Final answer:
The use of the term 'mechanic' by Terence Powderly and the Knights of Labor reflects a backward-looking sentiment towards the traditional skilled craftsmanship in response to rapid industrialization and represents an attempt to reshape the labor landscape with a pre-industrial vision.
Step-by-step explanation:
Using the term mechanic suggests that Terence Powderly and the Knights of Labor movement had a perspective somewhat inward-looking and steeped in the past, possibly indicating a desire to maintain or return to traditional methods and values in the face of industrial change. This sentiment aligns with the organization's embracing of broad labor reforms and the overall betterment of working conditions over immediate tactical goals like wage increases. The use of the term mechanic, so closely tied to the historical trades of physical labor, could imply that the Knights of Labor saw their role and that of labor in society as linked to a past era's vision of skilled trade and craftsmanship, which was rapidly changing due to industrialization. It's also reflective of the chivalric values they espoused, akin to the traditional social structures that revolved around knighthood and the defense of societal mores. In the context of their times, the term mechanic and the broader chivalric terminology may have harkened back to a pre-industrial order. This backward-looking sentiment was evident as they grappled with the implications of the modern industrial world and sought to reshape the labor landscape.