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

第八章

This chapter presents the Commission’s review of U.S. presidential protective arrangements in place at the time of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, prompted by the high rate of presidential assassinations and attempts since 1865. The Commission did not conduct a comprehensive review of all facets of presidential protection, but focused on broader issues highlighted by the Dallas events, drawing on full access to a major post-assassination Secret Service study prepared for the Secretary of the Treasury. Sensitive underlying staff and consultant reports were withheld from publication to avoid compromising current protective methods, while all information related to protective operations during the Dallas trip was included in the Commission’s published record.

The Protection of the President

Over the 100 years prior to 1963, four U.S. presidents were assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy), and three other prominent political figures survived assassination attempts: Theodore Roosevelt during his 1912 campaign, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, and Harry S. Truman in 1950. This means one in five presidents since 1865 was assassinated, and one in three faced an assassination attempt. Prompted by these statistics, the Commission launched its inquiry into presidential protection practices at the time of Kennedy’s assassination to identify improvements that could reduce the risk of future attacks. The Commission’s review led to a 1964 Treasury Department planning document requesting additional personnel and resources for the Secret Service, which was submitted to the Bureau of the Budget for approval in August 1964.