Terence V. Powderly
| Terence Vincent Powderly | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 5th Mayor of Scranton | |
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In office 1878–1884 |
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| Preceded by | Robert H. McKune |
| Succeeded by | Francis A. Beamish |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 22, 1849 Carbondale, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 24, 1924 (aged 75) Petworth, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Greenback-Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Dever 1872-1907, her death Emma Fickenscher 1919-1924 his death |
| Residence | Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Leader of the Knights of Labor (1879–1893) |
| Signature |  |
Terence Vincent Powderly (January 22, 1849 – June 24, 1924) was an American labor union leader, politician and attorney, best known as head of the Knights of Labor in the late 1880s. He was elected mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania for three 2-year terms, starting in 1878. A Republican, he served as the United States Commissioner General of Immigration in 1897. The Knights of Labor was one of the largest American labor organizations of the 19th century, but Powderly was a poor administrator and could barely keep it under control. His small central office could not supervise or coordinate the many strikes and other activities sponsored by union locals. Powderly believed that the Knights was an educational tool to uplift the workingman, and he downplayed the use of strikes to achieve worker goals.
His influence reportedly led to the passing of the alien contract labor law in 1885 and establishment of labor bureaus and arbitration boards in many states. The Knights failed to maintain its large membership after being blamed for the violence of the Haymarket Riot of 1886. It was increasingly upstaged by the American Federation of Labor under Samuel Gompers, which coordinated numerous specialized craft unions that appealed to skilled workers, instead of the mix of unskilled, semiskilled, and skilled workers in the Knights.
Powderly was born the 11th of 12 children on January 22, 1949 to Irish parents who had come up from poverty, Terence Powderly and Madge Walsh, who had emigrated to the United States in 1827. As a child he contracted the measles, as well as scarlet fever which left him deaf in one ear.
At 13 he began work for the railroad as a switchman with the Delaware and Hudson Railway, before becoming a car examiner, repairer and eventually a brakeman. On August 1, 1866, at the age of 17, he entered into an apprenticeship as a machinist with the local master mechanic, James Dickson, at which he was employed until August 15, 1869. Dickson himself had apprenticed to George Stephenson.
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