Knights Of Labor

Syllabus 2
1. From 1875 to 1925 the Knights of Labor attempted to advance the interests of workers by looking to change society, often being implemented through strikes turned violent which caused them to gain a bad reputation and get little done for workers while the American Federation of Labor tried to advance worker interests through only accepting skilled laborers and using the ideology of pure and simple unionism that hoped for the power of collective bargaining, resulting in partial success for workers. The Knights of Labor wanted to change society into one where the workers held power rather than the employers. They were connected to a number of violent strikes where workers failed to make any gains. Through this their reputation suffered due to the fact that they were failing to help workers. The AFL only admitted skilled workers which improved their success due to the more limited number of skilled workers. Instead of focusing on lofty goals, they focused on “pure and simple unionism” that drove them to look only for things that immediately benefited workers. They were partially successful in their quest for collective bargaining in that they were able to have more of their demands met. The Knights of Labor wanted to change society into one where the workers held power rather than the employers. They accepted both skilled and unskilled workers and looked to create a society run entirely by the workers for the benefit of the workers. This caused them to be less successful than other unions because they were not as marketable to workers who wanted immediate and meaningful change rather than slow, societal change. These goals were too high for a union with limited membership, so they were never able to reach any of them or hold significant power. They were connected to a number of violent strikes where workers failed to make any gains. One of their main tactics was the staging of strikes. However, they often turned violent and were not helpful to workers. Employers would employ strikebreakers or stage lockouts where workers who were not on strike could not work or make any money. Due to these factors, the Knights of Labor gained a bad reputation with the public. They were seen as a violent group that hurt, rather than helped, the cause of workers. This reputation caused membership to be low and the Knights of Labor to get little done. The AFL only admitted skilled workers which improved their success due to the more limited number of skilled workers. Most of the immigrants were coming from Southeast Europe during this time period. These people were largely unskilled laborers. By only admitting skilled laborers, the AFL gained a better position. There were only a limited number of skilled laborers, so when one was fired from a job, it was harder for an employer to find a new worker. They became more valuable as employees due to this. The AFL used this to their advantage in working for workers’ rights. This allowed them to make larger gains for workers. Samuel Gompers, the leader of the AFL, advocated “pure and simple unionism”, meaning that the AFL would not pursue any goals that did not immediately benefit the workers. This advanced the case of the AFL in that they could actually get something done because they were not trying to renovate society as a whole. The biggest goal of the AFL was the power of collective bargaining. They wanted the ability to make compromises with employers on a large scale for the benefit of the workers. This was more successful than the campaigns of other unions as it made some small gains for workers.

2. Progressive Era reformers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries tried to reform the workplace by attempting to ban child labor and using muckrakers to highlight issues such as sanitation and the need for insurance but were only partially successful; they attempted to reform living conditions by raising awareness through muckrakers, creating settlement houses, sewage systems, and

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