Knights of Labor Constitutions on Microfilm

The Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the the largest American labor organizations of the 1880s. Their most important leader was Terence V. Powderly. They promoted the social and cultural uplift of the workingman, and rejected Socialism and radicalism, they demanded the eight-hour day. After the mid-1880s they went back to being a smaller organization, they had started as a labor union, negotiating with employers, but it was poorly organized.

Starting in 1869, it reached 28,000 members by 1880, then increased to 100,000 in 1885. Its largest membership was around 1886 with close to 800,000 members. Most of their members abandoned the movement in 1886-87, resulting in only 100,000 members by 1890. By 1949 the last 50-member local dropped its affiliation.

The Knights of Labor contibuted to the tradition of labor protest songs in America. They included music in their regular meetings and alwasys encouraged local members to write and perform their own work.