The Knights of Labor declined due to their use of secrecy in
their negotiations with management. Many
used deception to maintain the employment of laborers. Later on their secret methods alarmed many
bishops who later condemned the Knights and led to their decline. Apart from that, many members were Catholic.
Newspaper accounts written at the time an event occurred would be considered a "primary source" since they offer relatively unbiased and unaltered material pertaining to the event in question.
