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

APPENDIX VII

This appendix provides a brief history of presidential protection in the United States, documenting the assassination of four Presidents within less than 100 years and unsuccessful attempts on the lives of two other Presidents, one President-elect, and one ex-President. It chronicles the timeline of these attacks and notes the statistical frequency of such incidents.

A Brief History of Presidential Protection

The section documents attacks on American Presidents, noting that four Presidents have been assassinated since 1865, with additional attempts on two other Presidents, one President-elect, and one ex-President. The timeline of actual attempts includes: Andrew Jackson (January 30, 1835); Abraham Lincoln (April 14, 1865, died April 15, 1865); James A. Garfield (July 2, 1881, died September 19, 1881); William McKinley (September 6, 1901, died September 14, 1901); Theodore Roosevelt (October 14, 1912, wounded but recovered); Franklin D. Roosevelt (February 15, 1933); Harry S. Truman (November 1, 1950); and John F. Kennedy (November 22, 1963, died that day). The section concludes with statistical observations: attempts have been made on the lives of one of every five American Presidents, one of every nine Presidents has been killed, since 1865 attempts have been made on one of every four Presidents with one of every five successfully assassinated, and during the last three decades three attacks were made.

第二章 With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

Systematic and continuous protection of the President was only instituted after the shooting of William McKinley. Before McKinley, presidential protection was intermittent and spasmodic, with the problem existing since the early days of the Republic but going unaddressed until three tragic events forced action. Examining the development of presidential protection over the years reveals both the persistent high degree of danger and the anomalous reluctance of presidents and government institutions to take necessary precautions.