Knights Of Labor Essay

The latter half of the 19th century in American history was an era defined by conflict in all spheres of life: political, social and economic. Burgeoning industrialization, increasing urbanization and surging immigration created a working class that would eventually band together against the growing large businesses and corporations. In the South, whites and blacks alike had to collectively deal with the legacy of the Civil War during Reconstruction. The South would eventually be “redeemed” as white supremacists organized to redraw racial barriers in an effort to reconstruct the antebellum aristocratic society. Tensions between farmers and railroad companies also erupted. Farmers first organized their efforts against railroad monopolies on

a state level, then expanded into a national effort that manifested itself in the Populist Party. Their grievances would create an economic debate that captured national politics. Simultaneously, and sometimes having a role in these battles, race and gender issues became increasingly important. Underlying all of these struggles was a real anxiety for the future of the Republic – a result of both racism and class tensions. During the Gilded Age, conflict dictated the flow of events and dominated every facet of life; while these conflicts rarely resulted in clear resolutions, they were a leading cause of change across the United States and set the foundation for new national debates moving into the 20th century.
Rapid and widespread industrialization across the North fomented conflict between the upper and working classes. The accelerating pace of technological advancement and ideological conditions that favored industrialization created an environment in which large corporations and “big business” were allowed to flourish. The invention of the Bessemer process, for example, made steel production much more efficient, increasing production from 1.25 million pounds in 1880 to 124 million pounds by 1910. Additionally, improvements in communication and transportation, such as the telephone and the refrigerated railroad car, facilitated integrated market systems that connected the nation. Favorable government policies in the form of patent laws and grants of public land (as in the case of the Pacific Railway Act) also promoted growing industries. As a result of all this, an evolving and growing industrial economy was created.
Perhaps most important of these developments, however, was the growing labor pool that was needed to meet the massive demands of these burgeoning industries. The important role that labor played in this new industrial economy was a major problem that upper class and working class alike had to reconcile. For the elite, the developing concept of Social Darwinism justified the enormous wealth disparities as well as the lack of political protection for poorer groups. This ideology posited that it was only natural for some people to succeed. Working class laborers, however, had a different response, which was exemplified by a major labor union, the Knights of Labor.
The most diverse and inclusive industrial union at the time, the Knights of Labor were truly representative of the grievances of the workers.

Open to all “producers” ranging from immigrant and non-white workers to managers, the Knights represented an extremely broad membership. Banding together on a national scale, these workers made radical demands in the face of poor working conditions and low wages. They fought for the establishment of cooperatives, a graduated income tax and an eight-hour work day, among other things. The Knights’ organized numerous strikes in an effort to accomplish their goals. However, their agenda would go even further to challenge the very wage system and the capitalism that it represented. They believed that if their movement failed, a system that dehumanized labor would prevail, stripping away control in the workplace and damaging the core of American democracy. The Order’s Constitution dramatically expressed that “the recent alarming development and aggression of aggregated wealth, unless checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperization and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses.” They believed that big business was a real threat to their autonomy and

democracy.
In some ways, the workers’ fear of “big money” controlling politics was valid. Historians have widely portrayed politics during the Gilded Age as unbridled corruption. While this view largely simplifies the political context of the era and has been strongly challenged, it holds some truth. One of the challenges against this view posits that the long term effects of public policy during the Gilded Age was ultimately more significant than this corruption. However, for the disgruntled workers, the reality of politics was invariably corrupt. A political cartoon at the time, with the title “Civil Service As It Is,” depicted (as its caption stated) an “honored member of Congress presenting a few of his constituents for office.” This cartoon highlighted the rampant office-mongering and patronage that the spoils system allowed. Political scandals like the Tammany Hall Ring and the Credit Mobilier Scandal further illustrated the prevalent political dishonesty. Figures like Boss Tweed plastered the newspapers in satirical cartoons. These publically exposed rings of corruption tied to large corporations validated the fears that many laborers felt.
In the end, the Knights’ successes from their organized strikes, if any, were short-lived. Employers, with the support of federal intervention, destroyed the union. Together, they consistently put down strikes and rejected the workers’ demands. The Haymarket Square Bombing in 1886 finally spelled the end for the Knights of Labor. Radical leaders were blamed with setting off a bomb during a labor protest. Newspapers and police then connected the union to the bombing without evidence, linking them to anarchist crime; by 1887, membership would drop by half and continue to decline. The Knights’ demise at the combined efforts of their employers and the federal government was no exception. In 1892, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers protested working conditions and low wages in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Their employers, Frick and Carnegie, hired mercenary Pinkerton guards to end the strike but were unsuccessful. In the end, state militia arrived and arrested and prosecuted strike leaders. The protest had failed. Against a unified front of large corporations and government, laborers stood no chance – the political influence of their employers was simply too daunting. As a result, the labor strikes across the nation would ultimately be unsuccessful; however, their unresolved grievances would continue to find a voice in the following century with the formation of the Socialist Party. The battle over labor had not ended.
The roles of blacks and women in these labor disputes must also be explored; ultimately, their parts were limited by societal pressures that enforced gender and racial roles. While the Knights of Labor originally had a large number of black members (sixty thousand), they succumbed to dissenters both within and from outside their organization. They gradually moved away from integration and turned away black members. After the Knights’ decline in popularity, the American Federation of Labor emerged in 1886. A craft union of skilled white laborers, the organization supported separate unions and rejected the membership of both blacks and women. Their attitude reflected the racial ideology of the larger white society and actively worked to keep blacks out of their unions. Women also were barred from participation to conform to gender roles. Male laborers advocated a “family wage’ in which men would earn enough income to keep the women at home. These race and gender barriers would only begin to erode in the early to mid-20th century.
Conflict in the South took on a decidedly racial tinge during Reconstruction.

