ipl-logo

Knights Of Labour Essay

1007 Words5 Pages

What did the Knights of Labor stand for, and why were some church officials opposed to their efforts and strategies?
The Knights of Labor, officially known as, the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was formed in the 1880’s by Uriah Stephens. Although Uriah Stephens was the founder, the most prominent leaders were Terence V. Powderly with the help of his step brother Joseph Bath. This order was formed to promote the working man, reject socialism and anarchism, as well as promoting the eight hour work day. In ways, this was seen as a labor union since the employers were well represented, but it was not well organized, which eventually led to the downfall of the group.
The Knights of Labor was a diverse union that was open to all …show more content…

After an expansion in the mid 1880’s, the union lost many of its new member forcing them to become a small operation again. In 1893, the United States suffered an economic depression that lasted until 1897. This crisis caused the Knights of Labor to lose their importance. The existence of the Knights of Labor continued until 1949, when the few remaining members decided to no longer affiliate themselves with this …show more content…

These events caused the influence of the Knights of Labor to immensely decline. Many members of the union were left unsatisfied. This lead to the foster of the establishment of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) whose primary focus was to captivate economic benefits through collective bargaining. In this same year, there was an estimated amount of 700,000 members in the Knights of Labor union. In 1888, a significant event on the Knights of Labor timeline included the reconciliation between the KOL and the Catholic church. With this event taking place, Powderly was granted Vatican approval for Catholics to become members of the prominent union. Powderly had lost the re-election as the Grand Master Workman in 1893, which caused the Knights to decline immensely to only 75,000 members which little to no recovery.
This group should have had a more prominent outcome affecting labor unions today. The Knights of Labor had a clear goal and only wished to help employers who did not have enough representation in the work force. They simply wanted to help men who had less freedoms and support than a slave. It was often stated that the industrial workers in the North were less well fed, had worse housing, and had rattier clothing than the slaves in the South. It does not seem right to give the workers in the North less freedoms and a harder life than slaves who have absolutely no freedom, and we're seen

Show More
Related
221 Words | 1 Pages

The Knights of Labor was the first major American labor union created around 1871. It was configured by all productive laborers from the factories to fields, whose leader was Terence V. Powderly. Their goals were to adopt a system that could which will secure the labor job and involve the government to protecting the workers. In addition they were fighting to obtain 8 hour work day, graduated income tax, cooperatives.

Read More
182 Words | 1 Pages

The labor union titled Noble and Holy Order of Knights of Labor, or Knights of Labor, was

Read More
145 Words | 1 Pages

There are many simmaleritys and differences between the Knights of labor and the AFL this will explain only a few. The Knights were established in 1869 vs the AFL established in 1886 a few years later. This means the Knights are the predisesors of the AFL. Some made compromises others started boycotts, and the following explanes all. Both the AFL and the Knights had labor unions involved with them.

Read More
1650 Words | 7 Pages

Additionally, those unions did not allow colored people and whites to be in the same union. Small, local unions could not harness power to be victorious against the capitalist giants they were fighting against. The Knights posed to be a powerful group, as they were able to win against capitalists, which further grew their popularity. The unprecedented inclusion of underrepresented individuals within the Knights proved to be a driving force for their success in becoming the largest union in the United States in the

Read More
468 Words | 2 Pages

Before the structured labor society that we live in today, America was a very different working world; one plagued with injustice and grievances from workers across the job sectors. Two organizations, the Knights of Labor and later the American Federation of Labor acted as activists for reform and demanded better standards for working, living, and life for workers. Their strategies and success in achieving their goals were as different as the organizations themselves. Coming from a time of segregation and social divide, the Knights of Labor stood out as one of the most accepting labor unions of the age, which largely accounted for their membership to reach almost 800,000 members during its peak. All workers in a trade were included, regardless of their skill level.

Read More
332 Words | 2 Pages

1. Differentiate between the kind of unionism represented by the AFL and the kind of unionism represented by the Knights of Labor and/or the Wobblies. 4 pts.2. The union represented by the Knights were more egalitarian organizations that sought to organize all workers regardless of skill level.

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

The organized labor of 1875-1900 was unsuccessful in proving the position of workers because of the future strikes, and the intrinsical feeling of preponderation of employers over employees and the lack of regime support. In 1877, railroad work across the country took part in a cyclopean strike that resulted in mass violence and very few reforms. An editorial, from the Incipient York Time verbalized: "the strike is ostensibly hopeless, and must be regarded as nothing more than a rash and splenetic demonstration of resentment by men too incognizant or too temerarious to understand their own interest" (Document B). In 1892, workers at the Homestead steel plant near Pittsburg ambulated out on strike and mass chaos the lives of at least two Pinkerton detectives and one civilian, among many other laborers death (Document G).

