Knights of Labor

Definition and meaning of Knights of Labor:

Knights of Labor

The Knights of Labor was organized in 1869 and headed by Uriah Stephens and Terence Powderly. It enjoyed brief success as a national labor organization, especially in the 1880s. It combined the roles of labor union and reform society, and its basic demand was for an eight-hour day. It declined when its advocacy of the eight-hour workday led to violent strikes in 1886

(Source: Madrid Waddington High School )

Also see these pages:  American History, American History Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Most unions of that era organized workers by trade and skill level. The Knights grouped workers by industry, regardless of trade or skill. With the motto "an injury to one is the concern of all," the Knights of Labor attempted to attain its goals of: An eight-hour work day The end of child labor Equal pay for equal work The elimination of private banks. The Knights had a reputation for being all-inclusive. Women, blacks (after 1883), and employers were accepted as members. Bankers, lawyers, gamblers, s ...

See also:

Knights of Labor, Knights of Labor - Structure and membership, Knights of Labor - Leaders, Knights of Labor - In decline, Knights of Labor - External link

Read more here: » Knights of Labor: Encyclopedia II - Knights of Labor - Structure and membership

This is a sitemap for American History - K . Click on a link and you will find multiple definitions and articles related to the word. The sitemap(s) covers over 1,574 different American History terms.

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The AFL was formed in large part because of the dissatisfaction of many trade union leaders with the Knights of Labor, an organization that contained many trade unions and which had played a leading role in some of the largest strikes of the era, but whose leadership had supported several rival unions that had bargained for lower wages and provided strikebreakers during other unions' strikes. The new AFL distinguished itself from the Knights by emphasizing the autonomy of each trade union affiliated with it and limiting membership to workers and organizations made up of workers, ...

See also:

American Federation of Labor, American Federation of Labor - Early years, American Federation of Labor - Expansion and retreat, American Federation of Labor - Conflicts between affiliated unions, American Federation of Labor - Political activities, American Federation of Labor - Presidents of the American Federation of Labor 1886-1955, American Federation of Labor - External link

Read more here: » American Federation of Labor: Encyclopedia II - American Federation of Labor - Early years

Labor unions in the United States - Debs Socialists IWW and Dual Unionism. Labor unions in the United States - Government and Labor. Labor unions in the United States - AFL and Gompers. Labor unions in the United States - Railroad Brotherhoods. One of the earliest Railroad Strikes was also one of the most successful. In 1885, the Knights of Labor led railroad workers to victory against Jay Gould and his entire Sou ...

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Labor unions in the United States, Labor unions in the United States - Labor unions today, Labor unions in the United States - Labor Education Programs in the United States, Labor unions in the United States - Jurisdiction of labor unions, Labor unions in the United States - Condition of Workers, Labor unions in the United States - Early Unions, Labor unions in the United States - Knights of Labor, Labor unions in the United States - Violence 1888-1894, Labor unions in the United States - Rise of AFL, Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1900-1932, Labor unions in the United States - Debs Socialists IWW and Dual Unionism, Labor unions in the United States - Government and Labor, Labor unions in the United States - AFL and Gompers, Labor unions in the United States - Railroad Brotherhoods, Labor unions in the United States - World War I, Labor unions in the United States - 1920s, Labor unions in the United States - Restricting Immigration, Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1932-1955, Labor unions in the United States - New Deal Labor Policy, Labor unions in the United States - John L. Lewis and CIO, Labor unions in the United States - Upsurge in World War II, Labor unions in the United States - Walter Reuther and UAW, Labor unions in the United States - PAC and New Deal Coalition, Labor unions in the United States - Taft-Hartley Act, Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1955-2005, Labor unions in the United States - AFL and CIO reunite 1955; Change to Win breaks away 2005, Labor unions in the United States - Teamsters and issue of Corruption, Labor unions in the United States - Civil Rights Movement, Labor unions in the United States - Rise of Public Sector Unions, Labor unions in the United States - Reagan and Corporate Attacks on Unions, Labor unions in the United States - Decline of Private Sector Unions, Labor unions in the United States - NAFTA and threat of International Trade, Labor unions in the United States - International comparisons, Labor unions in the United States - Decline of US unions compared, Labor unions in the United States - Violence in US labor disputes compared, Labor unions in the United States - Notes, Labor unions in the United States - Overviews: scholarly secondary sources

Read more here: » Labor unions in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1900-1932

The Klan's first incarnation began in late 1865 or early 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee. It was founded as a social organization, but quickly its main purpose became to resist Reconstruction in the wake of the American Civil War, and it focused as much on intimidating "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags" as on putting down the Freedmen. It quickly adopted violent methods, and was involved in a wave of 1,300 murders of Republican voters in 1868. A rapid reaction set in, with the Klan's leadership disowning it, and Southern elites seeing the Klan as an ...

