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ORIGINS The FBI originated from a force of Special Agents Created in 1908 by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte during the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The two men first met when they both spoke at a meeting of the Baltimore Civil Service Reforn Association. Roosevelt, then Civil Service Commissioner, boasteg ‘of his reforms in federal law enforcement. It was 1892, a time ' when law enforcement was often political rather than professional. Roosevelt spoke with pride of his insistence that -Border Patrol épplicants pass marksmanship tests, with the most accurate getting the jobs. Following Roosevelt on the program, Bonaparte countered, tongue in cheek, that target shooting was not the way to get the best men. "Roosevelt should have had the men shoot at each other, a énd given the jobs to the survivors." Roosevelt and Bonaparte both were "Progressives." They shared the conviction that efficiency and expertise, not political connections, should determine who could best serve in covernment. Theodore Roosevelt became President-of the United States in 1901; four years later, he appointed Bonaparte to be Attorney General. In 1908, Bonaparte applied that Progressive philosophy to the Department of Justice by creating @ Corps of Special Agents. It had neither a name nor an officially designated leader other than the Attorney General. Yet, these former detectives and Secret Service men were the forerunners of the FEI. Today, most Americans take for Granted that our country needs a federal investigative service, but in 1908, the establishment of this kind of egency at a national level was hichly controversial. The U.S. Constitution is based on "federalism": a national government with jurisdiction over matters that crossed boundaries, like interstate commerce and foreign affairs, with ell other powers reserved to the states. Through the 1800s, Americans usually looked to cities, counties, and states to fulfill most government responsibilities. However, by the 20th century, easier transportation and communications had created a climate cf opinion favorable to the federal] government establishinc «4 strone investigative tradition. The impulse amonc thesAmerican people toware a responsive federal government, coupled with an idealistic, reformist spirit, characterized what is known a¢ the Progressive Era, fron. approximately 1900 to 1918. The Progressive generation believed that government intervention was necessary to produce justice in an industrial society. Moreover, it looked to "experts" in all phases of industry and government to produce that just society. President Roosevelt personified Progressivism at the national level. A federal investigative force consisting of well-disciplined experts and designed to fight corruption and crime fit Roosevelt's Progressive scheme of government. Attorney General Bonaparte shared his President's Progressive Philosophy.