Ancient Order of United Workmen
The Ancient Order of United Workmen is an American brotherhood that was founded on October 27, 1868 by John Jordan Upchurch in Meadville ( Crawford County , Pennsylvania ) as a "fraternal charity for white men" on the model of the Freemasons .
Goal setting
It was the order of the order to care for the welfare of impoverished workers and immigrants . In the early years membership was limited to mechanics ; Lawyers , bankers and entrepreneurs were excluded . In 1870 these restrictions were weakened, but lawyers and saloon operators were still excluded , who as professional groups were both suspected of just "pulling money out of the pockets" of the poor workers, as well as wealthy men who were unwilling to invest their assets in craft businesses and thereby create additional jobs .
Members
- Moritz von Dobschütz (1831–1913), German entrepreneur in Belleville from 1858
- Franz Dorotheus Geutebrück (1836-1896), surgeon in Houston
literature
- Mary Ann Clawson: Constructing Brotherhood. Class, Gender and Fraternalism. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 1989, ISBN 0-691-09447-0 , p. 142.