KNIGHTS OF LABOR

A U.S. labor organization founded in 1869 at Philadelphia, Pa., by Uriah S. Stephens (1821–82); it was the most successful effort of its kind up to that time and exercised maximum influence from 1877 to 1887. In 1871 Stephens, an abolitionist who had studied for the Baptist ministry before becoming a tailor and labor leader, adopted the name Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor for his secret organization. Ten years later the order dropped "Noble and Holy" from its official title, eliminated its oath of secrecy, and revised its ritual. Combining advanced social theories with practical objectives, the Knights advocated laws for improved safety regulation, mechanics' liens, the eight-hour workday, public ownership of utilities, and the regulation of child labor. Convict leasing was opposed. Although arbitration, instead of strikes, was advanced strongly, a strike fund was soon started. Women were encouraged to organize, and equal pay for both sexes for equal work was advocated. The order's stated objective was the organization of every department of productive industry; it became an advocate of industrial union, in contrast with its earlier emphasis on craft unions. The Knights were committed also to a system of producer cooperatives, an activity that proved unprofitable and contributed to the eventual decline of the organization. After Terence Vincent Powderly succeeded Stephens as grand master workman of the order (1879), membership increased to 700,000 (1886), and the Knights emerged successful in a number of strikes, including that against the Missouri Pacific railroad. However, the Chicago Haymarket Square riot in May 1886 was used widely to discredit the Knights, although they took no part in it.

The attitude of Catholic clergy was an important factor in the rising and waning fortunes of the organization. Many parish priests, fearing possible socialistic or violent influences, often opposed such unions. The Knights were condemned by the hierarchy of Canada on the grounds of secrecy, but Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, Md., was convinced of the merits of labor organizations and obtained assurance against condemnation from Rome. In 1891 Leo XIII's encyclical rerum novarum

strongly supported the cardinal's position. When Powderly retired (1893), the Knights' difficulties with the Church had ceased; but other labor unions, more in touch with the changing times, were coming to the fore. In 1917 the Knights of Labor officially disbanded.

Bibliography: h. j. browne, Catholic University of America, Studies in American Church History: The Catholic Church and the Knights of Labor 38 (Washington 1949). n. j. ware, The Labor Movement in the United States, 1860–1895 (New York 1929). j. r. commons et al., eds., A Documentary History of American Industrial Society, 10 v. (Cleveland 1909). j. t. ellis, The Life of James Cardinal Gibbons, 2 v. (Milwaukee 1952).

[j. w. coleman]