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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

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