Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service on the day he was assassinated. Initially, the task of the Secret Service was to cut down on the counterfeit money circulating in the U.S.---an estimated 1/3 of the circulating currency was counterfeit. Lincoln did have a police guard on the night he was killed, but the policeman, John Parker, was a poor choice for a guard. He had been called before the police boards several times for charges such as sleeping on the job, being drunk on the job, frequenting brothels on duty, etc. (He claimed that the ladies of the brothel had called him there to report some crime, and they wanted to speak to him privately, in their rooms.) Parker left Lincolns side because he couldnt see the play well. At intermission, he and the presidents coachmen left to go to the saloon. It is unknown where he was when the president was shot; however, even if he had been there, he might well have let Booth in to see the president, as Booth was a well-known actor whom the president had seen before. Charges were filed against Parker for dereliction of duty, though they were later dropped. He even kept his job for a while, but was fired in 1868 for sleeping on the job.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 21:52:34 +0000
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