http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.28487/

Attached here is a cartoon depicting "robber barons" of the day riding in a horse drawn carriage, seemingly living in luxury, and laughing as they pass a man attempting to climb a pole with higher wages, tobacco, bread, wine and ham at the top.  The man has a woman and child hanging from his leg and the pole is slicked with 'monopoly grease'.  in the background is a multitude of workers that are risen up in protest, however the appear to be disorganized.  They are waving flags that bear the name 'Knights of Labor'.  As I observed this cartoon, questions as to whom the knights of labor were arose in my head.  My next thought was, were the Knights of Labor affective in obtaining rights for workers?  My curiosity drove me to dig a little deeper.  i found that the Knights of Labor were the first and most prominant social labor movement of the 19th century.  The movement began as a fraternal organization and eventually expanded to over 700,000 members.  This organization was important for the mobilization of workers in the steel and iron industries.  This organization was developed by non-elites and it's influence affected greatly the American labor movement.

The Knights of Labor also had a profound impact of breeching racial boundaries.  The poor and less skilled workers of various races became bound together within this labor movement for workers rights.  In 1886, at the height of membership for the Knights, there were around 60,000 African American members.  Even the labor movement had a positive effect in the south on racial tensions.  According to the Journal of Negro History, "In Charleston, South Carolina, according to John Swinton, the distinguished labor editor, Negroes and whites were working in harmony as members of the Knights of Labor. "This is a grand stride", he wrote on May 16, 1886. "The organization of the Knights of Labor has done much for the South. When everything else had failed, the bond of poverty united the colored and white mechanic and laborer." George E. McNeill, a prominant labor leader, claimed that even in the South the 'color line had been broken, and black and white were found working in the same cause." Before analyzing what kind of an organization the Knights of Labor were, it did not cross my mind on how social labor movements may have affected racial relations.  However, this organization not only had an impact for the white working man, but for the black working man as well.  This is an interesting thought that I will expound upon in future research.