--- title: Abraham Lincoln and the Surprising History of the Secret Service description: Lincoln established the agency 150 years ago, on the very day he was shot canonical: https://time.com/3774327/lincoln-history-secret-service/ author: Erin Blakemore article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-14T11:00:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T13:30:57.000Z article:section: History og:title: Abraham Lincoln and the Surprising History of the Secret Service og:description: Abraham Lincoln established the agency 150 years ago, on the very day he was shot og:url: https://time.com/3774327/lincoln-history-secret-service/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ee9914017f4fd4c/6987870ae53aba4a894d871b/usss.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: G8 Leaders Arrive At Prestwick Airport og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Abraham Lincoln and the Surprising History of the Secret Service twitter:description: Abraham Lincoln established the agency 150 years ago, on the very day he was shot twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ee9914017f4fd4c/6987870ae53aba4a894d871b/usss.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # No Counterfeits: The History of the Secret Service ## Video: Mind-blowing Money Facts [Watch (HLS stream): Mind-blowing Money Facts](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9pl6e2eo.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2017-08-07. MONEY_ by [Erin Blakemore](https://time.com/author/erin-blakemore/) ## Erin Blakemore Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:30 PM UTCPublished: Apr 14, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  A secret service agent stands before the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush at Prestwick Airport July 6, 2005 in Prestwick, Scotland. A secret service agent stands before the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush at Prestwick Airport July 6, 2005 in Prestwick, Scotland.Bruno Vincent—Getty Images by [Erin Blakemore](https://time.com/author/erin-blakemore/) ## Erin Blakemore Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:30 PM UTCPublished: Apr 14, 2015 11:00 AM UTC Considering the Civil War had ended only a few days earlier, April 14, 1865, was a normal day in the White House. President Abraham Lincoln read his newspapers, ate his breakfast, met with his cabinet. He also signed a piece of legislation authorizing a government agency that would gain its fame for protecting the President of the United States. Ironically, Lincoln’s authorization of the United States Secret Service would be one of his last official acts—that evening, he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while watching _Our American Cousin_ in Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Even if Lincoln had authorized the Secret Service earlier, it’s doubtful it could have prevented his assassination Though the job performance of Lincoln’s bodyguards will remain [a subject of eternal debate](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/), it was unthinkable that an actor in a play would try to murder the President. And though presidential security tightened after Lincoln’s death, the Secret Service he authorized wasn’t originally intended to guard the president at all. In fact, it had a much more mundane mission: investigate and stop counterfeit money. By 1865, up to one-third or even one-half of American money in circulation was fake. This was partly due to an old system of relying on state banks to produce money using approved designs and paper provided by the Federal Government. But though the country adopted a national currency in 1863, federal dollars were as easy to counterfeit as state-produced ones. Spurred by the daredevil escape of counterfeiter Pete McCartney, who eluded federal guards and was rumored to have produced as much as $100,000 in faux cash, Lincoln called a commission to figure out a fix for the fake money problem. Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch came up with [a solution](https://books.google.com/books?id=KMysiHydkQ0C&lpg=PA10&ots=6xuxTLlvJH&dq=%22regular%20permanent%20force%22%20%22secret%20service%22&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q=%22regular%20permanent%20force%22%20%22secret%20service%22&f=false)—a “regular permanent force whose job it \[would\] be to put these counterfeiters out of business.” At first, the Secret Service focused on money, but in 1867 its [mission was broadened](https://books.google.com/books?id=KMysiHydkQ0C&lpg=PA19&ots=6xuxSOgACM&dq=%22secret%20service%22%20%22persons%20perpetrating%20frauds%22&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q=%22secret%20service%22%20%22persons%20perpetrating%20frauds%22&f=false) to include “detecting persons perpetrating fraud against the government.” Over the years, despite a lack of statutory funding, the Secret Service assumed [more and more responsibility](http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml), gaining recognition as a distinct organization and being given badges and commissions. After the assassination of William McKinley, in 1901, Congress requested that the Secret Service protect the President himself. Though the Secret Service has long been charged with protecting the President and presidents-elect, it isn’t always beloved by officials. Theodore Roosevelt [called