operated by the NSA, which, after intercepting electronic communications that contained the names of predesignated US citizens, passed them to other government law enforcement and intelligence organizations...
(NSA) - Main CoreMain CoreMain Core is the code name of a database maintained since the 1980s by the federal government of the United States. Main Core contains personal and financial data of millions of U.S. citizens believed to be threats to national security. The data, which comes from the NSA, FBI, CIA, and other...
- Japanese American internmentJapanese American internmentJapanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
- Italian American internmentItalian American internmentItalian American internment refers to the internment of Italian Americans in the United States during World War II.-Terms:The term "Italian American" does not have a legal definition...
- German American internmentGerman American internmentGerman American Internment refers to the detention of people of German citizenship in the United States during World War I and World War II.-Civilian internees:...