Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

1922 Creation of the White House Police Force

Protection of the White House had been provided by the Washington Metropolitan Police since the Civil War, growing to 54 men by 1922. In that year, Congress established the White House Police Force as a separate organization under the President’s direct control, initially supervised by the President’s military aide. In 1930, Congress placed supervision under the Chief of the Secret Service, and in 1962, Congress transferred control and supervision to the Secretary of the Treasury, who delegated supervision back to the Chief of the Secret Service.

Growth of the Secret Service White House Protection Detail

The White House detail grew slowly from 2 men in 1902 to 5 in 1914, and was increased to 10 during World War I. After the war, the detail grew to 16 agents and 2 supervisors by 1939. World War II dramatically increased demands due to the President’s trips to Grand Strategy Conferences at Casablanca, Quebec, Tehran, Cairo, and Yalta, prompting expansion to 37 men early in the war.

1940 Creation of the Secret Service Protective Research Section

The volume of mail reaching the White House grew enormously under Franklin D. Roosevelt, including threatening letters. In 1940, the Secret Service established the Protective Research Section to analyze White House mail and other sources for information about people potentially capable of violence against the President, allowing the Service to anticipate and prevent many potential incidents.

1950 Assassination Attempt on President Harry S. Truman

On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican Nationalists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempted to force their way into Blair House, where President Truman was residing during White House repairs. Despite no advance warning, Secret Service protective measures proved effective, and the assassins never fired directly at the President. In a gun battle lasting less than three minutes with approximately 27 shots fired, Torresola and one White House policeman were killed, while Collazo and two White House policemen were wounded. A Secret Service agent inside covered the front doorway with a submachine gun. Collazo was sentenced to death in 1951, which Truman commuted to life imprisonment in 1952. No broader Nationalist conspiracy was established.

1951 Permanent Authorization for Secret Service Presidential Protection

The Blair House attack led to 1951 legislation permanently authorizing the Secret Service to protect the President, his immediate family, the President-elect, and the Vice President (upon his request). Vice Presidential protection had actually begun in January 1945 when Harry S. Truman assumed the office.

1962 Expansion of Secret Service Protected Personnel

In 1962, Congress further expanded the list of protected officials to include the Vice President (or next officer in line of succession) without requiring a request, the Vice President-elect, and a former President at his request for a reasonable period after leaving office. The Secret Service interpreted “reasonable period” as six months.

Amendments to the 1917 Presidential Threat Statute

Amendments to the 1917 threat statute in 1955 and 1962 made it a crime to threaten to harm the President-elect, the Vice President, or other officers next in succession to either office. Notably, the President’s immediate family was not included in the threat statute.

Congressional Restrictions on Secret Service Functions

Congressional concerns about the potential uses of the Secret Service, first under Theodore Roosevelt and later under Woodrow Wilson, led to tight restrictions on the Service’s functions and uses of funds. These restrictions likely prevented the Secret Service from becoming a general investigative agency, leaving the field open for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), established within the Department of Justice in 1908.

1949 Hoover Commission Proposal for Protective Function Transfer

In 1949, a task force of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government (Hoover Commission) recommended that nonfiscal functions be removed from the Treasury Department, specifically proposing transfer of the White House detail, White House Police Force, and Treasury Guard Force from the Secret Service to the Department of Justice. However, the Commission’s final report on the Treasury Department omitted this recommendation, leaving the protective function with the Secret Service. Former President Hoover commented that “the President will object to having a ‘private eye’ looking after these fellows and would rather continue with the service.”