Knights of Labor Union Pioneered Labor Reforms

Knights of Labor Union Pioneered Labor Reforms The Knights of Labor was the first major American labor union. It was first formed in 1869 as a secret society of garment cutters in Philadelphia. The organization, under its full name, Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, grew throughout the 1870s, and by the mid-1880s it had a membership of more than 700,000. The union organized strikes and was able to secure negotiated settlements from hundreds of employers across the United States. Its eventual leader, Terence Vincent Powderly, was for a time the most famous labor leader in America. Under Powderlys leadership, the Knights of Labor transformed from its secretive roots to a much more prominent organization. The Haymarket Riot in Chicago on May 4, 1886, was blamed on the Knights of Labor, and the union was unfairly discredited in the eyes of the public. The American labor movement coalesced around a new organization, the American Federation of Labor, which was formed in December 1886. Membership of the Knights of Labor plummeted, and by the mid-1890s it had lost all its former influence and had less than 50,000 members. Origins of the Knights of Labor The Knights of Labor was organized at a meeting in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving Day, 1869. As some of the organizers had been members of fraternal organizations, the new union took on a number of trappings such as obscure rituals and a fixation on secrecy. The organization used the motto An injury to one is the concern of all. The union recruited workers in all fields, skilled and unskilled, which was an innovation.  Up to that point, labor organizations tended to focus on particularly skilled trades, thus leaving common workers with virtually no organized representation. The organization grew throughout the 1870s, and in 1882, under the influence of its new leader, Terence Vincent Powderly, an Irish Catholic machinist, the union did away with the rituals and ceased to be a secretive organization. Powderly had been active in local politics in Pennsylvania and had even served as the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania. With his grounding in practical politics, he was able to move the once-secretive organization into a growing movement. The membership nationwide grew to about 700,000 by 1886, though it plummeted after the suspected connection to the Haymarket Riot. By the 1890s Powderly was forced out as the organizations president, and the union lost most of its force. Powderly eventually wound up working for the federal government, working on immigration issues. In time the role of the Knights of Labor was essentially taken over by other organizations, most notably the newer American Federation of Labor. The legacy of the Knights of Labor is mixed. It ultimately failed to deliver on its early promise, however, it did prove that a nationwide labor organization could be practical. And by including unskilled workers in its membership, the Knights of Labor pioneered a widespread labor movement. Later labor activists were inspired by the egalitarian nature of the Knights of Labor while also learning from the organizations mistakes.

10 Words for Categories of Words

10 Words for Categories of Words 10 Words for Categories of Words 10 Words for Categories of Words By Mark Nichol Antonym, homonym, pseudonym. Do nyms make you numb? Here’s a handy guide to words, familiar or unfamiliar, for classes of words: Acronym: An abbreviation, pronounced as a word, consisting of the initial letters of a multiword name or expression. It can consist entirely of uppercase letters (NASA) –thought British English has adopted an initial-cap style, which is employed in American English for longer acronyms like Nasdaq or lowercase letters (radar); the latter are also known as anacronyms. Anepronym: A trademarked brand name now used generically, such as aspirin or kleenex. Antonym: A word distinguished from another with an opposite meaning, such as large, as compared to small. There’s also a class of words called autoantonyms, contranyms, or contronyms, single words with contrasting meanings, like oversight, which can mean either â€Å"responsibility for† or â€Å"failure to be responsible for.† Eponym: A proper or common name deriving from another name, as San Francisco (in honor of St. Francis) or many scientific terms, such as watt (named after James Watt) and volt (from Allesandro Volta). Heteronym: A word spelled the same way for different meanings, such as wear (to clothe oneself) as opposed to wear (to atrophy); sometimes, as in this case, however, they have the same origin. A heteronym can be pronounced differently depending on meaning, such as bass, the musical instrument, and bass, the fish; this type of word is also called a heterophone. Homonym: A word pronounced or spelled the same but different in meaning, like hi and high (also called homophones). Bass, referred to above, is both a heteronym and a homonym. (Does that make it a binym or a duonym?) The homonym sow, which can mean a female animal such as a pig or can refer to planting seeds, is also a homograph, meaning that not only its pronunciation but also its origin and definition can differ. Metonym: A term that identifies something by its association: Articles about Microsoft often used to refer to the company metonymically as Redmond, the city in Washington State where its headquarters are located, just as Washington stands in for the U.S. government. Pseudonym: A name adopted by an author, such as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s use of Lewis Carroll. In a literary context, this is often referred to as a nom de plume (â€Å"name of the pen†). A related term is nom de guerre (â€Å"name of war†), originally in reference to French Foreign Legion enlistees who masked their identities but since then employed by guerrilla fighters to avoid reprisals against their families. Other examples of pseudonyms include stage names (performing arts), ring names (professional wrestling), and handles (computer hacking, or CB or ham radio operation). Synonym: A word with the same meaning as another, such as small, as compared to little. Toponym: A place name, whether it retains capitalization, or is lowercased in generic usage, such as burgundy. Dozens of other -nym words exist many for, as you might imagine, obscure classes of words. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?Rules for Capitalization in TitlesParticular vs. Specific