The Pinkertons.

They were hired by private corporations and the government for security, law enforcement and espionage. They have taken up arms against the American people, killing more than a few. They were founded and led by reactionary, ultraconservative men. They've infiltrated lawful assemblies of US citizens. They had the first database of information relating to criminals and suspects across this nation. Who were they? The FBI? The CIA? The United States Military? Halliburton? Blackwater? Nope... none of the above. They were the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. And I was once their employee.

It's ironic that I worked for a company that was widely despised in Pittsburgh. It was the summer after my freshman year at Pitt, and I needed some spending cash. During those long, hot months I was tasked with protecting a Daytimers factory and a water treatment plant (read the details here). That was before I had come around to embracing Western Pennsylvania as my new hometown. I didn't know much of the local history, and I wasn't really all that interested in learning about it. My high school in Allentown certainly never taught us about the labor conflict at the Carnegie Steel Mill in Homestead, PA, nor the Pinkerton thugs who came to wage war with union workers.

Andrew Carnegie was off in Scotland when Henry Clay Frick employed the Pinkerton "detectives" to provide security for the scab replacements filling in for striking steelworkers. When the groups clashed, men on both sides were injured and even killed. Despite the fact that the Pinkertons were eventually turned away, the state militia was called in and the strike was broken. This was both a temporary setback and a longtime rallying cry for the labor movement. The legacy of the events in Homestead still informs the mindset and politics of the region. This bit of history is now a source of pride for many in Pittsburgh (at least for people who have made it a point to learn about the past).

Before the Pinkertons came to Frick's aide, they were already an established presence in the national scene. Formed by Allan Pinkerton in 1851, they were initially used by business leaders to maintain more control over their employees. The company's motto was "We Never Sleep", and their logo was an all-seeing eye. In fact that symbol is the origination of the term "private eye". They first gained national exposure when they were contracted as bodyguards for President-Elect Abraham Lincoln. Through that work the firm made crucial contacts with political elites and the military establishment.

After the Civil War the Pinkertons gained further fame through providing security for the all-powerful railroad conglomerates. They were primarily tasked with tracking down train robbers, many of whom formed notorious Western outlaw gangs. The company operated branches in most of the growing Western cities- including Spokane, Omaha, and Denver. In the 1870's they were given a Department of Justice contract to investigate and prosecute federal crime (they would continue to serve in this role until the formation of the FBI in 1908). Meanwhile the Spanish Government hired them to quash a democratic revolution in Cuba. The early decades of the Twentieth Century saw them once again focused on corporate espionage and anti-union activities.

At the peak of their power the Pinkerton National Detective Agency had more agents than the US Army had soldiers. This prompted the state of Ohio to outlaw the company because of the fear that they constituted a private militia, or were simply mercenaries. They became widely known as the enemy of working people and reformers. It wasn't until the Wagner Act (1937) and the LaFollete Commitee (1937) heralded a change in employee relations that the Pinkertons began their transition to the relatively innocuous private security company that I worked for in the early 1990's. Yet they have continued to dabble in industrial security and electronic surveillance. They also provide consulting services for governmental security personnel.

In the wake of the Bush Administration and the Patriot Act, the Pinkertons have been overshadowed by more insidious private corporations immersed in crowd control, weapons systems, espionage, counterinsurgency, tracking, enforcement, surveillance and even warfare in Iraq. But the Pinkerton National Detective Agency is the father of them all.

For detailed information regarding the Pinkerton's... click HERE.