35. Lax Presidential Protection
Back when Abraham Lincoln occupied the Oval Office, people were pretty blasé about presidential security. This, notwithstanding earlier warnings, such as an 1835 attempt to assassinate President Andrew Jackson, that failed only because the would-be assassin’s pistols misfired. Lincoln was himself quite cavalier about his personal safety, despite numerous threats and hate mail.
In 1861 a plot was uncovered that sought to murder him in Baltimore. In 1864, while riding at night unguarded, an unknown sniper fired a rifle shot that missed the president’s head by inches, and pierced his hat. Notwithstanding, Lincoln often went about unescorted. He sometimes walked alone at night from the White House to the War Department, often attended church or went to the theater without bodyguards, and generally disliked the fuss of a military escort.
