The Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business, 1870-1900 The Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor To organize the National Labor Union (NLU), representatives from 77 different vocations convened in Baltimore in 1866. The NLU advocated for a constitutionally required eight-hour workweek, currency reform, and equal rights for women and African Americans. Although the group was successful in getting Congress to approve the eight-hour workweek for federal employees, they were not able to expand their influence very much. The NLU's founder passed away, and the subsequent economic downturn brought about by excessive railroad speculation, the closing of multiple banks, and the Panic of 1873 caused workers to actively seek out any job, regardless of the pay or conditions. All of these factors contributed to the decline in the organization's efforts. A number of causes culminated in the crippling Panic of 1873, which set off what the public called the 1870s "Great Depression" at the time. The railroad boom that had lasted from 1840 to 1870 was, above all, fast coming to an end. Many investors' money resources had been stretched via overinvestment in the business, which took the form of railroad bonds. But the quantity of cash available for railroad projects quickly decreased as a number of economic events in Europe impacted the value of silver in America, which in turn resulted in a de facto gold standard that reduced the country's monetary supply. A number of major corporations were left with their riches trapped in almost worthless railroad bonds. The real panic started on the eve of plans to fund the construction of a new transcontinental railroad when prominent American bank, Jay Cooke & Company, filed for bankruptcy. At the end of September 1873, a series of bank failures ended in the New York Stock Exchange halting all trade for ten days. More than a hundred railroad ventures failed in a year, and about twenty thousand failed in two years. Workers around the country were forced to look for answers and scapegoats as a result of losing their jobs and pay. After the Panic of 1873, and the dissatisfaction that followed in the failed Molly Maguires insurrection and the national railroad strike, another, more substantial, labor organization developed, even if the NLU turned out to be the wrong effort at the wrong time. By expanding its base and appealing to more members, the Knights of Labor (KOL) were able to garner a more sympathetic following than the Molly Maguires and other groups. By 1878, Uriah Stephens, a Philadelphia tailor, had grown the KOL from a tiny group during the Panic of 1873 to a major national force. In that year, the KOL held its inaugural general assembly and passed a comprehensive reform platform that included a reaffirmed demand for an eight-hour workday, equal pay for men and women, the outlawing of convict labor, and the expansion of cooperative enterprises wherein workers own businesses. The KOL's "One Big Union" philosophy, which included all wage workers, whatever of profession, with the exclusion of bankers, physicians, and attorneys, was a major source of its power. It accepted people of all trades and skill levels, including women, African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants. This was a significant departure from the previous practice of highly specialized, group-specific craft unions. Terence V. Powderly became the organization's new head in 1879, and his marketing and promotion activities helped him attract even more adherents. Despite being mainly against strikes as a strategy, the Knights' sheer bulk allowed them to win many railroad strikes between 1884 and 1885, including one against infamous "robber baron" Jay Gould. As a result, the workers began to support them more. Over 700,000 people were members of the KOL by 1886. But in a single evening, the Haymarket affair—a May 4, 1886, incident in Chicago's Haymarket Square—wreaked havoc on the KOL's standing and, in fact, the labor movement's overall momentum (Figure 18.12). Anarchists had convened there in reaction to a fatality that occurred during a previous national eighthour workday protest. One striking employee died during the previous rally at the International Harvester Company of Chicago as a result of altercations between police and protesters. The next night, the anarchist group planned a peaceful rally in Haymarket Square, but the police showed up prepared for a fight. A bomb was thrown by a member of the public toward the police, killing one and wounding two. Following their arrest, the seven anarchists who spoke at the demonstration were accused of killing someone. Although two were subsequently pardoned and one committed himself while incarcerated prior to his execution, they were all given death sentences. Even though neither Powderly nor the organization were involved in the rally, the media quickly held both the KOL and Powderly responsible for the Haymarket incident. The harm was done, especially considering how poorly received organized labor was by the American people overall. By the end of 1886, the KOL's membership had dropped to barely 100,000. However, in the short time it was successful, the Knights' concept of "industrial unionism," which included workers of all crafts, demonstrated the possibility of success. Craft unions had persisted in their operations throughout the campaign to create industrial unionism in the shape of the KOL. Twenty distinct craft unions came together to form a nationwide federation of independent craft unions in 1886. Samuel Gompers headed this organization, which later became the American Federation of Labor (AFL), from its founding until his death in 1924. More than any of its forebears, the AFL concentrated nearly all of its energies on achieving financial success for its members, rarely venturing into political matters other than those that directly affected working conditions. The AFL also upheld the rigid rule that it would not meddle in the internal affairs of any one union. Instead, Gompers frequently arbitrated conflicts between unions and used the AFL to represent all unions on issues pertaining to federal legislation that would have an impact on all workers, such the eight-hour workweek. The AFL claimed to have four million active members by 1920, up from 500,000 in 1900. By 1914, the organization had one million members. Even at its peak, it only made up 15% of all nonfarm workers in the nation since it was a federation of craft unions and excluded a large number of manufacturing workers. Because of this, the bulk of American workers continued to lack access to upward mobility, assistance, and protection against ownership as the nation drew closer to a more industrial period.