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Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1869, the Knights of Labor were founded. The largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s, the Knights promoted the social and cultural uplift of the workingman, rejected socialism and anarchism, demanded the eight-hour day, and called for legislation to end child and convict labor. In some cases the Knights acted as a labor union, negotiating with employers, but it was never well organized, and after a rapid expansion in the mid-1880s, it just as quickly lost its new members and became a small operation again. A diverse industrial union open to all workers, the Knights' constitution banned “parasites,” from membership, including stockbrokers and lawyers. The Knights of Labor contributed to the tradition of labor protest songs in America, frequently including music in their regular meetings, and encouraging local members to write and perform their work. The song "Hold the Fort", a Knights of Labor pro-labor revision of the hymn by the same name, became the most popular labor song prior to Ralph Chaplin's IWW anthem "Solidarity Forever". Today’s labor quote is the chorus from "Hold the Fort" Hold the fort for we are coming. Union men, be strong! Side by side we battle onward; Victory will come.
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