Junior Order of United American Mechanics

Photograph

-

Historical Society of Carroll County, Maryland

Name/Title

Junior Order of United American Mechanics

Entry/Object ID

1964.027.001

Description

Print, photographic. Junior Order of United American Mechanics, Gamber, Drill Team, 1912. B/W photo. The photo shows eight young men wearing uniforms and crouching while pointing their weapons at the camera. There is a man standing all the way to their left, holding an American flag and a drum. Another man stands all the way to their right, holding a sword in his hands. Behind them is a neighborhood with fenced yards and a road running down the center. A buggy can be seen far in the distance. The photo is on a black mat. Mat: 10"x12"; Photo: 7.75" x 9.75". Written on the front in blue ink "Drill Team". Underneath each man in the photo their name is written "Charles Barnes, Snyder Arnold, Lewis Miller, Abram Zentz, Gorman Jordan, Walter Barnes, William Bush, Herbert Phillips, Leo Calteude, Oscar Monrol" "Jr. Order United American Mechanics Gamber, Md. 1912" There is als a pin fasted to the front of the mat that reads "Beneficiary Degree."

Acquisition

Accession

1964.027

Source or Donor

Griffee, Arthur H.

Acquisition Method

Gift

General Notes

Note

Thank-you letter dated 9 November 1964 in HSCC files. HSCC newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 3, September 1966: under Gifts to the Society, lists "Mr. Arthur H. Griffee - Photograph of Junior of United Mechanics of Gamber, Md. From the estate of Mrs. Hattie A. Barnes."

Note

The Order of United American Mechanics was an anti-Catholic American Nativist organization of the mid-19th century. It was founded in Philadelphia amid the anti-alien riots of 1844-45. It originally was called the Union of Workers. Members were required to undertake efforts to publicize and campaign against the hiring of cheap foreign labor and to patronize only "American" businesses. Unlike other Nativist societies that sprang up in the 1840s and 1850s, the OAUM was able to survive the Civil War. By 1896 there were State Councils in twenty one states and the order had 60,000 members. The Order offered sick and death benefits, along the lines offered by contemporary groups like the Oddfellows and Improved Order of Red Men. Despite its name, the group never acted as a trade union or took a part in labor disputes. Indeed, its membership became less working class as it attracted people from diverse social and economic backgrounds. Over time, the OUAM abandoned its Nativist politics and became a standard insurance society, even dropping the word "Order" from its name to become just the "United American Mechanics." It was eventually absorbed by its former youth affiliate, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. The Junior Order of United American Mechanics began as a youth affiliation of the Order of United American Mechanics, but seceded to become its own organization and eventually absorbed its parent order. In 1923 the JOUAM had 253,399 members in its "Funeral Benefit Dept" and 22,519 "Beneficiary Degree" members, and reportedly had state and local councils in nearly every state in the Union. While the Order's purposes were mostly fraternal by this point, membership remained restricted to Protestants, and some of its officers still continued to advocate anti-Catholic positions.