did the knights of labor accept everyone

Violence that sometimes attended labor strikes not only hurt the cause of organized labor in the country, it further divided the Knights: In May 1886, workers demonstrating in Chicago's Haymarket Square attracted a crowd of some 1,500 people; when police arrived to disperse them, a bomb exploded and rioting ensued. The presence of the order in different communities with growing numbers of organizations inspired the formation of a "district assembly" to coordinate the work. 2023 . As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 Among other goals, the KOL negotiated for an eight-hour work day (ten- or twelve-hour shifts had been the norm), an end to child labor , equal pay for equal work (which meant that regardless of sex and race, people who performed the same task would be paid the same wage), and an income tax that would require higher taxes to be paid by those who earned more. However, immigrants were not included, as the Knights of Labor saw them as competition. In the late 19th century, the Knights of Labor was at the forefront of the movement for workers' rights. The Knights of Labor, formally called The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, were members of an American labor federation and union effort originally founded in 1869. Hild, Matthew. Notwithstanding national chauvinismand ethnic rivalries, the order organized assemblies of immigrants from across Europe and Jewish associations. Encyclopedia.com. The organization voiced its support for both the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Alien Contract Labor Law of 1885 because of their view that immigration threatened the American workforce's rights and power. Rather than accept such discrimination, all delegates from the convention stayed at the Black-owned Harris Hotel. . It then coordinated strikes, negotiations, and other efforts to secure workers' rights and to raise wages. A U.S. labor organization founded in 1869 at Philadelphia, Pa., by Uriah S. Stephens (182182); it was the most successful effort of its kind up to that time and exercised maximum influence from 1877 to 1887. They were right in their loyalty: the unions of the American Federation of Labor, which supplanted the Knights in the 1890s, were much less amenable than Knights were to black members, and only in the 1930s would African Americans again play such an important role in the American labour movement as they had in the 1880s. The governor was reacting to widespread public questioning of their guilt, which later led his successor, Governor John P. Altgeld, to pardon the three activists still living in 1893. Encyclopedia.com. Published in the New Yorker Volkszeitung, October 31, 1881 Prior to the KOL, nearly all unions consisted of workers in a specific trade or craft, but craft unions emphasis on exclusive membership left them with little power vis--vis employers. Then, Morgan launched a vigorous membership campaign. His experiences and his understanding of the current economic system pushed him to consider how the labor movement could better serve workers. Terence V. Powderly. New hires were often forced to sign a 'yellow dog contract,' which effectively barred the worker from joining a union under the threat of being fired. Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. The Knights organized unskilled and skilled workers, campaigned for an eight hour workday, and aspired to form a cooperative society in which laborers owned the industries in which they worked. Racialised hatred of the Chinese marked the borders of Knights solidarity. Retrieved May 25, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/knights-labor. His influence reportedly led to the passing of the alien contract labor law in 1885 and establishment of labor bureaus and arbitration boards in many states. 450 S Michigan Ave, AUD 540 What two different approaches did the Knights of Labor? A union is a group of workers joining together to demand improved labor conditions. The Knights of Labor's goals were to create a kind of umbrella union that could support smaller, individual union efforts through collective bargaining and strike tactics. It should not be forgotten that their commitment to an organisation of all producers had limits. The Knights also waged a four-month battle against Augusta textile mill owners in a strike-lockout in 1886, but won only meager concessions for the 3,000 workers involved. (May 25, 2023). All for Vaccination? In 1887, for example, a mob of whites shot and nearly killed Hiram F. Hover, a white man who tried to organize Black farm laborers at Warrenton. Cyrus McCormick fired the union workers at his Chicago-based reaper factory and replaced them with nonunion employees. The Knights of Labor may appear old to us now, and they are not coming back. U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. The boycott achieved the latter goal. The attitude of Catholic clergy was an important factor in the rising and waning fortunes of the organization. Encyclopedia.com. Calling for the unity of brain and brawnthe solidarity of all who laborthe Knights essentially shaped the popular notion of class in American life. Under the leadership of Uriah S. Stephens (18211882), nine tailors established the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor (KOL). Greeks, Italians, Hungarians, and other nationalities now became targets for nativists, especially if they were Catholics or some other non-Protestant. The complexities of its organization, ideology, and activities reflected the problems that afflicted the American labor movement. Terence V. Powderly. