The Knights of Labor Are Founded

What Happened?

In December 1869, a small group of Philadelphia garment workers met in secret and started something much bigger than themselves. Led by Uriah Smith Stephens, a former indentured servant who had seen poverty and unfair treatment firsthand, they formed the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor. What began as a quiet experiment among tailors soon became one of the first national labor unions in the United States.

At the time, American workers were facing harsh realities: long hours, low wages, unsafe factories, and employers who could easily replace anyone who complained. Earlier attempts to organize had mostly been small and local, which made it easy for big businesses to ignore them. Stephens believed that workers needed a larger, united organization that crossed job types and city lines so that their demands could not be brushed aside so easily.

To protect members from being fired or punished, the Knights of Labor originally operated in secret. They used passwords, rituals, and private symbols inspired by groups like the Freemasons. Meetings were announced quietly, sometimes with chalked signs on sidewalks and buildings. This secrecy gave workers a sense of safety and also a feeling of belonging to something important and powerful.

Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, the Knights spread far beyond Philadelphia. They opened their doors to many kinds of wage earners, including blacksmiths, bricklayers, railroad workers, and factory hands. Under the leadership of Terence V. Powderly, an Irish American machinist, the Knights took a rare and radical step for the time: they welcomed women as full members and also organized Black workers in many regions, especially in the South.

The Knights of Labor didn't just fight for better pay. They had a broad vision for a fairer society. They campaigned for an eight-hour workday instead of exhausting 10 or 12-hour shifts, for laws to end child labor, for safer workplaces, and for compensation when workers were injured. They also supported ideas like cooperative workshops and stores, where workers could share ownership instead of working only for wages under distant bosses.

As their numbers grew, the Knights proved that organized workers could challenge massive corporations. In the mid-1880s, they helped lead successful strikes against powerful railroad companies that had cut wages. In one famous case, they helped shut down key lines of the Union Pacific system, pressuring the company to restore workers’ pay. These victories showed other workers that collective action could actually win real, concrete changes.

However, while they welcomed many groups, they treated some unfairly. The organization supported laws that excluded Chinese immigrants and sometimes took part in racist violence against Asian workers, whom they saw as competition. This contradiction reminds us that even movements for justice can carry prejudice that must be recognized and challenged.

By the late 1880s, the Knights began to decline. Internal disagreements, failed strikes, and public backlash after violent events like the Haymarket Affair damaged their reputation and unity. Many members left for newer unions, such as the American Federation of Labor, which focused more narrowly on wages and hours for skilled workers.

Even though the Knights of Labor eventually faded, their impact lived on. Many of the reforms they championed, such as restrictions on child labor and the eight-hour workday, later became part of law and policy. They helped prove that workers in a rapidly industrializing nation could organize across race, gender, and job type to demand a more dignified life.

Why It Matters

The founding of the Knights of Labor in 1869 marks an important chapter in the story of workers’ rights. It shows how ordinary people, facing powerful employers and often hostile laws, used creativity, solidarity, and courage to push the United States toward a more just and humane economy—while also revealing how incomplete and uneven that progress could be. They showed that workers didn't have to face powerful employers alone. By organizing people across different jobs, races, and genders, they helped turn frustration into coordinated action and pushed ideas like the eight-hour workday, safer conditions, and fairer pay into mainstream debate. The story of the Knights of Labor shows how unions and social movements can change laws and workplaces, why inclusivity is essential for real fairness, and how the fight for economic justice is always a work in progress rather than a finished victory.