it](https://books.google.com/books?id=EU8FBkL0rLAC&lpg=PA22&ots=BHPJ3eXPmJ&dq=%22thorn%20in%20the%20flesh%22%20%22theodore%20roosevelt%22&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q=%22thorn%20in%20the%20flesh%22%20%22theodore%20roosevelt%22&f=false) a “very small but very necessary thorn in the flesh,” but assumed the Secret Service would “not be the least use” if there were a serious attempt on his life. General George Patton [called the Service](https://books.google.com/books?id=eJA3BAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA1037&dq=%22franklin%20delano%20roosevelt%22%20%22secret%20service%22&pg=PA802#v=onepage&q=%22a%20bunch%20of%20cheap%20detectives%22&f=false) “a bunch of cheap detectives, always smelling of drink.” And John F. Kennedy, whom the Secret Service called “Lancer,” was [impatient with the Secret Service](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/10/secret-service-jfk-assassination), preferring motorcades and intimate crowd interaction to carefully monitored public appearances. More recently, it’s been a rocky few years for the Secret Service, with scandals related to [car crashes](http://time.com/3741568/secret-service-agents-crash/), [drones](http://time.com/3682307/white-house-drone-crash/), and [prostitution](http://time.com/3544842/secret-service-prostitution-investigator-resigns/). This week, the agency made news for [allowing a child to breach a barricade](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/toddler-gets-through-white-house-barricade-and-onto-grounds/2015/04/13/1b32385c-e1d8-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310%5Fstory.html?postshare=5251428947331304)—the second time in under a year that a rogue toddler has made it onto the grounds of the White House. But for every Secret Service debacle, there’s been a close call. The agency has foiled repeated presidential threats, from a plot to [assassinate Grover Cleveland](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/secretservice.htm) to a recent [plot against President Obama](http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/03/18/plot-to-kill-president-obama-foiled-in-missouri.htm). And though they have sometimes [characterized themselves](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-secret-service-20141004-story.html#page=1) as “babysitters\[s\] with a gun,” the agency does much more, from arranging housing to [observing official protocol](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/03/inside-the-secret-service/308390/?single%5Fpage=true). And lest you think that Secret Service agents are just burly guys in suits—they still chase down counterfeiters. Recently, the [agency has been on the case](http://www.rochesterhomepage.net/story/d/story/secret-service-investigating-counterfeit-money-ope/13345/KpfIcUM1k0KIpgukb6H75w) of counterfeiters circulating fake $100 bills in Rochester, N.Y. ### PHOTOS: Go Behind the Scenes with the Secret Service  Secret Service agents stand guard around President Bush's Limousine on the tarmac as he arrives in Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 25, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secret Service agents surround U.S. President Barack Obama at a campaign event in Las Vegas on Nov. 1, 2012. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A Secret Service agent watches the crowd as President Barrack Obama speaks in Holmdel, N.J. on July 16, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  U.S. President George W. Bush attends a campaign rally in the town square of Troy, Ohio, on Aug. 28, 2004. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secret Service agents watch as President George W. Bush lands in Philadelphia on March 15, 2004. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secret Service agents watch as U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Nov. 3, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A Presidential limousine is loaded onto a C5 military transport plane bound for eastern Europe, where President Bush is headed next week. A "secure package" of motorcade vehicles, including the limousines and a fleet of Secret Service SUVs is transported to the site of every presidential visit, Maryland, March 28, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A Secret Service agent stands guard in front of President George W Bush's vehicle, while he tours rebuilding efforts in a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Katrina, in Long Beach, Miss. on March 1, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A Secret Service agent with the Counter Assault and Tactical Division holds a loaded weapon in front of the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Oct. 28, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Members of the Counter Asault Division of the US Secret Service keep an eye on the crowd as President Barack Obama departs the Annual Legislative Conference of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington on March 10, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A uniformed secret service agent waits for the arrival of President Bush and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the North Portico of the White House in Washington on Oct. 13, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secret Service agents stand near the Presidential Limousine at the conclusion of a campaign rally attended by President Bush in an airport hanger in Sugar Land, Texas on Oct. 30, 2006. 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