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.
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