The Knights Of Labor During The Gilded Age

It can be said that since its inception, America has been a country selfish negligence. The founding fathers ignored the issue of slavery in order to unite the colonies, and presidents ignored the native peoples so that they could expand their own power. However, as the Gilded Age came to an end, America began feel the folly of its negligence. Industrialization left people of all classes were left feeling alienated and powerless. Everyone felt the effects of Industrialization, therefore no one could ignore the universal problems it created. Thus, the Progressive Era marked America’s surge in reform spirit., and while reform was rarely successful, there was an unanimous intent for societal change. In that way, the word “progressive” does not
However unlike government, workers thought that increasing their own power would remedy this. Thus, the workers unionized to pool their strength. On paper, this meant that factories would stop and workers would win working benefits, but in reality strikes were often messy and unsuccessful. During the Haymarket Affair, over 10,000 members of the Knights of Labor arranged to walk off their jobs for a day. Several days later, they held a similar strike, however that time, in the chaotic strike, a bomb went off. The struggle that ensued killed several workers and police. As a result, the government randomly hanged 8 people for leading the strike. This ultimately labeled the Knights of Labor as radicals, and lowered the union’s power. The strike was a huge failure. The union had lost influence and lives, yet its original intentions were noble: the workers wanted better conditions. Thus, the strike was representative of the spirit for progress. {AFL EXCLUDING PEOPLE CUS THOUGHT WAS BEST
Granted, lynching was still a crime, it became a crime meant to improve society, not satisfy hate. During the time period, lynching often occurred over river on on a tree, both of which are biblical symbols for life, in order to display their desire for purging society of impurities. Furthermore, mobs targeted jailed blacks for hanging, not the sleeping blacks from before, and they would then hold impromptu trials to before executing the black. By targeting criminals and holding trials, the mobs showed that they believed lynching would carry out justice. In that way, lynching during the Progressive era was almost a social crusade, aimed to rid society of impurities, which in this case were blacks. In Duluth Minnesota, six black men who had been accused of murder where broken out of jail by a mob of lynchers and then hanged. Later investigation showed all 6 men were innocent, but that was not important for the