What is the origin of the U.S. Secret Service?
The U.S. Secret Service, one of the nation’s oldest federal investigative law enforcement agencies, was founded in 1865 as a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department. The original mission was to investigate counterfeiting of U.S. currency. It was estimated that one-third to one-half of the currency in circulation at that time was counterfeit. In 1901, following the assassination of President William McKinley in Buffalo, New York, the Secret Service was assigned the responsibility of protecting the President. Today, the Secret Service’s mission is two fold: protection of the President, Vice President and others; and protection of our nation’s financial system. • Who is the Secret Service authorized to protect? By law, the Secret Service is authorized to protect the President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, and their immediate family members; former Presidents and their spouses; minor children of a former President until the age of 16; major Presidential and Vice Pr