Read More
489 Words | 2 Pages

Imagine working sixteen hours a day in an unsanitary, dangerous, place for a big business gaining two dollars. This is what laboring-class Americans had to go through during the Gilded age. Politically, the first largest American labor union was formed during the Gilded age and many other organizations formed as well as violent strikes. Socially, different ethnics joined together to share their thoughts and realize the evils of big business and of the federal government. Mentally, most we 're losing their personal life while some were financially stable and glad.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

The AFL advocated for most of the same things as the Knights of Labor. The American Federation of Labor used strikes and boycotts against owners to try and get what they wanted. Two major strikes that occurred were the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike. Both strikes were very dangerous and had millions of dollars of damage. Some of the strikes and boycotts did work and wages were raised, however some backfired and many workers ended up losing their

Read More
799 Words | 4 Pages

The AF of L wanted “unionism” and opposed socialism. TheKnights of Labor, another labor union, was created in 1869 and enlisted in their ranks not only alllaborers but also everyone who could be truly classified as a producer. Labor unions, the two major depressions and the three “robber barons” were three of theforemost reasons the Gilded Age got its name. The “robber barons” invested in things that wouldultimately lead to a “Golden Industrial Age” but they didn’t achieve it totally legitimately, and thecreation of the labor unions sided with the workers, but at times, grew violent in their methods.

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Farmers and Industrial Workers in the Gilded Age In a time when industrialization was booming, immigrants were racing towards the “American Dream”, and cities were growing towards the sky, the United States was thriving. As a country, the United States went from rural, to mostly urban, which made America “the world’s largest industrial power” as stated by John Green. Since the U.S. had become mostly urban, this left the very few rural workers (farmers), and even some of the industrial workers unhappy. This period of industrialization is called the Gilded Age than spans from 1865 to 1900.The farmers and industrial workers responded to the Gilded Age in significantly negative ways including unions against their authority, strikes and political

Read More
1464 Words | 6 Pages

The topic of Labor Unions has been the focus of many political debates in recent years, with these discussions having people advocate for and against the unions. Labor Unions are an organization that represent a collective group of employees to protect and further theirs rights and interests. Labor Unions were first introduced in the eighteenth century with increasing numbers around the United States and the world, but unfortunately during the past decade these numbers have drastically decreased, resulting in less education and achievement of solidarity among employees. Solidarity is the unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest. Workers in the United States would benefit more through labor

Read More
1660 Words | 7 Pages

The American Federation of Labor is a labor union founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886, and quickly became one of the most valuable labor unions in the 19th and 20th century labor movement in America. The American Federation of Labor has been one of the most beneficial organizations for laborers because they helped improve the lives of workers through collective bargaining, advocacy of workers rights, and the promotion of safer working conditions. Since the American Federation of Labor worked so hard and fought to better the lives of the working people, it in turn helped to improve the quality of life for their families as well. Collective bargaining is a process by which a group of workers, who are most often represented by a type of labor organization,

Read More
1225 Words | 5 Pages

Getting them off the ground and running was difficult because judicial systems usually sided with business owners rather than workers. Organized labor groups, such as the Knights of Labor, were failing to recruit enough workers in the early 1800s. But, with American aggression towards the Chinese, Organized labor groups had a new way to promote themselves (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung). Using racism targeted toward the Chinese people, labor unions were able to gain many recruits. " Unemployed white workers and their middle-class allies used the potent combination of cultural prejudice, racism, and economic survival to thwart attempts by Washington's influential railroad and coal-mining companies to import a potentially unlimited supply of cheap and dependable Chinese labor" (Schwantes, 1997).

Read More
2101 Words | 9 Pages

The following section discusses the decline in trade union membership, reasons of decline union in membership and the solution of the declines, advantages and disadvantages of trade unions membership in any employment. Trade union is an organization who have come together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, improving safety standards, achieving higher pay and benefits such as health care and retirement, increasing the number of employees an employer assigns to complete the work and better working conditions. Most trade unions are independent of any employer. However, trade unions try to develop close working relationships with employers. This can sometimes take the form of a partnership agreement between the employer and the trade union which identifies their

Read More

More about Knights Of Labour Essay

Related Topics

Open Document