The first federal tax imposed on a domestically produced good was The Whiskey Tax of 1791. The colonists did not take kindly to this initial foray into basic federal taxation, and quickly mounted an armed resistance known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

The initial goal of the Secret Service was to fight a rampant tide of currency forgery in the late 19th century. After its founding the Secret Service wound up investigating all manner of Federal crimes (until the founding of the FBI), and undertook the protection of the President.

Currently, the Secret Service has a specifically two-pronged mandate: to investigate financial crimes and to protect government leaders, both current and former. The Secret Service used to investigate all manner of federal crimes, but has had its scope limited by the introduction of other federal policing agencies like the FBI, ATF, and IRS.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (initially named the Office of Indian Affairs) was created (without congressional approval) in 1824, and was under the purview of the Secretary of War. While the Bureau has (ineffectually) tried to transition into a more progressive agency focused on providing healthcare to disempowered indigenous communities, it was initially, and for the vast majority of its history) an extremely insensitive institution focused on forcing assimilation on Native American communities.

The Judiciary Act is often called the Judiciary Act of 1789. It is a seminal piece of legislation that forms the underpinning of key aspects of the United States judiciary.