Grand Master Workman: Terence Powderly and the Knights of Labor

The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was the most ambitious and significant labor organization of the Gilded Age. As the charismatic leader of this group, Terence Powderly was America's first nationally known labor leader, the first to achieve a high degree of recognition from working people, industrialists, and politicians across the continent. To most Americans, Powderly waS≪/i> the Knights of Labor. Based on an exhaustive examination of Powderly's voluminous correspondence, this book offers a critical analysis of Powderly's efforts to oversee the most spectacular experiment in class-wide solidarity ever undertaken.

Phelan paints a sympathetic and probing portrait of a complex figure caught up in the whirlwind of local and national events. He details the challenges and pressures of labor leadership at a time when industrialization was convulsing the nation, and when the labor movement was struggling to build a viable national institution capable of creating a more egalitarian society. The national focus of this study helps to synthesize the numerous community studies written on the Knights in recent years and offers fresh perspectives on the ultimate meaning of the organization. It is the first detailed examination of the Knights' leadership since the Powderly and Hayes Papers have become available.

I admire this book, Phelan's loving attention to detail, and his challenges to long-held stereotypes...it points us in the right direction for critically reassessing Terence Powderly and the Knights of Labor.H-Net Reviews

This important book brings a much needed, honest, and very well-researched appraisal of Powderly's strengths and weaknesses.American Historical Review

Christians and Chiefs in Zimbabwe is an exceptional book. It is both methodologically innovative and lucidly written....David Maxwell has produced an important addition to the growing collection of works on the history of Zimbabwe. Beyond that, academics and both graduate and undergraduate students interested in the history of religion and the history of politics, particularly at the local level, will find this work an insightful contribution to their fields of inquiry.Internantional Journal of African History Studies

Anyone interested in the philosophy and tactics of current community-based workers' campaigns will benefit from revisiting Powderly...Pennsylvania History

The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was the most ambitious and significant labor organization of the Gilded Age. As the charismatic leader of this group, Terence Powderly was America's first nationally known labor leader, the first to achieve a high degree of recognition from working people, industrialists, and politicians across the continent. To most Americans, Powderly was the Knights of Labor. Based on an exhaustive examination of Powderly's voluminous correspondence, this book offers a critical analysis of Powderly's efforts to oversee the most spectacular experiment in class-wide solidarity ever undertaken.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-288) and index.

CRAIG PHELAN is Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Wales, Swansea.

Introduction

A Child of Industrial America: January 1849-September 1879

Building a National Movement: September 1879-September 1881

Growth and Its Discontents: September 1881-September 1883

A Multiplicity of Goals: September 1883-September 1885

The Great Upheaval: September 1885-September 1888

Failure of a Dream: September 1888-June 1924

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index