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Inventing the Pinkertons; or, Spies, sleuths, mercenaries, and thugs: being a story of the nation's most famous (and infamous) detective agency
(Book)

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Published:
Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.
Physical Desc:
vi, 194 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Status:
Description

The fascinating story of the most notorious detective agency in US history.

Between 1865 and 1937, Pinkerton's National Detective Agency was at the center of countless conflicts between capital and labor, bandits and railroads, and strikers and state power. Some believed that the detectives were protecting society from dangerous criminal conspiracies; others thought that armed Pinkertons were capital's tool to crush worker dissent. Yet the image of the Pinkerton detective also inspired romantic and sensationalist novels, reflected shifting ideals of Victorian manhood, and embodied a particular kind of rough frontier justice.

Inventing the Pinkertons examines the evolution of the agency as a pivotal institution in the cultural history of American monopoly capitalism. Historian S. Paul O'Hara intertwines political, social, and cultural history to reveal how Scottish-born founder Allan Pinkerton insinuated his way to power and influence as a purveyor of valuable (and often wildly wrong) intelligence in the Union cause. During Reconstruction, Pinkerton turned his agents into icons of law and order in the Wild West. Finally, he transformed his firm into a for-rent private army in the war of industry against labor. Having begun life as peddlers of information and guardians of mail bags, the Pinkertons became armed mercenaries, protecting scabs and corporate property from angry strikers.

O'Hara argues that American capitalists used the Pinkertons to enforce new structures of economic and political order. Yet the infamy of the Pinkerton agent also gave critics and working communities a villain against which to frame their resistance to the new industrial order. Ultimately, Inventing the Pinkertons is a gripping look at how the histories of American capitalism, industrial folklore, and the nation-state converged.

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Central
363.289 P655zo 2016
Due Apr 13, 2024
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Format:
Book
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781421420561, 1421420562

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

O'Hara, S. P. (2016). Inventing the Pinkertons; or, Spies, sleuths, mercenaries, and thugs: being a story of the nation's most famous (and infamous) detective agency. Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

O'Hara, S. Paul. 2016. Inventing the Pinkertons; Or, Spies, Sleuths, Mercenaries, and Thugs: Being a Story of the Nation's Most Famous (and Infamous) Detective Agency. Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

O'Hara, S. Paul, Inventing the Pinkertons; Or, Spies, Sleuths, Mercenaries, and Thugs: Being a Story of the Nation's Most Famous (and Infamous) Detective Agency. Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.

MLA Citation (style guide)

O'Hara, S. Paul. Inventing the Pinkertons; Or, Spies, Sleuths, Mercenaries, and Thugs: Being a Story of the Nation's Most Famous (and Infamous) Detective Agency. Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
d6f5febc-c62b-4b6d-1ced-0a3423f895a1
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Record Information

Last Sierra Extract TimeMar 23, 2024 12:49:36 PM
Last File Modification TimeMar 23, 2024 12:50:34 PM
Last Grouped Work Modification TimeMar 29, 2024 02:17:20 AM

MARC Record

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