The FBI Indexes, or Index List, was a system used to track American citizens and other people by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) before the adoption of computerized databases. The Index List was originally made of paper index cards, first compiled by J. Edgar Hoover at the Bureau of Investigations before he was appointed director of the FBI. The Index List was used to track U.S. citizens and others believed by the FBI to be dangerous to

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

, and was subdivided into various divisions which generally were rated based on different classes of danger the subject was thought to represent.

General Intelligence Division

In 1919, during the

First Red Scare The first Red Scare was a period during History of the United States (1918–1945), the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of Far-left politics, far-left movements, including Bolsheviks, Bolshevism a ...

, William J. Flynn of the Bureau of Investigation appointed J. Edgar Hoover chief of the General Intelligence Division (GID). Hoover used his experience working as a library clerk at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

to create an index tracking system which used extensive cross-referencing. The GID took files from the Bureau of Investigations (later renamed the

) and 'systematized' them via index cards. The cards covered 150,000 people. By 1939, Hoover had more than 10 million people 'Indexed' in the FBI's domestic file system. Although the GID was terminated in 1924 after objections from people such as

William J. Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat. He is best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to ...

who questioned its constitutionality, Hoover and the FBI continued to expand the Index system for use by the agency, by Hoover, and by Hoover's political associates well into the 1970s. Presently, the Index files covering an unknown number of Americans are still accessible by the FBI and its 29 field offices. Titles of the evolving Index catalogs include: the Custodial Index, which included citizens or aliens with German, Italian and Communist sympathies, that could be held in

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; the Security Index, for influential people to be "arrested and held" in case of a national emergency; The Communist Index; The Agitator Index; Sexual Deviant Index; and The Administrative Index, which compiled several earlier indexes. Even though a complete list of Index titles is currently unavailable, Hoover and the FBI used their Index system to catalog Native American and African American liberation activists during the 1960s and 1970s, as well as Vietnam War protesters and some other college students.

Custodial Detention Index

The Custodial Detention Index (CDI), or Custodial Detention List was formed in 1939–1941, as part of a program named 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. According to Hoover, it created large numbers of files on "individuals, groups, and organizations engaged in subversive activities", including espionage, and enabled the Bureau to immediately identify potential threats. Congressman Vito Marcantonio called it "terror by index cards". Senator George W. 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 arrested immediately and interned at the beginning of war. Category A were officials 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; officers of cultural organizations could be classified as "A". The program involved creation of individual dossiers from information obtained secretly, including unsubstantiated data and in some cases, even hearsay and unsolicited telephone tips, and information acquired without judicial warrants by mail covers and interception of mail,

wiretap Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...

s and covert searches. While the program targeted primarily Japanese, Italian, and German "

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...

s", it also included some native-born American citizens. The program was operated without Congress-approved legal authority, without

judicial oversight Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are inc ...

and in excess of the legal authority 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. 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 The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

and potential for

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

activities. The list was later used for

Japanese American internment During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. Abou ...

after Roosevelt's

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...

. Although some say Hoover actually opposed those measures, Hoover and the FBI created the list from which 110,000 people were interned, 70,000 of which were American-born.

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Francis Biddle, upon learning of the Index in 1941, termed 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. Internal Security Act of 1950 contained an emergency detention statute, giving the President the authority to apprehend and detain "each person as to whom there is a reasonable ground to believe that such person probably will engage in, or probably will conspire with others to engage in, acts of espionage or sabotage." Therefore, FBI began in the early 1950s to compile a secret list, known as the “Security Index,” of American citizens who were “targeted for detention” in a national emergency. At its peak it contained about 15,000 names, including virtually all known members of the US Communist party. Although the detention provisions of the Internal Security Act were repealed in 1971, the index was still reportedly being maintained by the FBI, in anticipation of possible reinstatement of the detention provisions.

Security Index/Reserve Index

The Security Index pertained to the FBI list of dangerous people who might commit acts inimical to the national defense and public safety of the United States, in the eyes of the FBI, in time of emergency. This included such "dangerous" figures as Martin Luther King Jr. The list specified who could be arrested upon the order of a U.S. president invoking the Emergency Detention Program. The Reserve Index, on the other hand, listed all left-wingers and people suspected of being a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

. By 1950s, for instance, there were 5,000 names on the Security Index, while the Reserve Index had 50,000 in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

field office. A person listed in the Reserve Index could be transferred to the Security Index if such individual posed a threat to U.S. interests in a period of national emergency. A difference between these indices involved their color scheme. The files of those of the Security Index were all in white while the Reserve Index varied in colors depending on the occupation of the subject. Prominent figures listed in the Reserve Index include Martin Luther King. The FBI had been monitoring his activities with the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., ...

since 1957 and by 1962, he was finally listed in the FBI index due to the involvement of two of his advisers with the U.S. Communist Party, although he failed to meet the criteria for inclusion in the Security Index. The Security Index itself was merged with the Agitator Index and the Communist Index. Renamed the Reserve Index in 1960, this index included a Section A for teachers, doctors, lawyers, entertainers, and other people considered influential and not politically conservative. Hoover had King added to the Reserve Index, Section A, in retaliation for his civil rights work and worldwide popularity. Renamed again to the Administrative Index (ADEX) in 1971 and discontinued during 1978, the records are still kept as inactive at FBI headquarters and 29 field offices.

Rabble Rouser Index

Records of names added to the Rabble Rouser Index are available online from The Vault, which hosts the FBI's FOIA Library, as part of FBI case file 157-HQ-7782. The

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

maintains a copy of this information with additional explanatory material. In addition, a repository of FBI files obtained under FOIA request, including the Rabble Rouser Index, is maintained at the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

People

Notable people include: * Saul Alinsky – political theorist * James H. Madole – National Renaissance Party * Floyd McKissick – SNCC * Jerry Rubin – anti-war activist * Adam Clayton Powell Jr. – NY Congressman * John A. Wilson – Washington DC council member *

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian and a veteran of World War II. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn ...

– historian and philosopher

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'. An illustrative example of these files and the rationale for categorization is the case of historian

, a noted government critic. In his FBI 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 policies. 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 evidenced by overt acts and statements established through reliable informants

Singer

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

's name was also 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".

References

{{Portal bar, United States Federal Bureau of Investigation Surveillance History of racial segregation in the United States Internment of Japanese Americans United States national security policy