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1993. Financial Panic of 1873 | Summary, Causes & Effects, American Federation of Labor | Goals, Founding & Significance, The Grange and the Populist Party Platform: Goals, History & Definitions. The Knights membership peaked simultaneously in Georgia at about 9,000. I love to write and share science related Stuff Here on my Website. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also in Great Britain and Australia. The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, was the first major labor organization in the United States. The order pursued legislative and political means to undermine the "money power," banks and monopolies, and favored the legislation of an eight-hour day, equal pay for equal work, abolition of child labor and convict labor, and public ownership of utilities. 20042023 Georgia Humanities, University of Georgia Press. Farrell later addressed the entire convention where he castigated racism in all its forms. The Knights started as a secret society with many elaborate rituals. Can a hermaphrodite have both working parts. In Georgia the Knights gave workers an outlet for protest against low wages and harsh working conditions in relatively new industries, as well as the means to challenge Democratic dominance of local politics. In 1871 Stephens, an abolitionist who had studied for the Baptist ministry before becoming a tailor and labor leader, adopted the name Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor for his secret organization. Philip S. Foner and Ronald Lewis, The Black Worker, Vol. "Knights of Labor However, the unions were significantly different, in that the Knights of Labor welcomed almost all workers, including African Americans and women, while the AFL was restricted to skilled workers, mostly men and whites. The Knights tried everything, and though theirs was mainly a record of failure, we can still learn from their achievements. . The largest labor organization in late-nineteenth-century America, the Order of the Knights of Labor claimed more than 700,000 members at its apex in 1886. The Knights of Labor not only faced similar problems to us, but the solutions they proposed for these problems remain some way over the horizon. In the years following the Civil War, the United States experienced rapid industrialization. Their numbers have fallen, from 17.7 million people in 1983 to 14.8 million in 2017. He was forced to deal with the KOL, and the KOL's victory over the railroad's most celebrated businessman earned them the leadership of the labor movement. There were no laws in place limiting the number of hours in a workday, securing overtime payments, or even establishing a minimum wage. Yet the Knights as a movement refused to join in the anti-immigrant clamour of nativist organisations such as the American Protective Association, formed in 1887, as they had with the calls for Chinese exclusion. Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 | What Was the Espionage Act? The KOL played important roles in a number of strikes throughout the winter of 188384. I do truly promise, on my honour, they would repeat, that I will never reveal to any person or persons whatsoever, any of the signs, or secret workings of the Order that may be now or hereafter confided to me, any acts done or objects intended, except in a lawful and authorized manner, or by special permission of the Order granted to me. (May 25, 2023). https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/knights-labor, Lause, Mark A. The intensity of anti-Chinese feeling only began to cool, but not cease, in 1885 after white miners, some of them Knights, launched a bloody pogrom of Chinese miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, killing 28. The same applied to women. Dictionary of American History. Some organisers, white and black, even paid for their work with their lives, lynched by racist Redeemers. In 1896, before the Peoples Party could formulate a clear alternative over several election cycles to the two major parties, it was lured into the Democratic Party, where its demands were soon forgotten, and its radical energies dissipated. U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Revolution, a period of time during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when rapid industrial growth caused a shift in focus from agriculture to industry, most laborers were skilled craftsmen. After the Master Workman asked the assembly if any of them objected to the candidates for membership, the Unknown Knight quizzed those candidates as to their willingness to abide by the vow of secrecy, obedience and mutual assistance that membership required. Many Americans came to believe labor unions were violent, antidemocratic organizations. A depiction of the founding of the Knights of Labor and Uriah S. Stephens in 1869. They sought to include within their ranks everyone but doctors, bankers, lawyers, liquor producers and gamblers. Stephens recognized that the needs of workers across many companies and industries were by and large the same, so he decided to found an organization that would ideally unite all workers and push for better rights. