Knights of Labor.

About Knights of Labor

The Knights of Labor, officially the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the largest American labor movement of the 19th century, for a time claiming nearly one million members. It operated mainly in the United States and Canada, and also had chapters in Great Britain and Australia. Terence V. Powderly was one of its most notable leaders, heading the organization during both its rapid rise and decline. The Knights of Labor promoted the social and cultural uplift of the worker, and demanded the eight-hour day. In some cases it acted as a labor union, negotiating with employers, but it was never well organized or funded. It was notable in its ambition to organize across lines of gender and race and in the inclusion of both skilled and unskilled labor. It grouped all workers, regardless of occupation, into a single body. After a rapid expansion in the mid-1880s, it suddenly lost its new members and succumbed to a jurisdictional battle with the new American Federation of Labor. The Knights of Labor had served as the first mass organization of the working class in the United States.