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Ku Klux Klan, Ku Klux Klan - Overview, Ku Klux Klan - The first Klan, Ku Klux Klan - Creation, Ku Klux Klan - Activities, Ku Klux Klan - Klan salute, Ku Klux Klan - Decline and suppression, Ku Klux Klan - The second Klan, Ku Klux Klan - Creation, Ku Klux Klan - Activities, Ku Klux Klan - Political influence, Ku Klux Klan - Decline, Ku Klux Klan - Later Ku Klux Klans, Ku Klux Klan - Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Ku Klux Klan - The Ku Klux Klan today, Ku Klux Klan - Ku Klux Klan vocabulary, Ku Klux Klan - The Ku Klux Klan in popular culture, Ku Klux Klan - Notes

Read more here: » Ku Klux Klan: Encyclopedia II - Ku Klux Klan - Overview

In 1801, the Irish parliament voted to merge Ireland with England, thus creating the United Kingdom. Ireland remained under total British control until 1922, when the majority of the Irish counties, and the majority of the Irish population, broke away from England, forming the Irish Free State. The northern counties remained loyal to British control, and to this day remain separate from the rest of Ireland as Northern Ireland. On May 17th, 1814, Norway left Danish control and declared independence. It was forced, however, to continue ...

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19th century, 19th century - Europe, 19th century - Americas, 19th century - Other regions, 19th century - Events, 19th century - 1800s, 19th century - 1810s, 19th century - 1820s, 19th century - 1830s, 19th century - 1840s, 19th century - 1850s, 19th century - 1860s, 19th century - 1870s, 19th century - 1880s, 19th century - 1890s, 19th century - Significant people, 19th century - Anthropology, 19th century - Painters, 19th century - Music, 19th century - Literature, 19th century - Science, 19th century - Philosophy and religion, 19th century - Politics, 19th century - Inventions discoveries introductions, 19th century - Decades and years

Read more here: » 19th century: Encyclopedia II - 19th century - Europe

Following the collapse of Reconstruction, African Americans created a broad-based independent political movement in the South: Black Populism. Black populism - Beginnings. Between 1886 and 1898 Black farmers, sharecroppers, and agrarian laborers organized their communities to combat the rising tide of Jim Crow laws. As Black Populism asserted itself and grew into a regional force, it met fierce resistance from the white planter and business elite that, through the Democratic Party and its affiliated network ...

Including:

• Black populism - Beginnings
• Black populism - Goals
• Black populism - Resistance and failure
• Black populism - References: White Populism v. Black Populism

Read more here: » Black populism: Encyclopedia - Black populism

The United Mine Workers (UMW or UMWA) is a United States labor union that represents workers in mining. One of the groups in the forefront of the fight for collective bargaining in the early 20th century, the UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1890, by the merger of two earlier groups, the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers. It ...

Including:

• United Mine Workers - Achievements
• United Mine Workers - Violent Clashes
• United Mine Workers - Further History
• United Mine Workers - The Harlan County War

Read more here: » United Mine Workers: Encyclopedia - United Mine Workers

While the organization was founded by socialists such as Gompers and Peter J. McGuire, it quickly became more conservative. The AFL adopted a philosophy of "business unionism" that sought to establish stable labor organizations, based on enduring craft distinctions, that would avoid the volatility of groups such as the Knights of Labor, whose membership and power rose and fell mightily with business downturns and political victories and defeats. This business unionist approach focused on skilled workers' imm ...

See also:

American Federation of Labor, American Federation of Labor - Early years, American Federation of Labor - Expansion and retreat, American Federation of Labor - Conflicts between affiliated unions, American Federation of Labor - Political activities, American Federation of Labor - Presidents of the American Federation of Labor 1886-1955, American Federation of Labor - External link

Read more here: » American Federation of Labor: Encyclopedia II - American Federation of Labor - Political activities

Foster joined the Socialist Party of America in 1901 and was a member until he was expelled in 1909 for activity in a left wing faction of the party in Washington. Foster then joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1909, when he took part in one of the IWW's "free speech fights" in Tacoma, Washington. He changed his middle initial from "E" to "Z" while in Tacoma in order to avoid confusi ...

See also:

William Z. Foster, William Z. Foster - Early years, William Z. Foster - Entry into politics and trade union work, William Z. Foster - Organizing packinghouse workers, William Z. Foster - The steel strike of 1919, William Z. Foster - Joining the Communist Party, William Z. Foster - The TUEL, William Z. Foster - The Farmer-Labor Party, William Z. Foster - Setbacks and successes, William Z. Foster - Foster's return to power, William Z. Foster - Eclipse and return to power

Read more here: » William Z. Foster: Encyclopedia II - William Z. Foster - Entry into politics and trade union work

Today most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or the Change to Win Coalition, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. Both organizations advocate policies and legislation favorable to workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in Democratic party ...