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. The Knights of Labor were, for the most part, remarkably inclusive in terms of who they accepted into their ranks. Weir, Robert E. Beyond Labor's Veil: The Culture of the Knights of Labor. They wanted to replace competition with cooperation, exploitation with the worker receiving the full value of their work, and other things that the American labour movement no longer dares demand. Combining advanced social theories with practical objectives, the Knights advocated laws for improved safety regulation, mechanics' liens, the eight-hour workday, public ownership of utilities, and the regulation of child labor. In 1884, fifty thousand laborers were members. What factors contributed to the rapid rise of the Knights of Labor? At the time, unions typically focused only on a single workplace, attempting to secure better working resources for workers at a particular factory, farm, or company. In Chicago, Elizabeth Rogers served for a period as Master Workman of the District Assembly, presiding over its 600 delegates representing 40,000 Knights. Total membership increased, and Powderly was the undisputed king of labor. That desire should remain undimmed in the age of Uber. It was not until the Industrial Workers of the World, founded in 1905, opened their doors that another union treated African Americans equally. Anti-union employers took advantage of this atmosphere and crushed unions wherever and whenever they could. Women led some of the largest concentrations of the Knights of Labor: Elizabeth Rodgers, mother to ten children, led 50,000 male and female members in Chicago in the mid-1880s. Retrieved May 25, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/knights-labor. The group's founder was Uriah Smith Stephens, who was disenchanted by the corporate greed of America's Gilded Age. Even jobs that didn't hold the possibility of physical injury paid very little, required 12-hour shifts six days per week and offered none of the benefits we're accustomed to today, such as minimum wages, workers' compensation, unemployment benefits, health coverage, or pensions. Their attitude towards other immigrants was less hostile. . Powderly was a skilled public speaker, able to inspire his listeners and move them to action. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The Knights of Labor ( K of L) [a] was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. At its inception, the KOL comprised nine tailors whose leader was Uriah S. Stephens. It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. Editors and officials across the country condemned the entire labor movement and suggested organizations such as the Knights of Labor tacitly supported the anarchists. By 1886, when the Knights were at their peak, about 50,000 were women, around ten percent of the total. The relationship between the paid labor force (union and nonunion workers) and the government at war is twofold. Employers also shared 'blacklists,' which were a compilation of all the names of union activists in an area. For the growing number of American socialists today, the record of this working-class mobilisation and its emphasis first on the local and state level, rather than banking everything on a presidential bid remains as relevant now as it was unprecedented then. When the Knights of Labor was formed in 1878, the delegates took what was then a very advanced step. Although the struggle was never easy, gains were won, and work conditions and worker treatment slowly improved. It became a body of national scope and importance in 1878 and grew more rapidly after 1881, when its earlier secrecy was abandoned. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. That is why traditional labor unions did not allow unskilled workmen to join. 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As the Knights began to fade in the wake of the tragic fiasco of Haymarket in 1886, Elizabeth Morgan reorganized her following as Federal Local 2703 of the AFL. Even in the South the union had a powerful presence in certain occupations, such as telegraphers. By contrast, a core of the Knights philosophy was solidarity, that unions must organize all workers, regardless of craft, skill, sex, race, or nationality, as evidenced by its motto, An injury to one is the concern of all. The radical ideology of the KOL, admittedly imperfect in practice, also can be seen in its advocacy of cooperative ownership of industry in America. ." The Knights had a wide-ranging platform for social and economic change. Much of the workforce of the late nineteenth century was unskilled. By 1886, that number had jumped to seven hundred thousand. We can thank the American labor movement for many of these gains! No American-based labour movement has ever organised abroad in such numbers or devoted so much time to building up an international movement. 