President William McKinley died on this day in 1901, eight days after being shot by an anarchist while meeting and greeting the common folk at a world’s fair, a type of international showcase of modern technology and culture. It was a turning point in the history of the presidency, leading to the creation of the modern Secret Service.
While the operation made to remove the bullet was deemed initially successful – Vice President Theodore Roosevelt even went on vacation – within a few days McKinley’s health started to waver. McKinley himself acknowledged he wasn’t long for this world after collapsing on Sept. 13.
After his death, public debate swirled around presidential security. There were few rules around the physical protection of the president as they went about their duties. Sometimes the Army served as bodyguards, other times the local police would step in, and in the prior decade the Secret Service had done the job on an ad hoc basis. McKinley, on the day he was shot, told his security detail to buzz off so he could spend time meeting and greeting people.
Roosevelt, now president, was being protected by the Secret Service full-time; the agency’s purpose at the time was to combat the counterfeiting of U.S. currency (which it still does), but Congress went ahead and codified presidential protection as its main responsibility.