Following the Civil War, government efforts to allow Southern states to reenter the Union created a social and political upheaval in the South. In 1867, the South was divided into five districts under federal jurisdiction and military protection. In the following years, blacks, with strong federal support, made tremendous economic, social, and political strides. Black and white Republicans worked together to create public education systems and sponsored infrastructural improvements in the South. The newly formed Freedmen’s Bureau also worked to reconnect families – one of the strongest desires of freedmen after the Civil War. Furthermore, Reconstruction gave blacks a real taste of political power; a small number of blacks were even elected into government. Post-war amendments radically transformed the South as well: slavery was abolished, blacks were granted citizenship, and they were promised

suffrage.
After these initial successes, however, interest in guaranteeing these rights for freedmen declined. First, a lack of economic reparations limited the freedom that blacks experienced. Tenant plantation systems (based on cash, credit or share) replaced the slave plantation system in the South. While this new form of labor gave blacks a sense of autonomy, it ultimately kept freedmen in a cycle of poverty. Additionally, a combination of government complacency and outright racism limited the changes that Reconstruction would bring. White supremacists fervently opposed these developments with the formation of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. Using fear tactics and violence, they worked to destroy each of these advancements. Their intimidation strategies succeeded in controlling the voting ballots of the South. The white Democratic Party eventually regained power and immediately moved for “redemption”. Despite efforts on the federal level to combat white supremacist groups during Grant’s presidency (such as the Ku Klux Klan Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1875), the brutal violence they conducted on a local level limited the extent of change. The removal of federal troops from the South in 1877 by then President Hayes effectively ended Reconstruction. Without military presence and enforcement, white supremacists and Democrats had free reign. Revamped black codes and anti-black violence created an extremely stifling environment for blacks. National judicial actions further added to their plight. In 1883, the Supreme Court invalidated the Civil Rights Act of 1875, removing protections against segregation and discrimination. While Southern states directly violated the Fifteenth Amendment by denying black suffrage through measures like literacy tests and grandfather clauses, Congress turned a blind eye. From the 1870’s and onwards, blacks were given little political support and scarce economic opportunities.
Against this anti-black violence and discrimination by white supremacists, blacks actively responded by proposing different solutions and ways of life to this blatant racism. The most significant of these responses were religion and education. Church institutions melded black culture and bound the community together. Beyond their religious celebrations and meetings, the church served other purposes as well: secular education, fund-raising for the black community, and sometimes even political activity. In the face of discrimination, blacks created their own institutions in which they learned to organize, handle meetings and resolve internal conflict. The church was pivotal in this endeavor. Education also played an important role in the lives of freedmen. The number of black students enrolled in school doubled from 1877 to 1887. While this number was still relatively low (only two-fifths of eligible black children were enrolled), this development was a drastic change for the black community as they learned how to operate in a changing society. As a product of segregation, black colleges were founded as well. While these schools lacked resources compared to their white counterparts, they offered real educational opportunities. In the following decades, Northern schools would further integrate while black colleges improved their curriculums. Changes in the South, however, came more slowly and would only see significant transformations in the 20th century.