The Knights of Labor had their beginning in the United States in 1869. KNown originally as the “Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor”,they were at first a secret body. This secret nature was due in part at least, to the founder of the Order, Uriah Smith Stephens, who, being himself a Freemason, naturally tended towards secrecy. Mr. Stephens argued: “I don’t know of any great good that has been accomplished except through the agency of secret societies. I believe that all legitimate occupations have their secrets. Ministers and medical men have their associations, merchants their exchanges, lawyers their bar associations, and so on, and they all have their secrets, and I see no reason why those upon whom the commerce of the world rests should not have theirs.”1 Closely associated with this secrecy, was the ritual of the Order. When a candidate was invited to join the Order, he attended a secret meeting where he was first asked three questions: ‘Do you believe in God, the creator and Father of all? Do you obey the Universal Ordinance of God, in gaining your bread by the sweat of your brow? Are you willing to take a sollemn vow binding you to secrecy, obedience and mutual assistance?’ [...]
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.122935 |
| Date | January 1949 |
| Creators | Chan, Victor O. (Victor Oscar). |
| Contributors | Cooper, J. (Supervisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts. (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000767308, Theses scanned by McGill Library. |
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