The National Labor Union

The National Labor Union was organized in 1866 and included 600,000 members during its six years of operation. The skilled, unskilled, and farmers alike joined, but the union excluded the Chinese, and only allowed nominal amounts of women and blacks. The black workers organized the Colored National Labor Union, but the two unions never joined together because of the blacks’ support of the Republican Party and the racism of white unionists.
After the National Labor Union came the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor. The name was later shortened to just the Knights of Labor. The union started as a secret society with a private ritual, passwords, and a grip because the organizers of the union were afraid of reprisals from their emp...