A Byte Out of History: The Bureau’s Role During Early World War I Years

12/15/14

	A badge from the Bureau of Investigation, as the FBI was called from 1909 to 1935.

When war broke out in Europe a hundred years ago—in 1914, to be exact—the U.S. declared its neutrality, and U.S. investigative agencies like the Bureau of Investigation (the precursor to the FBI) had little role to play.

As the conflict escalated, though, American munitions, food, and other goods became a point of contention. Great Britain and its allies tried to purchase all they could afford from the U.S. to bolster their effort. But Germany and its allies, blockaded by British ships, took up submarine warfare to try and prevent their enemies from benefiting from American trade and turned to sabotage, espionage, propaganda, and other intelligence tactics to succeed.

The U.S. government’s response was divided. On the one hand, the Treasury Department’s Secret Service sought to pursue German spies and their agents in the U.S. In one well known case, a Secret Service agent tailing a known German agent in New York City picked up a briefcase accidentally left behind on a bus—it contained a trove of documents related to German efforts to clandestinely plan and support secret activities aimed at interfering with American assistance to the Allies.

On the other hand, because little of this activity violated the limited federal laws at the time, U.S. Attorney General Thomas Gregory cautioned the Bureau of Investigation to keep its investigations into German activities limited—even though they were potential threats to our national security.