Storm The Fort

Karl Stomberg

5.0 (1)
History
Weekly Series

A series about the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, the first nationwide labor organization that organized all workers regardless of craft, race, or gender. This podcast covers their rise and fall, as well as the lessons that we can learn today from their efforts to organize the multi-racial working class. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 1

Episode 1: One Nation, Under Capital

America emerges from the Civil War a newly industrialized nation. As the dust settles and industry expands rapidly, the labor movement seeks to keep up with a newly concentrated capitalism and offer its own interpretation of what true freedom means. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

52 min
Episode 2

Episode 2: Behind Labor's Veil

After its founding in 1869, the Knights of Labor remains a relatively secretive and covert operation in its early years. All around it, the country is transformed by a major depression, third-party political action, and new forms of labor organizing that will lead to a newly powerful and coherent organization. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

51 min
Episode 3

Episode 3: Labor's Independence Day

The most violent strike in US labor history brings in new members and new leadership, forcing the Knights of Labor to become a truly national organization. Taking on the mantle of Grand Master Workman, machinist Terence Powderly begins to move the Knights away from secrecy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

55 min
Episode 4

Episode 4: Workingmen's Democracy

The Knights’ move away from secrecy brings in more members from different backgrounds, but also more division and challenges as trade unionists and radicals make their voices heard. Organizers spread across the country and begin to put together what will become the largest labor movement in American history to that point, and launch the order's first national strike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

57 min
Episode 5

Episode 5: War on the Western Rails

After a series of bruising defeats, many Knights begin to look at different options for how to bring about the cooperative commonwealth. As the national organization begins to rebuild, a renegade group of railroad workers in the west draw the Knights into conflict with one of the most hated robber barons of the era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

54 min
Episode 6

Episode 6: A Rather Unwieldy Body

In the wake of the greatest victory that American organized labor had ever seen, the Knights of Labor become the fastest growing labor organization in history. In this growth they see more diversity, more opportunity, and more division than they have had to deal with before, and begin to position themselves for an even greater showdown with the capitalist class. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

53 min
Episode 7

Episode 7: The Great Upheaval

After becoming the largest labor organization in American history, the Knights of Labor find themselves drawn into a series of titanic conflicts with some of the most powerful men and organizations of the Gilded Age. This is the first of three episodes dedicated to the great upheaval of 1886. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

56 min
Episode 8

Episode 8: The Long, Hot Summer

With the failure of the largest strikes of the Great Upheaval, the Knights continue to grow but find themselves facing a series of internal divisions and external attacks that require them to revisit old tactics and develop new ones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

55 min

See All Season 1 (13)

Trailer

Trailer

On Storm The Fort, we'll dive into the history of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, the first national labor organization to organize all workers regardless of class, race, or gender, to learn what made them special and what we can learn from them today. First episode arriving on April 10, 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S1

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6 min

A series about the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, the first nationwide labor organization that organized all workers regardless of craft, race, or gender. This podcast covers their rise and fall, as well as the lessons that we can learn today from their efforts to organize the multi-racial working class. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Creator

Karl Stomberg
Episodes

13
Seasons

1
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Karl Stomberg
Show Website

Storm The Fort