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Telling the story of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor and what it means for today. New episodes every Thursday

Joined November 2024
Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)Photo by Storm The Fort (@StormTheFortPod)
Episodes 11 and 12 are live, and our series is officially over! In these last episodes, we cover the fall of Powderly from the head of the Knights, and the final fall of the Order in the following years. Then we discuss what the legacy of the Knights of Labor means today.
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Episodes 9 and 10 are public! After an unprecedented year of conflict and growth, the Knights of Labor find themselves under attack from within the labor movement as well as employers and vigilantes. In response, they decide to do some purges.
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The May Day strikes transformed working-class communities across the country in the image of the Knights of Labor. Hear more about the groundbreaking upheaval of 1886 in the latest episodes of Storm the Fort.
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Episodes 7 and 8 are public! We finally talk about the Great Upheaval of 1886: the massive Great Southwestern Strike and Eight Hour strikes that inspired the first May Day. This upheaval shocked the capitalist class and transformed working-class communities to their core.
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lmao
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May Day is about freedom: the freedom to have a life beyond work and to control your own time when you are working. Hear the story of the first May Day in 1886, and its violent suppression, this Thursday with Episodes 7 and 8 of Storm the Fort!
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Before Thursday, make sure to catch up on the history of the Knights of Labor and how they became the unwilling center of the first May Day strikes shows.acast.com/making-the-a…
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Episodes 5 and 6 are public! For the first time, the Knights begin to actually win major strikes, propelling them to become the largest labor organization in American history. With their new notoriety, the face new questions about their goals and who they truly represent.
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Turns out robber barons haven't changed much in 150 years. Episodes 5 and 6 of Storm the Fort drop this Thursday, April 24th!
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The Great Railroad Strike launched a new era of labor organizing in 1877. Four years into an economic depression, thousands of workers across the country spontaneously launched into a violent strike against most of the major railroads, resulting in dozens of deaths 🧵
Episodes 3 and 4 are public! 1877 brings one of the deadliest strikes in American history, which drives the Knights of Labor to become more open, and more accepting of different workers. In the upsurge, a machinist named Terence Powderly takes charge, transforming the order.
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One of the first real tests of the Knights' new strength was a massive strike of telegraphers under the banner of District Assembly 45 in 1883. While it seemed promising at first, the strike quickly fell apart as the bosses were much better organized.
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By the end of 1883, the Knights were much bigger than they had been a few years before, but still weaker than they would like to admit. It would only be over the coming two years that they would begin to recognize the dream of a robust, national labor organization.
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