How did the Secret Service Get Involved In Presidential Security
The US Secret Service, a unit of the Treasury Department became involved with security for the President of the United States as a result of an unusual event which occurred in Springfield, Illinois.
In 1876, a Chicago counterfeiting ring led by Big Jim Kinealy planned to steal Lincoln’s corpse from the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield and hold it for $200,000 ransom and the release of his best engraver, Benjamin F. Boyd, who was imprisoned for ten years. The Secret Service became involved when their informant advised them of the plan and they set a trap to catch the potential grave robbers. Since that time they were assigned to protect Lincoln’s corpse and their mission has been expanded until it is as we know it today.
Interestingly, to protect Lincoln’s remains it was reburied in the Lincoln Monument ten feet under ground in a steel box under tons of concrete. The burial site plan was designed by Lincoln’s son Robert to insure his father would never be bothered again.
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