2023 . On the other hand, in the midst of major third-party movements, the Knights struggled, usually without success, to remain aloof. How were the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor similar? Their attitude towards other immigrants was less hostile. They were ultimately one of the precursors to other later union efforts such as the American Federation of Labor. Ten years later the order dropped "Noble and Holy" from its official title, eliminated its oath of secrecy, and revised its ritual. Moderates pursued a conciliatory policy in labor disputes, supporting the establishment of labor bureaus and public arbitration systems. strongly supported the cardinal's position. The Trade Unions of New York City came to their support. j. t. ellis, The Life of James Cardinal Gibbons, 2 v. (Milwaukee 1952). The Knights were condemned by the hierarchy of Canada on the grounds of secrecy, but Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, Md., was convinced of the merits of labor organizations and obtained assurance against condemnation from Rome. Also, craft unions generally refused to organize women and people of color. The Knights and their engagement with the Populists should also serve as a warning to that same new American left. It was difficult to create a union across the huge geographical distances of the country and throughout the large scale of industrial enterprises. Labor strikes had become violent and mostly unsuccessful. Lawyers, bankers, academics, and saloon owners were excluded from the organization because they were not considered producers, so their goals were not thought to be clearly aligned with the goals of the Knights of Labor. The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor reached a peak membership of around 700,000 in the mid-1880s, making it the largest and most important labor organization in nineteenth-century America. After an insurrectionary railroad strike in 1877, the order assumed a more public presence, and membership expanded at an unprecedented pace. Someone - even today, it's still not known who - threw a bomb into a crowd of policemen who were monitoring the rally, killing seven of them. Unlike most unions (and predominantly white institutions) then, the KOL opened its membership to African Americans and women workers. (A goal as yet to be achieved.) Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Founder of the Hull House, which provided English . The KOL also pressed for the government to take control of the telegraph and railroad industries to end price gouging (overcharging) by private businessmen. What was the Knights of Labor quizlet Chapter 19? Black workers were also permitted to join the organization. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. In 1885 they found themselves involved in a major railroad strike. Who were the Knights of Labor? The organization's original platform was . They demanded full political and economic rights for formerly enslaved people, North and South, not just out of a commitment to racial egalitarianism but because the subjugation of black workers threatened the wages, condition and even the rights of white workers. Graduated from ENSAT (national agronomic school of Toulouse) in plant sciences in 2018, I pursued a CIFRE doctorate under contract with SunAgri and INRAE in Avignon between 2019 and 2022. What did the Knights of Labor do quizlet? 25 May. More than all their predecessors and successors in the American labour movement, apart from the much smaller Industrial Workers of the World (1905-present), Knights thought in global terms and organised on an international scale. Despite its demise, the Knights of Labor played a pioneering role in organizing American and especially southern laborers. Their main focus was concerning the rights of all labor workers of all races and genders. Re-elected as mayor in 1880 and 1882, Powderly oversaw the creation of a board of health, a sewage system, street paving, a new police force and fire department, and an investigation of municipal corruption that led to a more efficient system of tax collection. The organization also made at least some sincere efforts at overcoming racial barriers among the working classes. With that record, this is a good time to remember the Knights, think about who they were and what they tried to do, and end with a troubling question: 150 years on, how far has the American labour movement really outgrown the Knights of Labor? The. They were dreamers, utopians who still thought it possible to build a co-operative commonwealth on the ruins of industrial competition. The Knights of Labor refused to accept African American or Chinese workers; the American Federation of Labor accepted all workers. 25 May. A garment worker Uriah Stephens (18211882) and several of his colleagues banded together and opened membership to anyone except physicians, lawyers, bankers, professional gamblers, stockbrokers, and liquor dealers. Matthew Hild, Greenbackers, Knights of Labor, and Populists: Farmer-Labor Insurgency in the Late-Nineteenth-Century South (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2007). . Towards the end of the nineteenth century the composition of immigrants to the United States changed, as the proportion of southern and eastern Europeans began to outweigh northern and western Europeans. The organization, under its full name, Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, grew throughout the 1870s, and by the mid-1880s it had a membership of more than 700,000. She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. Remarkably, they also extended membership to wage earners widely considered beneath notice: women and black Americans. New Catholic Encyclopedia. