James Edward Amos (January 29, 1879 – December 15, 1953) was a bodyguard and attendant to U.S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and later became the longest serving African American

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

agent in the pre-modern FBI. He paved the way for future African American FBI agents in a time when not many worked for the federal government.

Early life and education

James Edward Amos was born on January 29, 1879, in Washington, D.C. His parents were Joseph F. and Marie Bruce Amos. After finishing high school, he worked as a steam engineer, a telephone repairman, and a

switchboard operator In the early days of telephony, companies used manual telephone switchboards, and switchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. They were gradually phased out and replaced by automated system ...

. James was born 14 years after slavery ended, but segregation and

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

still existed in the South. He also lived through the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and early

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. When Amos was 22, his father Joseph Amos, a police officer, met

while on duty while the President was horseback riding. Roosevelt asked, "Have you got a boy who would like to go to work?" Amos was originally hired to take care of Roosevelt's five children, and later became the President's attendant and bodyguard.

Career

During office, Roosevelt often spent time at his summer residence,

Sagamore Hill Sagamore Hill was the home of the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, from 1885 until his death in 1919. It is located in Cove Neck, New York, near Oyster Bay on the North Shore of Long Island,Bleyer, Bill.When LI place n ...

in New York. After his presidency, he resided there full time. In 1902 he built the Grey Cottage to house his staff, including James Amos. James married Annie Amos in 1909 and left Sagamore Hill to work at the Customs and

Interior Department An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. They came back when Roosevelt was sick. Amos was present when Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919. Roosevelt's last words were “James, will you please put out the light?" Amos was Theodore Roosevelt’s bodyguard, valet, and long-time family friend. In 1927, Amos wrote the book ''Theodore Roosevelt: Hero to His Valet'', a memoir of Roosevelt from Amos's perspective. James Amos was hired as a special agent for the FBI in 1921. He was the second black agent, but he was the first to work publicly. He was the firearms instructor at the New York FBI office. He worked on many major cases during his career with the FBI. When Amos hit mandatory retirement age,

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

asked

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to allow Amos to continue with the FBI. Amos received an Executive order from the President in 1940. In October 1947, James Amos was featured on the cover of Ebony magazine. The article was title
FBI Agents in Action
which covered different FBI strategies used to solve crimes. The article referred to Amos as a "G-Man", one of 3,000 special agents. Amos worked for the FBI for 32 years, retiring in 1953. In the book ''Seeing Red'', author Theodore Kornweibel cited Amos's FBI personnel files: "But as a pathfinder Amos has no peer; he, more than any of the other early black agents, 'prove' what should never have needed proving: that African Americans could serve the federal government in sensitive positions with objectivity, intelligence and professionalism." Amos died of a heart attack at age 74 on December 15, 1953, two months after retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amos, James E. 1953 deaths 1879 births Writers from Washington, D.C. Theodore Roosevelt Federal Bureau of Investigation agents