restige andpower he was the most famous director of the Federal Bureauof Investigation in the history of the United States. Onefactor that helped J. Edgar Hoover gain more power, was thathe had many connections with many important people(Summers 29). Another factor that aided J.Edgar Hoover inhis rise to power was the knowledge he had about people(Kessler 449-450). This meant that he could control people,or in other words, blackmail them (Summers 38-39). Thethird reason why J. Edgar Hoover became such a powerfulindividual is that he was very intelligent and shrewd(Summers 25). These three factors all contributed toforming one of the most powerful men the world has everknown.J. Edgar Hoover knew many important people that heldmany important positions. Hoover received his firstgovernment job thanks to a close family friend by the nameof Bill Hitz (Summers 29). Hitz was a judge and consideredthe President and Supreme Court Justice Brandeis among hisclose friends (Summers 29). Another individual who helpedEdgar along the way was his boss at the Department ofJustice, George Michaelson (Summers 29). Bruce Bielaski, asenior official, recalled how - on the trolley to work oneday in 1917 - he found himself talking shop with hisneighbor, mail room chief George Michaelson (Summers 29). Michaelson dropped the name of a young lawyer he had sortingmail, one of the brightest boys around (Summers 29). Youdont need anybody with brains doing that, said Bielaski(Summers 29). If you want him, Michaelson replied, youcan have him (Summers 28-29). That conversation on thetrolley was a fatal one for America (Summers 29). BruceBielaski was Director of the Bureau of Investigation, directforerunner of what we know now as the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (Summers 29). Bielaski would now join thegrowing list of people that would help Hoover on his questto power. Bielaski did not forget the young man that hisneighbor had recommended - though he did ...
