Knights of Labor
After the demise of the Garment Cutters' Union, a few former members met with Stephens at his home on November 25, 1869.[3] During this gathering, Stephens revealed plans for a new organization, the "Noble and Holy Order of Knights of Labor." As he conceived it, Stephens intended for the Knights of Labor to be a "brotherhood of toil" open to every laborer, mechanic, and artisan who desired professional improvement, regardless of country, creed, or color. At its founding, the K of L was open to all working people, and charged no dues.
The Knights of Labor was intended as a voluntary association of producers, who would work cooperatively and fraternally, as opposed to the self-centered materialism of the Gilded Age.[9] In Stephens’ vision, the K of L included elements of a fraternal organization or secular church, including rituals and secrecy. Secrecy was initially regarded as essential, given the number of incidents of violence against workers, including coal worker strikes in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
At the new order’s second meeting on December 28, 1869, the group adopted Stephens' ritual work, Adelphon Kruptos (Secret Brotherhood). In it, Stephens expressed his conviction that the "Everlasting Truth sealed by the Grand Architect of the Universe" is that "everything of value, or merit, is the result of creative Industry." Rituals included lectures on the nobility of labor and the evils of wage slavery, monopoly, and over-accumulation of wealth. Stephens created an equilateral triangle within a circle as the new order’s emblem, embellishing it with symbolism from the various lodges to which he belonged.
The Knights of Labor elected Stephens as the first local Master Workman, the first District Master Workman, and the first Grand Master Workman, the highest position in the organization. By 1879, there were 23 district assemblies and 1,300 local assemblies.[3] As the Knights of Labor grew into the most powerful labor organization of its day, Stephens increasingly found himself in disagreement with the rank and file members. The organization's secrecy and rituals became a source of controversy, and many more aggressive members took exception to Stephens’ opposition to strikes and other job actions in favor of promoting the personal and professional development and growth of the organization's members.
In 1878, Stephens ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives as the candidate of the Greenback–Labor; he had earlier been the catalyst for adding "Labor" to the Greenback Party's name in an attempt to broaden the party's appeal.
Resignation
Stephens resigned in 1879 over disagreement with a proposed K of L policy shift when the organization's General Assembly voted to make its name public, omit scriptural quotations from the ritual, and edit the initiation ceremonies, all of which were designed to attract new members by making the Knights of Labor less offensive to the Catholic Church.[3] The debate over ending secrecy continued until January 1, 1882, when the Knights of Labor became a public organization. After his resignation, Stephens was replaced by Terence V. Powderly.[3]
Under Powderly's leadership, the Knights of Labor continued to grow; it had almost 700,000 members by 1886, making it the first successful nationwide labor union.[3] The organization also moved further from Stephens' initial vision, including support for the Chinese Exclusion Act. The aftermath of the Haymarket affair and the Panic of 1893 caused workers to start leaving the Knights of Labor, and its membership dwindled until its last local affiliate dropped the name in 1949.