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Knights of Labor
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Stephens, Uriah Smith Powderly, Terence V.
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1869 - 1996
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Stephens, Uriah Smith
Stephens, Uriah Smith Uriah Smith Stephens.

Knights of Labor

American labor organization
Also known as: KOL, Noble Order of the Knights of Labor
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History

Knights of Labor (KOL), the first important national labour organization in the United States, founded in 1869. Named the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor by its first leader, Uriah Smith Stephens, it originated as a secret organization meant to protect its members from employer retaliations. Secrecy also gave the organization an emotional appeal.

Powderly, Terence V.
Powderly, Terence V.Terence V. Powderly.

The organizationā€™s original platform was partly ideological. Based on a belief in the unity of interest of all producing groupsā€”shopkeepers and farmers as well as labourersā€”it proposed a system of worker cooperatives to replace capitalism. After the election of Terence V. Powderly as grand master workman of the national organization in 1879, the group abandoned its secrecy and mystical trappings and struck the word noble from its title. Because Powderly was unwilling to initiate strikes or use other forms of economic pressure to gain the unionā€™s objectives, effective control of the organization shifted to regional leaders. Membership in the Knights grew after the railway strike in 1877, reaching a peak of 700,000 in 1886. At that time the Knights were the dominant labour organization in the United States.

How did Labor Day Become a National Holiday?
How did Labor Day Become a National Holiday?The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City.
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The KOLā€™s influence declined sharply after 1886ā€”a year marked by 1,600 strikes (some of them violent) and the deadly Haymarket Riot in Chicago. The resulting backlash against unionism, along with the dissatisfaction of many KOL members, led to the unionā€™s demise and fostered the establishment of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in December 1886. The AFL focused on winning economic benefits for its members through collective bargaining. As a federation, it represented several national craft unions that each retained autonomous operations. The Knights, by contrast, represented both craft and unskilled workers in a single national union.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Meg Matthias.