The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was founded to track down counterfeiters and train robbers, then evolved into an organization that investigated Lincoln's assassination, stopped many criminal organizations such as Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch and Civil War espionage work. Furthermore, the agency demonstrated the ability to be progressive as it was the first to enter criminals into a database and the first to hire a female detective in the United States. With that, the entire agency has made a great impact and is in over 100 countries today. Allan Pinkerton was born on August 25, 1819 in Scotland. Pinkerton moved to Chicago in 1842, working as a barrel maker. A few years later, he joined the Chicago police squad, and in 1850 the Pinkerton Company's first office opened at 80 Washington Street. The Society has created some ground rules that are very familiar to the FBI: never accept bribes, never negotiate with terrorists or criminals, become friends with the law, never handle cases that might cause scandal, never accept monetary rewards, never increase price the case without the customer knowing and let the customer know what is happening with the case (www.Pinkerton.com). These rules were called the Pinkerton Code. In 1853 the company worked with law enforcement agencies across the country stopping criminal suspects across the country. Initially they specialized in stopping counterfeiters and protecting trains from robberies. Not only that, Pinkerton was also asked to help in the Civil War and find information on the Confederates to uncover their plans. While gathering intelligence, Pinkerton found information indicating an attempt on President Lincoln's life during his inauguration in 1.... .. middle of paper ......ncy was banned from Ohio, but that didn't stop. Today the company is present in one hundred different countries and is a private detective agency. The whole agency was founded by Allan Pinkerton, who wanted to stop counterfeiters and protect trains from theft. In the end they did much more. They carried out espionage for the states of the Union, protected the president, and even started the first database of criminals. Today the agency has had a huge impact on the entire world. Works Cited • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/james-agency/ • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh /amex/carnegie/sfeature/mh_horror.html• http: //www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/define_the_west/train_robbers/train_robbers.html• http://www.pinkerton.com/history• American Law Enforcement Page 221 • http://memory.loc.gov/ ammem/today/aug25.html