Adelphon Kruptos: The Secret Ritual of the Knights of Labor

The Adelphon Kruptos is the secret ritual manual of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, a working class secret society which grew into the first mass trade union in North America. Founded in 1869, it grew to 800,000 members, 20% of all the workers in America, by its height in 1886. It was notable for including women and men, black, brown and white workers (although, to its lasting shame, not Asian-origin workers). Advancing a co-operative socialism, an ethical and cultural approach rather than a Marxist or class-conflict approach, it was unable to cope with the intensification of class conflict after the depression of the 1880s and collapsed. The ritual manual shows the crossover of the secret societies, which were a prominent feature of late, Victorian America, an alternative ethics, with the organizations of the working class. Its celebration of the nobility of labor and the power of solidarity continues to inspire. Samuel Wagar’s Masters’ thesis work on the intersection between the socialist movement and the Theosophical Society in the 1920s came from long standing interest in working class organization, the occult and metaphysical subcultures, and social change. He is a Wiccan priest and chaplain at the University of Alberta as well as a Doctor of Ministry student at St. Stephen’s College in Edmonton. He has four other books out, and continues to be excited by scholarship. swagar@ualberta.ca