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Most Secret Service records (Record Group 87) are held by the National Archives. However, records relating to the safety of the President for certain periods are held by the respective presidential library. The records in the Kennedy Library cover the period January 1961 through November 1963.
Opened in May 1991. Finding aid updated in April 2014.
Processed by Megan Desnoyers, Susan D'Entremont, Michael Desmond, Joseph Dever, Erin Mahan, and Kate Horrigan.
The powers and duties of the United States Secret Service are prescribed by law (18 U.S.C. 3056) and include protecting the person of the President of the United States and the members of his immediate family. The Secret Service is directed by the Chief and operates under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury.
The Chief of the Secret Service is charged with the supervision of the White House Police Force. The White House Police Force is a permanent police force created by an act of September 14, 1922 (42 Stat. 841; 3 U.S.C. 202-208), for the protection of the White House, Executive offices, and grounds, and the President and his immediate family. An act of May 14, 1930 (46 Stat. 328; 3 U.S.C. 202-204, 208) places this force under the control and supervision of the Secret Service. With the enactment of Public Law 91-217 on March 19, 1970, the White House Police Force became part of the Executive Protective Services.
These records consist of White House Police gate and post logs and attached notes showing names of people visiting the White House and the Executive Office Building, staff members with whom they had appointments, and their arrival and departure times; White House Police daily record books of the movements of the President and his family, groups coming to the White House, and demonstrators (including their causes) outside the White House; Secret Service list of movements of the President at all times (1963 only).
Arranged chronologically by month and then by gate or post. If dates of log vary from the days of the month, the log dates are given in parentheses. Loose items which were originally attached to the logs have been removed and filed in the attachments that follow the logs.
These materials consist of handwritten logs showing the names of the people who visited the White House complex and the identity of the staff members with whom they had appointments, along with the time of their arrival and departure. The slips were accumulated by the White House Police Force in connection with their duties in protecting the White House, the Executive Office and grounds, and the President and his immediate family. They include the names of people expected and people actually arriving, but only those actually arriving show a time of arrival.
The following gates and posts have been identified: West Wing of the White House: A-4 (the high frequency of groups of press personnel appearing on records for this post suggests it was the entrance habitually used by the press corps), E-1, E-4; East Wing of the White House: G-4; Executive Office Building: B-1, B-5, B-5A, C-7; Situation Room: W-7; Unidentified Gates: D-1, D-2, D-3, D-4, D-6, D-7, D-8, G-7.
The logs do not represent every entrance and all times. In some instances, there are references in the E-1 post logs that people have entered via "B-3" - usually cabinet officers, but occasionally "hairdresser" and other similar service personnel. Yet there are no logs for B-3. Several other post numbers are noted in the body of the logs, but there do not appear to be records of those posts among this material: B-3, B-4, C-9, and F-5.
Arranged chronologically.
Using large, red National Diary books for each year, the White House Police recorded the following: Movements of the President and First Lady leaving or entering the White House, but not their movements inside the White House other than as outlined in this memo; social functions; public or private tours; off the record appointments or groups entering that were not recorded at posts having appointment books; helicopter flights involving the President and family, noting time DC Fire Department and US Park Police were notified; special functions such as the President and/or First Lady being photographed with groups; press conference, noting number attending conference; pickets, noting approximate number and reason for picketing; practicing golf in the South Grounds, noting when US Park Police and Guard's Office, E.O.B. were notified, or any other information pertinent to our monthly reports.
When processing of Secret Service records began in 1991, the diaries were located in the John F. Kennedy Personal Papers Collection and they were closed for research use. However, when it was determined that they were Secret Service records, they were moved to Record Group 87.
This series consists of one green Federal Supply Service (GPO) Record book that was used to record movements of the President. Entries include a place name and a time. The volume is labelled on the spine, "POTUS [meaning President of the United States] MOVES 1963-1964" and on the cover "Presidential Movements, 1963, 1964." Occasionally small pieces of paper are stapled to a page in the book.
Although it remained uncataloged and closed to research use, the volume was shelved at the end of the President's Office Files until the records of the Secret Service were processed. Assuming that these records were kept by the Secret Service, they have been moved to this collection. The section of the Record book that begins with 23 November 1963 was transferred to the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library.