The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Research Writing 185 protect members of the society, but also foster cohesion and a sense of fraternity between members. The idea of secrecy Stephens borrowed from the Freemasons; however, he did have several ideas that would make his organization truly unique. Besides secrecy, Stephens proposed two other major pillars to his organization. He based the second pillar on his belief that the strike was not the most efficient or ethical way for labor to handle its disputes with business management. Stephens advocated the use of the boycott rather than the strike. He saw boycotts as a way for the laborers to show their displeasure as consumers and citizens rather than as rebellious workers (Wright 141). The third pillar of Stephen’s organizationwas his revolutionary advocacy of inclusive policies. During this period of history, it was extremely uncommon for unions to include unskilled workers in their ranks. Becauseunskilledworkerswere easily replaced, theywere perceived as having less bargaining power. By including unskilled workers, arguably, Stephens was weakening the organization. However, Stephens saw the benefit of increased numbers as a force that outweighed the perceived cost. In his book on the Knights of Labor, Craig Phelan postulates that, by including all skill levels in their organization, the group’s leaders were attempting to form a “grand army of the discontented,” which by its sheer size could not be overcome once set to a common purpose (2). Stephens served as the undisputed leader of theKnights of Labor until, in 1879, a coalition of Knights under the leadership of Terence Powderly began challenging one of Stephens’ major pillars. At this time, the cardinals of the Catholic Church had declared it forbidden to join any secret society (Phelan 35). Powderly, a Catholic himself, argued that more Catholics, a large percentage of the industrial workforce, would join the organization if it lost its secrecy element. Supported by the growing dissatisfaction with Stephens’ policy of secrecy, Powderly became the new leader of the organization. Although the organization did not remain secret long after Powderly assumed leadership, Powderly did retain many of the Knights’ original policies. He had the same aversion to the strike as did Stephens, and attempted many alternatives to striking. When many of the Knights expressed a desire to join the eight-