The Mann Act made it a federal crime to transport women across state lines for any immoral purposes.
It was commonly used to prosecute men involved with underage girls. Alaska wasn’t able to offer much assistance with these types of investigations.
On May 10, 1924, J. Edgar Hoover became the acting director of the FBI. After the Teapot Dome scandal that occurred from 1921 to 1923, Hoover promised to remove all unqualified agents.
The special agent in charge of the Washington office told Hoover that he did not have any use for a female agent. So, Hoover asked Alaska to resign on June 10, 1924.
Alaska died in Virginia on July 16, 1934, at the age of 66. It wasn’t until 1972 that women were able to join the forces of the FBI once more.
The FBI Academy began admitting women shortly after Hoover’s death and the passing of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.
The first two women to become part of the FBI were Susan Lynn Roley, a Marine Corps lieutenant, and Joanne Pierce, a former nun. Currently, 23.5 percent of special agents are women.
