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| Allan Pinkerton |
| The first private Detective
1819 - 1884 |
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Allan Pinkerton is an enigmatic figure when
viewed through contemporary eyes.
A Scot who emigrated to America in the 1840's,
Pinkerton was very much on the side of black Americans and was
involved in hiding, succouring and securing their freedom from
their southern "owners" during the American Civil War.
Pinkerton is generally acknowledged as being
the head of the world's first detective agency, even as the progenitor
of the modern CIA. In pursuit of his business, he was very astute
in the employment of black southern Americans, recognising the
value that having "in-situ" agents had, a lesson that
the modern day intelligence chiefs have forgotten (think Bin-Laden
et al).
Yet Pinkerton was also a strike breaker
who sent in "heavies" to break strikes by organised
labour unions who, in Pinkertons' opinion, were bad for the workers.
In a nice wee twist, in a show of national
solidarity, one of his largest clients was , a fellow Scot from Dunfermline and one of
the largest American employers of the time.
If viewed entirely through strike breaking,
anti-union eyes, then Pinkerton was a nasty piece of work, and
Carnegie little better.
Some dozen or so Irish labourers lost their
lives on the judicial gallows thanks to Pinkerton agents who infiltrated
the Molly Maguires, an Irish trade confederation fighting for
workers rights against oppressive employers. The employer in question
being Dale Carnegie.
Pinkerton agents infiltrated the Molly Maguires
and in several instances gave the key evidence that led to the
execution of members of the confederation.
Pinkerton agents were also involved in the
futile hunt for Jesse James. James had massive public support
in his native Texas, but that didn't stop Pinkerton agents raiding
the James' farm looking for Jesse. Shrapnel from an explosive
blew an arm off his mother, Zerelda, and killed his 11-year-old
half-brother, Archie. Jesse was not home. So much for intelligence.
Not good eh? In modern parlance, this is
called collateral damage.
Great Scot, or does FirstFoot need to start
another section called "Great Bastarding Scot"?
