Knowra Pinkerton National Detective Agency Pinkerton National Detective Agency The Pinkerton National Detective Agency is a private American detective agency founded by Allan Pinkerton in Chicago in 1850. It became known for railroad security, investigations, strikebreaking, and its role in national law enforcement before federal agencies expanded.
Railroad policing : The private and public systems used to protect railways, enforce rules, and investigate crimes on railroad property. Railroad companies hired Pinkerton agents to guard property, investigate theft, and pursue train robbers.
Baltimore Plot : An alleged 1861 conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln while he passed through Baltimore. Pinkerton agent Kate Warne helped uncover the plot and arrange Lincoln’s discreet passage through the city.
Allan Pinkerton : A Scottish-born American detective and abolitionist who founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850. He created the agency and established its identity around investigation, intelligence, and protection.
Anti-Pinkerton Act : An 1893 United States law restricting federal agencies from employing Pinkerton detectives or similar private organizations. Congress passed the law amid concern about federal use of private guards against labor unrest.
Municipal police : Government-funded police forces responsible for law enforcement within cities and towns. Unlike municipal police, Pinkerton agents worked for private clients and lacked general public authority.
Strikebreaking : The use of employers, private agents, or public force to weaken or end a labor strike. Pinkerton agents became prominent in efforts to disrupt strikes and protect employers’ operations.
Molly Maguires : A secretive Irish American labor organization associated with violence in Pennsylvania’s nineteenth-century coal region. Pinkerton operative James McParland infiltrated the organization, supplying evidence used in prosecutions.
Kate Warne : An American private detective who became the first woman employed as a detective by the Pinkerton agency. Her undercover work and role in the Baltimore Plot became central to the agency’s early history.
Labor history : The study of workers, labor organizations, employment relations, and struggles over working conditions. Pinkerton deployments became a recurring feature of major nineteenth-century labor conflicts.
United States Marshals Service : A federal law-enforcement agency whose officers enforce federal law and perform judicial and security duties. Federal marshals held public authority that private Pinkerton operatives did not possess.
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