USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Knights of Labor was an exceptionally progressive organization for its day. Most earlier unions restricted membership to skilled laborers (those with specialized training in a craft) and to white men. Led by Terence V. Powderly, the Knights welcomed unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers into their ranks.

Detailed explanation-2: -Uriah Stevens, Knights of Labor Founder Uriah S. Stephens, a descendant of early Quaker settlers in New Jersey, founded the Knights of Labor on Thanksgiving Day 1869 in Philadelphia.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Knights of Labor sought to attain their goals primarily through boycotts and peaceful negotiations. Powderly generally opposed strikes, believing that they only led to bloodshed and increased tensions. Other Knights of Labor leaders preferred utilizing strikes.

Detailed explanation-4: -The American Federation of Labor. Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a federation of skilled workers in national craft unions that maintained their autonomy while working together to promote labor legislation and support strikes.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Knights declined rapidly after the 1886 Haymarket Square riot in Chicago, in which 11 people were killed by a bomb. The American Federation of Labor, a union of skilled workers, gradually replaced the Knights as the nation’s largest labor organization.