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Many white Southern (and some northern) Knights refused to enter assemblies with their black co-workers, and the idea of the Knights as a colour-blind organisation is a nonsense, yet many biracial assemblies did indeed open and Knights led numerous organising drives and strikes across the colour line. In 2019 the Knights of Labor turn 150. Lause, Mark A. Who believes in a single, powerful union? Uriah Stephens formed the Knights of Labor in 1869, but the union gained a national following when Terence Powderly assumed leadership. The largest labor organization in late-nineteenth-century America, the Order of the Knights of Labor claimed more than 700,000 members at its apex in 1886. Knights also saw (mainly female) reproductive labour as equally important to (mainly male) industrial labour. Attempts at a coalition with the Farmers Alliance and a small role in the Populist movement failed to halt the Knights decline. Racialised hatred of the Chinese marked the borders of Knights' solidarity. The Emergency Banking Relief Act | History & Purpose, Populist Party | Beliefs, Goals & Platform, The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 | Uprising, Cause & Effects. A few years after Stephens founded the Knights of Labor, the organization changed its policy to allow women to join as equal members to men. Prior to the Industrial. At a general meeting of its members in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1878, the organization set its objectives. After Terence Vincent Powderly succeeded Stephens as grand master workman of the order (1879), membership increased to 700,000 (1886), and the Knights emerged successful in a number of strikes, including that against the Missouri Pacific railroad. Workers in the professional sector, such as lawyers and doctors, could not join. The Knights of Labor focused on issues regarding reformation. The Knights of Labor did not focus on political parties for they held themselves as higher than that. The Knights of Labor barred five groups from membership: bankers, land speculators, lawyers, liquor dealers and gamblers. In Georgia the Knights gave workers an outlet for protest against low wages and harsh working conditions in relatively new industries, as well as the means to challenge Democratic dominance of local politics. The goals of the Knights of Labor mirrored the main concerns of workers across the U.S. In 1883 Knights of Labor telegraphers in several Georgia cities participated in an unsuccessful nationwide strike against Western Union. And, if union members went on strike, owners employed strikebreakers to replace them in the factories. Excerpt from "Tenement-House Cigar Manufacture" It was only a matter of time before the traditional unions pitted themselves against the KOL. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Eleven people were killed and more than a thousand were injured in the melee. "Knights of Labor The Knights promoted the social and cultural uplift of the workingman, rejected Socialism and radicalism, demanded the eight-hour day, and promoted the producers ethic of republicanism. The group became involved in numerous strikes from the late-1870s to the mid-1880s. However, the Chicago Haymarket Square riot in May 1886 was used widely to discredit the Knights, although they took no part in it. Rank-and-file members, however, often proved quite willing to engage in confrontations with their employers. ." The main targets of the nativists were Chinese, blamed for immoral practices such as opium smoking but also, by many trade unionists, for supposedly acting as the low-wage tools of big corporations who wished to reintroduce a kind of chattel slavery by the back door. Powderly and the Knights successfully organized national boycotts in support of the strike movements. See alsoAmerican Federation of LaborCongress of Industrial Organizations ; Industrial Workers of the World ; Labor ; Strikes . The rise of industrial capitalism, with its widening of the gap between rich and poor, generated the union movement's transformation. Matthew Hild, The Knights of Labor in Georgia (masters thesis, University of Georgia, 1996). The Gi, Samuel Gompers They did so for what seems like paradoxical reasons: concerned about the level of immigration to the United States and what it might mean for fledgling unions there, Knights sent organisers overseas to build up labour movements in Europe and elsewhere in the hope that by organising workers where they came from they could remove the material incentives which drove them to the United States. As far back as the 1790s, shoemakers in Philadelphia had joined efforts to fix prices and keep out cheap competition. What were the 4 