332 ChaPter^6
alleged subversives in the war years enabled the government to expand its
internal security system in new ways. Congress, in 1940, passed the Smith
Act, which, interpreted broadly, made it illegal to belong to a political party
opposed to the liberal capitalist system, such as the socialists or communists.
Again, people were being attacked, or even arrested and imprisoned, for
their ideas, not actions. The FBI, for its part, took on a much greater role in
protecting “national security,” rather than chasing down criminals like John
Dillinger or Al Capone. Whereas the FBI had about 850 agents in 1939,
there were over 4500 in 1943 [in fact, after World War II the FBI had 500
agents working on “Communism” and only 2 assigned to keep an eye on
the mafia].
Moreover Hoover was able to invoke “national security” to remove legal
restrictions to Bureau behavior such as wiretapping and surveillance, even
though the Supreme Court had outlawed those practices. Hoover also
ignored Justice Department decisions and investigated organizations against
the Attorney General’s orders, and even began to compile a “security index”
of individuals to be detained in an emergency [similar to the government’s
actions against Muslims and Arabs following the September 11, 2001 terror-
ist attacks]. The FBI also began to work with Army spies to keep a close eye
on “suspicious” or “disloyal” individuals in the labor movement. Because
so many industries were involved in producing the goods needed for the war,
the government feared that subversives on the factory floor could hurt
America’s fighting ability. So the Army increasingly took responsibility for
internal security in industrial plants. The Army’s intelligence units, called
G-2, began to work closely with the FBI to conduct surveys in various plants
to make sure that subversives were not destabilizing the war effort. In addi-
tion, Hoover, with the help of the American Legion, developed a system with
10,000 undercover informants in factories who could report on activities
they thought were politically suspicious. Army G-2 also took on responsi-
bilities for plant protection to make sure that workers would not engage in
spying for the enemy or sabotage of the work process. Army intelligence and
the FBI both warned also that strikes or slowdowns, or demands for higher
wages, were examples of subversive activities more than responses to eco-
nomic needs.
The attack on allegedly disloyal Americans grew as World War II ended.
The meaning of “loyalty” used by the ruling class, however, was more con-