The Secret Service

The Secret Service was created in 1865 as a federal law enforcement agency within the Treasury Department. It derives its legal authority from Title 18, United States Code, Section 3056. It was established for the express purpose of stopping counterfeiting operations which had sprung up in this country following the introduction of paper currency during the Civil War (Treasury, 2002, Online). The Secret Service maintains its role as guardian of the integrity of our currency, but today also investigates crimes involving United States securities, coinage, other government issues, credit and debit card fraud, and electronic funds transfer fraud. The most obvious of its other activities is executive protection, which began after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901(Treasury, 2002, Online).

In the 1800s, America's monetary system was very disorganized. Bills and coins were issued by each state through individual banks, which generated many types of legal currency. With so many different kinds of bills in circulation, it was easy for people to counterfeit money. The Secret Service officially went to work on July 5, 1865. Its first chief was William Wood. Chief Wood, widely known for his heroism during the Civil War, was very successful in his first year, closing more than 200 counterfeiting plants. This success helped prove the value of the Secret Service, and in 1866 the National Headquarters was established in the Department of the Treasury building in Washington, D.C (Treasury, 2002, Online).

During the evening of the same day President Lincoln established the Secret Service, he was assassinated