Why Did Lincoln Create the Secret Service?

In the mid-19th century, counterfeiting was a massive problem in the United States. During the Civil War, fake currency flooded the economy—by some estimates, nearly one-third of all money in circulation was counterfeit. This created financial instability and threatened to undermine the nation’s growing economy.

To address this crisis, Lincoln approved legislation to create a federal agency tasked with investigating and stopping counterfeiters. The agency, which would become the U.S. Secret Service, was placed under the Department of the Treasury. On the morning of April 14, 1865, Lincoln signed the bill into law.

The Assassination of Lincoln

That same evening, Abraham Lincoln went to Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., to watch the play Our American Cousin. At around 10:15 p.m., John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, slipped into the president’s private box and shot Lincoln in the head. Lincoln was carried to a boarding house across the street, where he died the next morning on April 15.

Ironically, while Lincoln had just created a federal agency to safeguard the country’s financial system, there was no dedicated security detail to protect him. At the time, presidential security was minimal—Lincoln’s only assigned guard, a Washington police officer named John Parker, was not at his post when Booth entered the theater.

When Did the Secret Service Start Protecting Presidents?

Despite its ironic origins, the Secret Service did not begin protecting U.S. presidents until decades later. Initially, the agency focused solely on combating counterfeiting, expanding its role over time to investigate other financial crimes, such as bank fraud.

It wasn’t until 1901, after President William McKinley was assassinated, that the Secret Service was formally tasked with presidential protection. McKinley was the third U.S. president to be assassinated (after Lincoln in 1865 and James Garfield in 1881), and his death prompted the government to take presidential security more seriously.

From that point on, the Secret Service became responsible for protecting the sitting president, as well as former presidents, their families, and visiting foreign dignitaries. Today, its role has expanded even further to include cybersecurity, financial crime investigations, and national security operations.

What If the Secret Service Had Protected Lincoln?

It’s impossible to say for certain whether Lincoln would have been saved if the Secret Service had been in charge of presidential protection in 1865. However, considering Booth’s ability to enter Lincoln’s private box unchallenged, it’s likely that a stronger security presence could have deterred or stopped the assassination.

Had Lincoln lived, the post-Civil War Reconstruction period might have unfolded very differently. His assassination left a power vacuum that led to political turmoil, setting the stage for a much harsher and more divisive Reconstruction era under President Andrew Johnson.

The Legacy of Lincoln’s Final Decision

The Secret Service remains one of the most important federal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government. From its origins as a financial crime investigation unit to its modern role in presidential protection, its creation on the day of Lincoln’s assassination remains a fascinating and tragic historical coincidence.

Next time you hear about the Secret Service, remember that its founding is forever linked to one of the most pivotal days in American history—the day a president made a decision to protect the nation, but couldn’t be protected himself.