Chicago Lightning is a romantic suspense novel that begins with the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago on February 14, 1929 and ends around midnight two days later in Five Points, New York City.
In this story, Hagen Kane is a special agent from the Bureau of Investigation—BOI—which was the organization that evolved into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, there is more to Hagen’s identity than being a BOI agent.
We’re generally familiar with the organization called the FBI, but the name and the organization evolved over time and in response to the changing needs and expectations of a national law enforcement agency.
Referencing the historical information on the FBI website HERE, the following is a brief explanation of where the organization began and how it got its current title. I encourage you to take the time to read the full history. It is interesting as well as informative.
Highlights
- The National Bureau of Criminal Identification was founded in 1896, which was an off-shoot of sorts of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
- The assassination of President McKinley sparked a panic that America was under attack from a global anarchism movement.
- When Vice President Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency, he put the wheels in motion to develop a law enforcement agency that functioned independently from the Secret Service. He intended to monitor anarchistic activity and stop it before it happened.
- To accomplish this, Roosevelt put Charles Bonaparte in charge of creating an independent department that answered only to the Attorney general.
- In 1908, Bonaparte hired nine Secret Service agents who had worked for him on loan from the Secret Service department in the past and added them to his hand-picked 25. This group became his special agent force on July 26th.
The new force had its mission—to conduct investigations for the Department of Justice—so that date [July 26, 1908] is celebrated as the official birth of the FBI.
- Prohibition brought new issues to the American streets with the rise of organized crime involved in the illegal alcohol business.
- Internal problems within the Bureau caused a ‘housecleaning’ and restructuring.
- In1921, J. Edgar Hoover was named Assistant Director. In three years, he was director.
Citation below
- In 1933, the BOI, having been linked to the Bureau of Prohibition, was renamed the Division of Investigation (DOI).
- In 1935, the name changed again to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Images Citations:
- Marion S. Trikosko, Hoover-JEdgar-LOC, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Badge of a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
Chicago Lightning on Amazon HERE
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
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Day 1 – Jan. 25th – Chicago Lightning – book video
Day 2 – Jan. 26th – Popular Songs of the 1920s
Day 3 – Jan. 27th – Notable Events of the 1920s – 1920 through 1924
Day 4 – Jan. 28th – Notable Events of the 1920s – 1925 through 1929
Day 5 – Jan. 29th – Chapter 1 – Micro Excerpt #1
Day 6 – Jan. 30th – Slang – 1920s era
Day 7 – Jan. 31st – Pre-order
Day 8 – Feb. 1st – 1920s Kitchen
Day 9 – Feb. 2nd – ‘Roaring 20s’
Day 10 – Feb. 3rd – Chapter 2 – Micro Excerpt #2
Day 11 – Feb. 4th – 4 Roaring Twenties Movies
Day 12 – Feb. 5th – 1928 Phantom 1 Rolls-Royce
Day 13 – Feb. 6th – Speakeasy
Day 14 – Feb. 7th – Chapter 2 – Micro Excerpt #3
Day 15 – Feb. 8th – Pre-FBI – brief history
Day 16 – Feb. 9th – 1920s radio
Day 17 – Feb. 10th – Release Day, Micro Excerpt #4, and bullet resistant clothing
Day 18 – Feb. 11th – “The Hedge”
Day 19 – Feb. 12th – What did it cost? 1925-1929
Day 20 – Feb. 13th – Hello? Who’s calling?
Day 21 – Feb. 14th – 1920s reference books and book video