The collapse of the National Labor Union in 1873 left a vacuum for workers looking for organization. Wright, and a small group of Philadelphia tailors founded a secret organization known as the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor. Terence Powderly (1890, age 41), Grand Master Workman of the Knights of Labor during its meteoric rise and precipitous decline. Remnants of the Knights of Labor continued in existence until 1949, when the group's last 50-member local dropped its affiliation. The Panic of 1893 terminated the Knights of Labor's importance. Many opted to join groups that helped to identify their specific needs, instead of the KOL which addressed many different types of issues. Most members abandoned the movement in 1886–1887, leaving at most 100,000 in 1890. Its frail organizational structure could not cope as it was battered by charges of failure and violence and calumnies of the association with the Haymarket Square riot. By 1886, 20% of all workers were affiliated, nearly 800,000 members. It was founded by Uriah Stephens on December 28, 1869, reached 28,000 members in 1880, then jumped to 100,000 in 1884. The Knights of Labor had served, however, as the first mass organization of the white working class of the United States. After a rapid expansion in the mid-1880s, it suddenly lost its new members and became a small operation again. It was notable in its ambition to organize across lines of gender and race and in the inclusion of both skilled and unskilled labor. In some cases it acted as a labor union, negotiating with employers, but it was never well organized or funded. The Knights of Labor promoted the social and cultural uplift of the worker, and demanded the eight-hour day. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also in Great Britain and Australia. Knights of Labor ( K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation that was active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s.
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