See also:

Labor unions in the United States, Labor unions in the United States - Labor unions today, Labor unions in the United States - Labor Education Programs in the United States, Labor unions in the United States - Jurisdiction of labor unions, Labor unions in the United States - Condition of Workers, Labor unions in the United States - Early Unions, Labor unions in the United States - Knights of Labor, Labor unions in the United States - Violence 1888-1894, Labor unions in the United States - Rise of AFL, Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1900-1932, Labor unions in the United States - Debs Socialists IWW and Dual Unionism, Labor unions in the United States - Government and Labor, Labor unions in the United States - AFL and Gompers, Labor unions in the United States - Railroad Brotherhoods, Labor unions in the United States - World War I, Labor unions in the United States - 1920s, Labor unions in the United States - Restricting Immigration, Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1932-1955, Labor unions in the United States - New Deal Labor Policy, Labor unions in the United States - John L. Lewis and CIO, Labor unions in the United States - Upsurge in World War II, Labor unions in the United States - Walter Reuther and UAW, Labor unions in the United States - PAC and New Deal Coalition, Labor unions in the United States - Taft-Hartley Act, Labor unions in the United States - Labor History 1955-2005, Labor unions in the United States - AFL and CIO reunite 1955; Change to Win breaks away 2005, Labor unions in the United States - Teamsters and issue of Corruption, Labor unions in the United States - Civil Rights Movement, Labor unions in the United States - Rise of Public Sector Unions, Labor unions in the United States - Reagan and Corporate Attacks on Unions, Labor unions in the United States - Decline of Private Sector Unions, Labor unions in the United States - NAFTA and threat of International Trade, Labor unions in the United States - International comparisons, Labor unions in the United States - Decline of US unions compared, Labor unions in the United States - Violence in US labor disputes compared, Labor unions in the United States - Notes, Labor unions in the United States - Overviews: scholarly secondary sources

Read more here: » Labor unions in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Labor unions in the United States - Labor unions today

In the United States, Philadelphia carpenters struck in 1791 for the ten-hour day. By the 1830s, this had become a general demand. In 1835, workers in Philadelphia organized a general strike, led by Irish coal heavers. Their banners read, From 6 to 6, ten hours work and two hours for meals. Labor movement publications called for an eight-hour day as early as 1836. Boston ship carpenters, although no ...

See also:

Eight-hour day, Eight-hour day - New Zealand, Eight-hour day - Australia, Eight-hour day - United States, Eight-hour day - Europe, Eight-hour day - South America, Eight-hour day - Central America and Caribbean, Eight-hour day - United Kingdom

Read more here: » Eight-hour day: Encyclopedia II - Eight-hour day - United States

Lynching in the United States - Enforcing Jim Crow. After 1876, the frequency of lynching decreased, and it became a threat used to terrorize blacks and maintain the new, racist social order that was being constructed. Congress had housed many southern Republicans who sought to protect black voting rights by using federal troops. A congressional deal to elect Rutherford B. Hayes as President in 1876 included a pledge to end Reconstruction in the South. The Redeemers, white racists who often included White Cappers ...

See also:

Lynching in the United States, Lynching in the United States - Early history, Lynching in the United States - Lynching on the frontier, Lynching in the United States - Reconstruction 1865-1877, Lynching in the United States - 1877 to World War II, Lynching in the United States - Enforcing Jim Crow, Lynching in the United States - The new Klan, Lynching in the United States - Social characteristics, Lynching in the United States - Resistance, Lynching in the United States - World War II to the present, Lynching in the United States - Federal action, Lynching in the United States - Lynching red-baiting and the cold war, Lynching in the United States - The civil rights movement, Lynching in the United States - After the civil rights movement, Lynching in the United States - Statistics, Lynching in the United States - Popular culture, Lynching in the United States - Famous fictional treatments, Lynching in the United States - Strange Fruit, Lynching in the United States - Clarence Thomas, Lynching in the United States - Laws, Lynching in the United States - Notes

Read more here: » Lynching in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Lynching in the United States - 1877 to World War II

Well-known white-on-Black race riots include the Atlanta Riots (1906), the Omaha and Chicago Riots (1919), and the Tulsa Riots (1921). In many cases, these massacres were essentially lynchings on a larger scale, and, like lynchings, they often had their roots in economic tensions or white defense of the color line. In 1887, for example, ten thousand workers at sugar plantations in Louisiana, organized by the Knights of Labor, went on strike for an increase in their pay to $1.25 a day. Most of the workers were black, but some were whit ...

