Abraham Lincoln was dying. He just didn't know it yet. On April 14, 1865, the President sat at his desk and signed the legislation to create a new federal agency. Hours later, he was shot at Ford’s Theatre. The irony is thick enough to choke on. The man who started the Secret Service did so on the very day he was assassinated, but here is the kicker: even if the agency had been up and running that night, they wouldn't have been at the theater to save him.
They weren't bodyguards back then. Not even close.
When people ask who started the Secret Service, the name they’re looking for is Lincoln, but the reason wasn't protection. It was cold, hard cash. Specifically, the fake kind. By the end of the Civil War, the American economy was a mess. Roughly one-third to one-half of all paper currency in circulation was counterfeit. If you walked into a store in 1864, there was a literal coin flip's chance that the bill in your pocket was worth nothing more than the scrap paper it was printed on. The government was on the verge of a total financial collapse because nobody trusted the money.
The War on "Funny Money"
Hugh McCulloch is a name you probably haven't heard, but he’s the guy who actually whispered the idea into Lincoln's ear. As the Secretary of the Treasury, McCulloch was losing sleep over the counterfeiting crisis. He realized that local police couldn't handle the sophisticated rings of "shovers" and "plate makers" crossing state lines. You needed a federal force.
Lincoln agreed. He saw it as a matter of national security.
The Secret Service was born as a small division within the Department of the Treasury. Its sole mandate was to "suppress counterfeiting." That’s it. For the first few decades of its existence, if you were a Secret Service agent, you weren't wearing a suit and standing near a podium with an earpiece. You were probably hanging out in a dusty backroom in a Midwest saloon, trying to track down a guy named "Whiskey Pete" who was printing fake $5 bills.
🔗 Read more: Pasco County FL Sinkhole Map: What Most People Get Wrong
William P. Wood: The First Chief
If you want to know who started the Secret Service in terms of its actual operations, you have to talk about William P. Wood. He was the first Director, or "Chief," as they called it then. Wood was a character. He wasn't some polished law enforcement official; he was a former Mexican-American War soldier and a bit of a rogue.
Wood’s methods were... questionable. He wasn't above using informants or playing dirty to get his man. He once famously said that the government "must use a thief to catch a thief." Under his leadership, the agency became incredibly effective at dismantling the massive counterfeiting operations that threatened the Greenback. But throughout his entire tenure, he never once worried about protecting the President.
The job of guarding the Commander-in-Chief was basically non-existent. Presidents used to just walk around. Lincoln would go for walks alone at night. Andrew Jackson once had to beat a would-be assassin with his own cane because there was no security detail to intervene. It was a different world.
Why the Shift to Protection?
It took two more assassinations for the government to finally realize that maybe, just maybe, the guys who were good at undercover detective work should also be guarding the leader of the free world.
After James A. Garfield was shot in 1881 and William McKinley was murdered in 1901, the public had finally had enough. It was embarrassing and tragic. Congress informally asked the Secret Service to take over presidential protection in 1901. It wasn't even "official" official until 1906 when the Sundry Civil Expenses Act finally put it in writing.
💡 You might also like: Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Complex: What Actually Happens Behind the Gates
- 1865: Agency created to stop counterfeiters.
- 1894: Small, informal protection for Grover Cleveland begins.
- 1901: Permanent protection starts after McKinley's death.
- 1917: Protection extends to the President's immediate family.
The agency’s dual mission is a weird quirk of American history. Most countries have one agency for money stuff and another for bodyguard stuff. We just mashed them together because the Secret Service was already there and already had a reputation for being effective and secretive.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often think the Secret Service is part of the military or the FBI. Nope. For the longest time, they stayed under the Treasury. It wasn't until 2003, in the massive shakeup following 9/11, that they were moved over to the Department of Homeland Security.
And they still do the money stuff!
If you get a counterfeit bill today, you don't call the local cops. You call the Secret Service. They still investigate wire fraud, bank fraud, and attacks on the financial infrastructure of the United States. They’re basically the world's most elite group of accountants who also happen to be trained to take a bullet for the President.
The Evolution of the Role
Honestly, the job has changed more in the last twenty years than it did in the previous hundred. It’s not just about standing in front of a door anymore. They are now deeply involved in cybersecurity. Because, think about it—if you want to ruin a country's economy today, you don't need a printing press. You need a laptop and a way to get into the digital banking system.
📖 Related: Ohio Polls Explained: What Most People Get Wrong About Voting Times
The legacy of who started the Secret Service—Lincoln and McCulloch—lives on in that specific mission. They were trying to protect the "integrity of the currency." That’s still the official phrasing. Whether that means stopping a guy with a fake plate in 1865 or a hacker group in 2026, the core goal hasn't shifted as much as you'd think.
Actionable Insights for Today
Understanding the history of the Secret Service actually has some practical applications for the average person, especially regarding the original mission:
- Check Your Cash: While the Secret Service is world-class, counterfeit bills still circulate. Learn the "Feel, Tilt, Check" method. Modern bills have a security thread that glows under UV light and color-shifting ink on the bottom right corner. If it doesn't shift from copper to green, it's probably fake.
- Report Financial Fraud: If you are a victim of a high-level financial scam or wire fraud, your local police might not have the resources to help. The Secret Service has Field Offices across the country specifically for this.
- Appreciate the Irony: Next time you look at a $5 bill, remember that the guy on the front (Lincoln) signed the order to create the agency that protects the bill's value on the day he died because he had no protection.
The Secret Service started as a desperate attempt to save the dollar. It ended up being the shield for the Presidency. It’s a messy, accidental, and uniquely American story that proves some of our most important institutions were created to solve problems that don't even exist anymore, yet they somehow became indispensable for problems we never saw coming.
To verify a suspicious bill, you can go to the official U.S. Currency Education Program which outlines every security feature the Secret Service currently monitors. If you suspect you've received counterfeit money, the Secret Service advises that you do not put yourself in danger but do try to remember the description of the person who gave it to you and contact your local field office immediately.
Next Steps for Genuine Verification
If you’re ever in a position where you're handling large amounts of cash—say, selling a car or running a small business—invest in a high-quality counterfeit detector pen or, better yet, a UV light scanner. The pens are famously unreliable on "washed" bills (real $1 bills bleached and reprinted as $100s). The UV light will show the true security strip.
Also, keep an eye on the Secret Service’s "Most Wanted" list for financial crimes. It’s a fascinating look at how the agency’s original mission has evolved into tracking down international cyber-criminals who operate far beyond the reach of local law enforcement.