he decided then and there, and he the backing of congress, he had the backing of the public, the newspaperrers, and even though wood row -- 0 to go do something to stop the violence. he put a team together, they connected the dots as best as they could. they did not know who the radicals were. they did not know who planted the bombs. they felt they had to act before any more violence occurred. they decided on a massive crack down to get as many reds after the street as they could. to return the operation, palmer decided to tap the best young man to lead it. that brings us back to, i hope, our friend mr. hoover. so who is j. edgar hoover in 1919? he was a young lawyer. he was two years out of law school. living at home with his parents, who had gotten his first job through a political friend. however, during the time that he had been in president palmer's office and at the justice department, he had been promoted repeatedly. he had been given pay raises. difficult assignments and was viewed as a rising young star in the office. he made a good impression at every step. he dressed well, he had an