See also:

Mass racial violence in the United States, Mass racial violence in the United States - Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic violence, Mass racial violence in the United States - Post-Reconstruction massacres of black Americans, Mass racial violence in the United States - Reconstruction Period Riots: 1865 - 1877, Mass racial violence in the United States - Jim Crow Period Riots: 1890 - 1914, Mass racial violence in the United States - Inter-War Period Riots: 1914 - 1945, Mass racial violence in the United States - Civil Rights and Black Power Movement's Period: 1955 - 1977, Mass racial violence in the United States - Modern, Mass racial violence in the United States - Notes

Read more here: » Mass racial violence in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Mass racial violence in the United States - Post-Reconstruction massacres of black Americans

History of the United States 1865-1918 - Farmers and the rise of populism. Despite their remarkable progress, 19th-century U.S. farmers experienced recurring periods of hardship. Several basic factors were involved -- soil exhaustion, the vagaries of nature, a decline in self-sufficiency, and the lack of adequate legislative protection and aid. Perhaps most important, however, was over-production. Along with the mechanical improvements which greatly increased yield per unit area, the amount of land under c ...

See also:

History of the United States 1865-1918, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Reconstruction, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The end of Reconstruction, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Further displacement of the indigenous population, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Industrialization and immigration, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Industrialization, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Immigration, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Agrarian distress populism and organized labor, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Farmers and the rise of populism, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Workers' struggle, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Labor organization, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The rise of U.S. imperialism, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The New Imperialism, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The Philippine-American War, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The U.S. and Latin America, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The progressive era, History of the United States 1865-1918 - The Roosevelt presidency, History of the United States 1865-1918 - Taft and Wilson, History of the United States 1865-1918 - World War I

Read more here: » History of the United States 1865-1918: Encyclopedia II - History of the United States 1865-1918 - Agrarian distress populism and organized labor

The Populist Party grew out of the agrarian revolt that rose after the collapse of agriculture prices following the Panic of 1873. The Farmers' Alliance, formed in Lampasas, Texas in 1876, promoted collective economic action by farmers and achieved widespread popularity in the South and Great Plains. The Farmers' Alliance was ultimately unable to achieve its wider economic goal of collective economic action against brokers, railroads, and merchants, and many in the movement agitated for changes in national policy. By the late 1880s, the Alli ...

See also:

Populist Party United States, Populist Party United States - History, Populist Party United States - Legacy, Populist Party United States - Modern incarnations

Read more here: » Populist Party United States: Encyclopedia II - Populist Party United States - History

Despite opposition, Black Populists carried out a wide range of activities: Establishing farming exchanges Raising money for schools Publishing newspapers Lobbying for better legislation Mounting boycotts against agricultural trusts Carrying out strikes for better wages Protesting the convict-lease system and lynching Demanding Black jurors in cases involving black defendants Promoting local political reforms and federal supervision of elections Running ...

See also:

Black populism, Black populism - Beginnings, Black populism - Goals, Black populism - Resistance and failure, Black populism - References: White Populism v. Black Populism

Read more here: » Black populism: Encyclopedia II - Black populism - Goals

The Second Industrial Revolution is also called the second phase of the Industrial Revolution, since from a technological and a social point of view there is no clean break between the two. Indeed, it might be argued that it stems from the middle of the nineteenth century with the growth of railways and steam ships, for crucial inventions such as the Bessemer and the Siemens steel making processes were invented in the decades preceding 1871. Other inventions that played a large part in the Industrial Revolution were electric lighting, ...

See also:

Gilded Age, Gilded Age - American history: The Gilded Age, Gilded Age - Technology of the Gilded Age, Gilded Age - Media of the Gilded Age, Gilded Age - The American West, Gilded Age - Industrial Revolution, Gilded Age - Urbanization, Gilded Age - Politics during the Gilded Age, Gilded Age - Influential People, Gilded Age - Transportation Revolution, Gilded Age - Immigration, Gilded Age - The Chinese Exclusion, Gilded Age - Labor unions

Read more here: » Gilded Age: Encyclopedia II - Gilded Age - Industrial Revolution

As long as the craft unions were the dominant power in the AFL, they took every step possible to block the organizing of mass production industries. This led to challenges from both inside and outside the Federation. The first challenge came from outside: the Western Federation of Miners, a union that had fought a series of violent battles with mine owners over the right to represent mill workers as well as hard rock miners, joined with activists from other unions and from the Socialist Party of America to form the Industrial Workers ...

See also:

Craft unionism, Craft unionism - Origins of craft unionism in the United States, Craft unionism - Craft unionism in new industries, Craft unionism - Challenges to craft unionism, Craft unionism - The persistence of craft unionism

Read more here: » Craft unionism: Encyclopedia II - Craft unionism - Challenges to craft unionism