View source for Noble Order of the Knights of Labor

{{Infobox political party|name=Noble Order of the Knights of Labor|logo=Knights of Labor.png|founded=December 1869|abbreviation=K of L|founder=[[Uriah S. Stephens]]|dissolution=1949|membership_year=1889|membership=~700,000|political_orientation=[[Socialism]]|slogan=}}

The '''Knights of Labor''', officially the '''Noble Order of the Knights of Labor''', was a labor organization in the [[United States of America|United States]].

== History ==
The Knights of Labor was founded by Uriah S. Stephens in [[Philadelphia]] in 1869. It originally contained only garment workers but expanded to other trades in 1871. In 1878, it held its first national convention in Reading, [[Pennsylvania]]. In 1879, Stephens was succeeded by [[T.V. Powderley]] as leader.

The Knights of Labor participated in a general strike in 1886 for the eight-hour work day.

T.V. Powderley was replaced by [[J. R. Sovereign]] as leader of the Knights of Labor in 1893.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=[[William Z. Foster]]|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Socialist Labor Party (1876-1890)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-five-socialist-labor-party-1876.html|section=The Knights of Labor}}</ref>

== Membership ==
The Knights of Labor had 52,000 members in 1883, 111,000 in 1885, and 700,000 in 1886. 10% of its members were women and there were many Black members. [[Petty bourgeoisie|Petty bourgeois]] were allowed in the organization as long as they did not exceed 25% of local membership.<ref name=":0" />

== Program ==
The Knights of Labor proposed a program that included labor and land reforms and nationalization of banks, railroads, and telegraphs.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
[[Category:Labor movement in the United States]]