History Of The Knights Of Labor

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The Knights of Labor was the largest and most important American labor organization of the 1880s, their leader was Terrace V. Powderly. The Knights of labor built the largest most successful union in the United States in the 1870s and 1880s. The Knights of Labor has been portrayed as a crucial event in the history of the American political development, and the United States failed to create a welfare state with national health insurance. In 1869 the Knights of Labor was formed and when they became widely known in the United States, Terence Powderly assumed leadership of the union as it gained a national following. The American Federation of Labor was a national federation of Labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, …show more content…
Per Gompers, “There are two classes in society, one incessantly striving to obtain the labor of the other class for as little as possible”. The Knights of Labor emerged as the organizer of trade unions which escalated into war between Gompers and the Knights. This development was large with the life span of the federation of trades in 1881 until 1886. Gompers organization was threatened and was the guiding force to the American Trade Union movement, it was his personal ambition to lead …show more content…
The American Federation of Labor was formed in 1886. The A.F.L. was a loose grouping of smaller craft unions, such as the mason unions, and the Gompers own cigar maker’s unions. The A.F.L. members were all skilled workers. The A.F.L. focused on securing for its members’ higher wages, better working conditions, and a shorter work week.
In conclusion, above you read about the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, and how these two came about, and how they are somewhat the same. The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American organizations in the 1880s. The American Federation of labor was formed in 1886 and was a National Federation of Labor of the United States. I have compared the views of the Knights of Labor and the AFL on critical issues of strikes. Women. and African Americans in the labor
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