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The United States Secret Service (USSS) was created by President Abraham Lincoln to deal with counterfeit money, not presidential protection. It became the Presidential Protection Officer in 1902. The USSS assigns codenames to their protectees and employs over 5,000 people.
President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to create the United States Secret Service (USSS) the day he was assassinated. The service officially started running about a month later. Contrary to popular belief, the USSS was originally created to deal in counterfeit money rather than presidential protection. It was not until after the assassination of President William McKinley that Congress informally asked the USSS to protect the president, and it formally became Presidential Protection Officer a year later in 1902.
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The first USSS agent to die in the line of duty was Agent William Craig. He was killed when a moving streetcar hit the carriage carrying President Teddy Roosevelt. The president walked away with superficial wounds.
The USSS is known for assigning codenames to their protégés. Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy was called “Lace” and Ronald Reagan was “Rawhide”, Barack Obama was “Renegade” and Al Gore was “Sawhorse” and later “Sundance”.
The USSS employs more than 5,000 people, many of whom are technicians and administrators. Stereotypical men in black suits with sunglasses and earphones make up only a small fraction of the USSS.
