![]() Stephens also joined several fraternal organizations, including the Masons, Knights of Pythias, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He taught himself several foreign languages including French, German, and Spanish, and practiced them to improve his proficiency, which enabled him to read works by European authors. Throughout his life, Stephens read widely on a variety of topics, including finance and economics. He returned to Philadelphia, and became active in several reform movements, including the abolition of slavery and utopian socialism. From 1853 to 1858, he traveled to California, Mexico, Central America, and several European countries. In 1846, Stephens moved to Philadelphia, where he continued to work as a tailor. He was trained as a tailor, and worked to help support his family. The Stephens family sustained financial reverses during the Panic of 1837 Stephens then ended his formal education with the intent of learning a trade. His parents were devout Baptists, and Stephens was educated for the ministry in the hopes that he would become a member of the clergy. Stephens was born in Cape May, New Jersey on August 3, 1821. Stephens' primary legacy was as the founder and organizer of one of the first successful nationwide labor unions. The Knights of Labor continued to expand until backlash against unions following the Haymarket affair and the Panic of 1893 caused workers to depart the K of L, and its membership declined until the organization became defunct in 1949. ![]() Stephens remained active in the labor movement after leaving the Knights of Labor, and died in Philadelphia in 1882. As the organization expanded, debates over the need for secrecy and rituals eventually ended when Stephens resigned, and the organization voted to eliminate these requirements, which enabled it to then begin recruiting as members workers and tradesmen who were Catholic. He originally conceived of the organization as a fraternal one that included secret rituals and focused on individual personal and professional development. After an initial effort, the Garment Cutters' Union, failed to take root, in 1869 Stephens founded the Knights of Labor. After extensive travel throughout the western United States, Mexico, and Europe in the late 1840s and early 1850s, he returned to Philadelphia, where he worked as a tailor and became active in fraternal organizations and the labor movement. He settled in Philadelphia, where he continued to work at his trade. He was most notable for his leadership of nine Philadelphia garment workers in founding the Knights of Labor in 1869, a successful early American labor union.īorn in New Jersey, and initially educated for the ministry, Stephens was apprenticed as a tailor when he was a teenager so that he could help support his family. Uriah Smith Stephens (Aug– February 13, 1882) was an American labor leader.
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