Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Uriah Stephens founded this association in 1871 at Philadelphia and was its president until 1879. In January 1878, it was reorganized as the first national industrial union . It admitted unskilled laborers, farmers, and professionals; it did not require that local chapters be organized by industry, but did demand that 75 percent of each chapter's members be salaried workers. It grew rapidly in Terrence P owderly's presidency (1879–93), from 484 chapters to 5,892 in 1886. Despite Powderly's preference for settling labor disputes by arbitration, the Knights initiated several large-scale strikes or boycotts (1884–7) and lost much prestige after a failed strike against the Southwest Railroad Co. during March-May 1886. Because the H aymarket riot coincided with a national general strike called by the Knights for 1 May 1886 to win the eight-hour workday, the union became synonymous with anarchism and violence in the public mind. Membership fell from a peak of 700,000 in 1886 to 100,000 by 1890. It rapidly became extinct after 1893. ... log in or subscribe to read full text