If Lincoln and/or McKinley aren't assassinated, what about the Secret Service?

hey, all. i was reviewing some of my notes again and came up to a section addressing the fate of Lincoln in a given ATL. for the project in question, Lincoln may not be assassinated due to changes to the ACW. i knew from prior knowledge that the Secret Service as we know it didn't really exist until after Lincoln was killed IOTL. i decided to look into it and learned that the Secret Service was originally formed to combat money laundering and that the legislation to create it was on Lincoln's desk when he died (it was formed two months later). further reading turned up that the other factor to the Secret Service becoming presidential protection was McKinley's assassination, after which Congress requested they become a protective service and that whole thing went through in 1902.

for the time being, i'm going to assume that it would take at least two POTUS assassinations for the Secret Service to become bodyguards and until that point they're "just" federal police, but what does everyone else think?
 

TFSmith121

Banned
hey, all. i was reviewing some of my notes again and came up to a section addressing the fate of Lincoln in a given ATL. for the project in question, Lincoln may not be assassinated due to changes to the ACW. i knew from prior knowledge that the Secret Service as we know it didn't really exist until after Lincoln was killed IOTL. i decided to look into it and learned that the Secret Service was originally formed to combat money laundering and that the legislation to create it was on Lincoln's desk when he died (it was formed two months later). further reading turned up that the other factor to the Secret Service becoming presidential protection was McKinley's assassination, after which Congress requested they become a protective service and that whole thing went through in 1902.

for the time being, i'm going to assume that it would take at least two POTUS assassinations for the Secret Service to become bodyguards and until that point they're "just" federal police, but what does everyone else think?

The service focused on counterfeiting early on, but various incarnations had espionage and security responsibilities as well in the Nineteenth Century. At times, the Washington DC police had presidential security responsibilities, as did the federal marshal's deputies in the District. So did the Army at times during the Civil War.

They were all definitely finding their way; one possibility early on would have been for a US Marshal's Service that had a more wide-ranging law enforcement area of responsibility, rather than being organized by judicial district. If so, the Marshals may have had a protective role.

Best,
 
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