Allan Pinkerton

The year Allan Pinkerton left Scotland was the same year a secret society called the Molly Maguires was being organized in Ireland. Composed of laborers, it was formed to protect the peasantry from abuse by agents of wealthy landlords. They were known to use violence and sabotage. The name Molly Maguires came from their use of women's clothing as a disguise when hiding from law enforcement.

When a similar group of Irishmen organized into a union in the coal-mining districts of Pennsylvania in 1854, the press and police applied the name Molly Maguires to the American miners. Although no connection existed between the two societies, calling anyone who was for unions a "Molly" labeled them as a lawless element. As a result, uprisings were briefly subdued in the workplace. By 1875, however, the society had become a fraternity used to dominate miners' organizations and intimidate owners.

Ultimately, their activity led to a forced general strike. Contracted killings regularly occurred in order to rid the region of any mine superintendents, bosses, and police who opposed members of the order. Assasassins were always brought in from another district, so they would not be recognized. This pattern made it difficult to produce a case against the Molly Maguires. Originally intended to improve working conditions and secure fair wages, the union was soon responsible for blowing up mines, wrecking trains, setting fires, and looting company stores, in addition to murder.

After repeated attempts to bring the offenders to justice failed, the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company brought in Pinkerton. The agency decided to use an undercover agent, and in the fall of 1873 operative James McParland was assigned to infiltrate the Mollys. Posing as James McKenna, a fugitive from a murder charge in Buffalo, McParland soon made his mark in the Irish community of the coalfields.

By the spring of 1874 McParland was inducted into the secret society and continued sending reports to the Pinkerton office about labor conditions in the field for another year. McParland needed to gather enough evidence of crimes committed to stand up in a court of law. His work ultimately resulted in the conviction and execution of several union leaders, although his report charged that the company was largely responsible for the explosive situation in the coal-mining districts.