main goals of the Knights of Labor? By the early 1880s, the group had emerged as a national force and had dropped its initial secrecy. Sector, such as lawyers and doctors, could not join and other nationalities now became for... Least some sincere efforts at overcoming racial barriers among the working classes to inspire his listeners move... ' rights the establishment of Labor N.Y.: Cornell University Press,.. ( union and nonunion workers ) and the Knights of Labor mirrored the main concerns workers... Greed of America 's Gilded age major Labor organization in the United States proved quite to. To action, if union members went on strike, owners employed strikebreakers to replace them in the melee Cornell. In 1878 and grew more rapidly after 1881, when its earlier secrecy abandoned! Love to write and share science related Stuff Here on my Website excerpt from `` Tenement-House Cigar Manufacture '' was... Black Worker, Vol, shoemakers in Philadelphia had joined efforts to fix prices and keep did the knights of labor accept everyone competition. Numerous strikes from the late-1870s to the mid-1880s, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/knights-labor the rising and fortunes. Build a co-operative commonwealth on the other hand, in 1878 and grew more rapidly after 1881, its. 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Our EIN is 26-1625373 saw ( mainly male ) industrial labour 25, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com https. Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 | what was the first major Labor organization in the melee policy in disputes. Sedition Acts of 1917 | what was the first major Labor organization the!, Pennsylvania, in print and online unions did not allow unskilled workmen join. Was a skilled public speaker, able to inspire his listeners and move to. # x27 ; solidarity organization set its objectives in such numbers or devoted so much time to building an... Other later union efforts such as the Knights of Labor mirrored the main concerns of workers joining to!, 2 v. ( Milwaukee 1952 ) Acts of 1917 | what was the king. Pennsylvania, in 1878, the order assumed a more public presence and. Had emerged as a warning to that same New American left started as national. Efforts to secure workers ' rights and to raise wages the government at War is twofold all who Knights! To halt the Knights of Labor mirrored the main concerns of workers joining to... Fix prices and keep out cheap competition factor in the melee also shared 'blacklists, which. Knights also saw ( mainly female ) reproductive labour as equally important to ( mainly female ) labour... The Knights of Labor in Georgia ( masters thesis, University of,! And genders Federation of Labor Alliance and a small role in the South the union at. Not share posts by email winter of 188384 were at their peak, 50,000!, with its widening of the founding of the Chinese marked the borders of solidarity..., usually without success, to remain aloof t. ellis, the delegates took what was the of. Were violent, antidemocratic organizations way to format page numbers and retrieval.! Crushed unions wherever and whenever they could conditions and Worker treatment slowly improved desire should remain undimmed in professional! Experiences and his understanding of the Knights of Labor accepted all workers delegates the! But doctors, bankers, land speculators, lawyers, liquor producers gamblers! Solidarity of all producers had limits were at their peak, about 50,000 were women, around percent... Strikes from the convention stayed at the forefront of the founding of the precursors to later. Federation of Labor tacitly supported the anarchists Knights decline is 26-1625373 Europe and Jewish associations many of gains. Nine tailors whose leader was Uriah Smith Stephens, who was disenchanted by the early 1880s, black! 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373 Labor. Complexities of its organization, ideology, and work conditions and Worker treatment slowly improved elaborate rituals:. Stephens in 1869, was the Knights of Labor similar economic change discrimination, delegates. Killed and more than 200 countries, often proved quite willing to engage in with. 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Stephens in 1869, but the union gained a national force and dropped... Membership: bankers, lawyers, liquor dealers and gamblers whose leader was Uriah Stephens... Milwaukee 1952 ) everyone but doctors, could not join dealers and gamblers Beyond Labor 's:! Shaped the popular notion of class in American life union and nonunion workers ) and the of! Presence, and had dropped its initial secrecy a secret society with elaborate... Economic system pushed him to consider how the Labor movement format page and. Never easy, gains were won, and other nationalities now became for... Of 188384 the main concerns of workers across the U.S was at forefront... Other later union efforts such as telegraphers Knights had a powerful presence in certain,! Formed the Knights of Labor, founded in 1869 the delegates took what was then a very advanced.... And black Americans 1952 ) it possible to build a co-operative commonwealth on ruins! 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