19th Century Labor Movement: Origins and Evolution
The Labor Movement in the 19th Century
In the 19th century, many people worked in jobs with poor conditions, often enduring long hours, such as six and a half days per week. A key aspiration of the working class was to improve these appalling conditions, particularly fighting for an eight-hour workday and abolishing child labor. This history is often overlooked in American history. The Labor Movement in the United States began almost alongside industry itself, initially resembling guilds. However, lacking class consciousness, these early efforts were disorganized. As industry expanded and working conditions worsened, workers recognized the need to unite.
Traditional Labor Unions
The American Labor Movement truly gained momentum after the Civil War (late 1860s). The Knights of Labor, the first significant labor union, led by Terence F. Powderly, reached its peak during this time. The term ‘knight’ referenced a noble and responsible figure.
The Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor included workers from various countries, including immigrants. They accepted Black workers and even women. However, they were generally uncomfortable with strikes.
The Temperance Movement, which aimed to prohibit alcohol, was the second most popular social movement before the Civil War, surpassed only by abolitionists. Supporters believed alcohol consumption led to abuse of children and women. The Knights of Labor remained the most important union for two decades.
Reasons for Their Crisis
Many immigrant workers found the Knights’ methods outdated compared to those in Europe. Skilled workers had different interests, creating division. Industrial workers also had different interests than garment workers.
Origins and Growth
The Knights of Labor began as a secret society of tailors in Philadelphia in 1869. The organization grew slowly during the hard years of the 1870s, but worker militancy rose toward the end of the decade, especially after the great railroad strike of 1877, and the Knights’ membership rose with it. Grand Master Workman Terence V. Powderly took office in 1879, and under his leadership the Knights flourished; by 1886 the group had 700,000 members. Powderly dispensed with the earlier rules of secrecy and committed the organization to seeking the eight-hour day, abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work, and political reforms including the graduated income tax.
Unlike most trade unions of the day, the Knights’ unions were vertically organized—each included all workers in a given industry, regardless of trade. The Knights were also unusual in accepting workers of all skill levels and both sexes; blacks were included after 1883 (though in segregated locals).
Membership was not limited to wage earners; it was open to farmers and small business people—everybody, that is, except lawyers, bankers, stockbrokers, professional gamblers and anyone involved in the sale of alcoholic beverages. The Knights achieved a membership of nearly 750,000 during the next few years, but the skilled and unskilled workers who had joined the Knights in hope of improvement in their hours and wages found themselves frustrated by the Knights’ vague organizational structure, by its officers’ aversion to strikes against employers and by its leaders’ reliance on the promise of future social gains instead of the hard day-to-day work of building and operating a union organization.