January 17, 2020 ▸ Corporation, History

Episode 447: Pinkerton Detective Agency: Thugs, Cops, or Something in the Middle?

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On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at one of the most corporations in American history, the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Known simply as the Pinkertons, they have were a key figure in the taming of the old west. They feuded with Jesse James, killed strikers during labor disputes, and protected the railroad as it expanded. They evolved over the years to become one of the world’s largest modern day security companies, but their legacy as corporate goon squads and private armies is still around today (and for good reason!).

The group was said to be founded by Allan Pinkerton (though it was really him and his brother together). Allan was an emigre from Scotland who landed in Chicago as a barrel builder. While there, the stumbled on a counterfeit ring and helped the local sheriff bust them. From there, his life as a crime fighter and detective started. He and his brother started two different detective and security companies but eventually merged them to be the infamous Pinkertons of the old west.

So what was so special about the Pinkertons? Well, for one thing, they hired straight up street thugs and armed them. Eventually, they had more members of their group than the US Army had soldiers. Secondly, they were not afraid to get their hands dirty. Their union busting efforts saw their members do everything from firebombing to shooting innocent picketers.

What else did they do? They allegedly stopped Abraham Lincoln from getting assassinated on the way to his inauguration. They hired the first ever female detective in the United States. They killed people for JD Rockefeller in the Ludlow Massacre. They blew up Jesse James’ mom and little brother with a bomb. They started the first ever criminal database in the nation, and they were the equivalent of the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service in the 1800s when such things didn’t even exist yet. We cover everything from their time as Union spies during the civil war to their feud with the video game Red Dead Redemption. The Pinkertons are still around, though, so let’s hope we don’t piss them off enough to start spying on us!

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-pinkertons

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/james-agency/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_(detective_agency)

https://www.pinkerton.com/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pinkerton-detectives-still-exist-and-theyre-tired-of-being-the-bad-guys-11548097818

https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/august-25/

https://www.loc.gov/item/mm75036301/

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/969.html

https://newrepublic.com/article/147619/pinkertons-still-never-sleep

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/pinkertons/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre