Terrence V. Powderly (1849-1924)
by Rick Gregory, Education Director
Powderly followed Uriah Stephens as head of the Knights of Labor and became one of the most influential labor leaders of the 19th century. Born in Carbondale, PA, Powderly went to work for the railroads at age 13 and rose rapidly in its shop unions, becoming president of the Machinists' and Blacksmiths' National Union in 1872.
He joined the Knights in 1874 and five years later was elected the federation's president or "Grand Master Workman," a post he held until 1893. Powderly implored workers to "throw strong drink aside as you would an ounce of liquid hell" and strongly advocated land reform, public education, and abolition of the "wages system." Championing a "union open to all," he gradually weaned the Knights from their Masonic-like ritualism and secrecy and brought new blood, both skilled and unskilled and large numbers of women and immigrants, into the organization.
Unfortunately for the Knights, in 1886 Samuel Gompers founded a rival national union, the American Federation of Labor. The AFL drained members of craft unions out of the Knights. Also, in 1886, the Knights were unjustly blamed for the Chicago Haymarket riot. By 1893, the KOL only had 100,000 members and Powderly resigned as president. The Knights helped page the way for today's AFL-CIO>
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