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This First-Year Seminar explores the history of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the first American detective firm and a major force in American politics from the 1850s through the 1930s. We will follow the trail of the Pinkertons from Illinois railroads and Civil War battlefields to the bloody fights over the American West, as they chase train robbers, break strikes, and create a trail of enemies along the way. The Pinkertons’ exploits show us a changing America. We’ll consider transformations in the nature and structure of political authority and in technologies of surveillance and policing. In addition to introducing you to the history of the Pinkertons, this course has another goal: teaching you to analyze primary sources. Most weeks, we’ll examine original documents such as detective reports, memoirs, and Congressional investigations. These skills will help you hone your critical faculties, which will come in handy whatever your major. Field trips will include a visit to the B&O Railroad Museum. Students may also investigate representations of the Pinkertons in popular culture, including the video game Red Dead Redemption 2.