Knights of Labor Declare War on Monopoly
Assembly 101 releases a manifesto against Jay Gould, framing the labor struggle as a historic battle for the future of the working class.
The Joint Executive Board of Assembly 101, 105 and 17, Knights of Labor, this afternoon issued the following address: 'To the Workmen of the World—Gould, the great monopolist, the man of greed, he who owns the grave of our order, over the ruins of our homes, and the blight of our lives. Before him the world was filled in beauty, but his wake is a myriad of hopes, joy, ashes of desolation and death. Our strong arms have grown weary in building the tower of strength, and yet he bids us build on, or die. Our young lives have grown gray too soon beneath the strain of constant toil. Fellows, Gould must be overthrown, his great power must be broken, or you and I shall be slaves forever. The Knights of Labor alone have dared to be the David to this Goliath. The battle is not for today; the battle is not for tomorrow; but for the trooping generations of the incoming ages of the world.'
“Shall we be a nation of freemen, or a nation of slaves?”
This document captures the populist rage against Gilded Age monopolies, particularly the railroads. The rhetoric mirrors contemporary concerns about wealth inequality and the power of massive corporations over the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.