Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American detective, spy, abolitionist, and cooper who left a lasting mark on nineteenth-century American history. He is most famous for establishing the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, a private security and detective guard force that became highly influential in the United States. Among his most notable early achievements was his claim to have successfully thwarted an 1861 assassination conspiracy against the then president-elect, Abraham Lincoln.
During the American Civil War, Pinkerton actively supported the Union cause. He served as an intelligence gatherer for the Union Army, working closely with General George B. McClellan of the Army of the Potomac. In this role, Pinkerton provided military intelligence, though his reports were notorious for containing highly inaccurate estimates of Confederate troop strengths.
Following the Civil War, Pinkerton and his agency transitioned into industrial security. Under his leadership, Pinkerton agents became heavily involved in labor disputes, serving as strikebreakers for major corporations. This controversial role was particularly prominent during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, establishing a precedent of anti-labor activity that the Pinkerton National Detective Agency would maintain long after Pinkerton's death in 1884.
