Protecting the Leader of America
Evolution of Presidential Protection
Threats Before Presidency
• George Washington needed protection from both
the British and American Tories (Loyalists)
• There was at least one known assassination plot
against Washington by New York Tories
• His earliest protection was his slave, Billy Lee,
who accompanied General Washington
throughout the Revolutionary War and all of its
battles
• Washington also established a personal
bodyguard of soldiers known as the “Life Guard”
• Bought by Washington
in 1768, William Lee
was groomed as a
personal servant
• Accomplished rider and
hunting partner of
Washington, and served
faithfully during
Revolutionary War
• Freed in Washington’s
will and lived out the
rest of his years at
Mount Vernon
Billy Lee
Life Guards
• Established in March 1776
to protect Washington and
his baggage
• Fought in battles
• Requirements of
Washington- “be from five
feet eight inches to five
feet ten inches,
handsomely and well
made”
• Numbered 50, disbanded
after the war
Pre-Lincoln Protection
• Although a mentally disturbed person
wandered into the White House threatening
President Adams’ life, there was no official
Presidential protection
• For special events, local police would be used
for crowd control/security but President was
often in public with very limited, or no,
protection from possible assassination
• Many Presidents, including Lincoln, resisted
attempts to increase security, feeling it would
limit their movements and public presence
Lincoln Assassination
• Despite pleas from many, Lincoln resisted
increasing his security even during the Civil
War
• Near the end of the war, he allowed
Washington Metropolitan Police to guard him
while out in public
• His police guard had left his post the night of
Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre
• Despite the assassination, Presidential
protection did not change
Origins of the Secret Service
• July 5, 1865- Secret Service formed as part of U.S.
Treasury Department to stop counterfeiters
• 1867- mission expanded to include “detecting
persons perpetrating frauds against the
government”
• 1894- Secret Service begins informal protection of
President Garfield after assassination plot
discovered
• Informal protection for traveling Presidents
continued
• 1902, after McKinley assassination, Secret Service
assumes official, full-time Presidential protection
Expansion of Secret Service Protection
• 1908- Secret Service protection of President-elect
• 1917- Congress expands protection to President’s
immediate family, Presidential threats federal crime
• 1951- protection expanded to Vice-President
• 1961- protection for ex-Presidents begins
• 1965- protection for ex-President’s spouse/children
• 1968- after RFK assassination, protection expanded
to Presidential candidates and nominees
• 1971- protection of foreign heads of state, and
official guests of U.S. government
Secret Service post-9/11
• 2001- jurisdiction expanded to include
computer-based financial crime/terrorism
• 2002- Secret Service transferred from U.S.
Treasury Department to newly created
Department of Homeland Security
• 2007- Secret Service protection begins in May for
Illinois Senator/Presidential candidate Barrack
Obama, earliest protection ever (candidate
Hillary Clinton already under Secret Service
Protection due to status as spouse of exPresident Bill Clinton)
Presidential Assassinations
• Abraham Lincoln- shot by John Wilkes Booth at
Ford’s Theatre Apr. 14, 1865, died next day
• James Garfield- shot by Charles Guiteau in train
station on July 2, 1881, died of blood poisoning on
September 19, 1881
• William McKinley- shot by Leon Czolgosz at PanAmerican Exhibit on September 6, 1901, died eight
days later
• John F. Kennedy- shot and killed by Lee Harvey
Oswald in Dallas motorcade on November 22, 1963
Presidential Assassination Attempts
• Andrew Jackson- Jan. 30, 1835 Richard Lawrence shot
at him at a funeral, both guns misfired
• Theodore Roosevelt- Oct. 14, 1912 shot by John Shrank
at speech, hit in chest but blocked by thick speech
• Franklin D. Roosevelt- Feb. 15, 1933 shot at by
Giuseppie Zangara in Miami, missed FDR
• Harry Truman- Nov. 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationals
attacked Blair House, killed by guards
• Gerald Ford- Sept. 1975, threatened, shot at, by two
women, Lynnette Fromme/Sara Jane Moore
• Ronald Reagan- Mar. 30, 1981, shot in lung by John
Hinkley Jr., trying to impress actress Jodi Foster
Reagan Assassination Attempt
Research Project
• With your group, choose one presidential
assassination, or attempt, to research
• Choose a U.S. President or other world leader
• You will have two days to research and one day to
put your presentation together
• Your group’s presentation should include
information about the event, the leader, the
assassin, motives, protection or lack of, etc.
• Presentation should have visual aids, include a
typed 1-2 page summary with a minimum of 3
sources listed in your bibliography