A friend of Edgar Allan Poe, Lippard advocated a socialist political philosophy and sought justice for the working class in his writings. He founded a secret benevolent society, Brotherhood of the Union, investing in it all the trappings of a religion; the society, a precursor to labor organizations, survived until 1994.
A close associate of Edgar Allan Poe, Lippard championed a socialist worldview and advocated for social justice through his writings. He founded a covert philanthropic group, Brotherhood of the Union, which adopted all the hallmarks of a religion; this organization, an early prototype for labor unions, persisted until 1994.