The Order of the Knights of St. Crispin was an American
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
of shoe workers formed in Wisconsin in 1867. It soon reached a membership of 50,000 or more, largely in the Northeast. However it was poorly organized and faded away by 1874. They fought to prevent innovation, including the introduction of new machinery, and worked to keep immigrant labor out of the workforce.
History
The first lodge of the Knights of St. Crispin was organized in 1867 in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
, Wisconsin. As a union of shoemakers, it took its name from the Catholic
Saint Crispin, the
patron saint of cobblers. The founding members were Newell Daniels, Samuel Wilson, W. C. Haynes, Albert Jenkins, Thomas Houren, F. W. Wallace and Henry Palmer. The Order spread throughout Wisconsin and the Northeast and even into Canada. By 1871 it claimed about 400 lodges with 50,000 to 60,000 members. Dues paying members were far fewer. In Milwaukee the Knights owned and operated three cooperative shops. In 1872 some eastern lodges went on strike and suffered a crushing defeat, after which the organization rapidly declined. The order was revived in 1875 in
Lynn,
Massachusetts
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and defeated an attempt by the manufacturers to force their workers to sign a pledge not to join a union. In its heyday the Knights fought against employment of Chinese workers and tried to stop the training of new workers so as to keep wages high. The
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...
caused heavy layoffs in the factories and the Knights lost members rapidly.
[Lescohier, 1912]
Constitution
One provision in its constitution explicitly sought to limit the entry of "green hands" into the trade. That effort failed because the new machines could be operated by semi-skilled workers and produce more shoes than hand sewing.
See also
{{Portal, Organized labour
*
North Adams strike
*
Daughters of St. Crispin
*
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
Bibliography
* Commons, John R. "American Shoemakers, 1648-1895: A Sketch of Industrial Evolution," ''Quarterly Journal of Economics'' 24 (November, 1909), 39-83
in JSTOR* Commons, John R. ''History of Labour in the United States'' - Vol. 2 1860-1896 (1918
online edition* Dawley, Alan. ''Class and Community: The Industrial Revolution in Lynn'' (1976
excerpt and text search* Hall, John P. "The Knights of St. Crispin in Massachusetts, 1869-1878," ''Journal of Economic History'' 18 (June, 1958), 161-175
in JSTORGerald Zahavi, "The Endicott Johnson Corporation:19th Century Origins" (2001)* Lescohier, Don D.
The Knights of St. Crispin, 1867-1874; a study in the industrial causes of trade unionism ' Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, #355. Economics and political science ser., v. 7, no. 1 Madison, Wis. 1910
References
Shoemakers
Defunct trade unions in the United States
Footwear industry trade unions
Trade unions established in 1867
Trade unions disestablished in the 1870s