The Haymarket Affair damaged the reputation of which labor organization?

• A. Knights of Labor
• B. American Federation of Labor
• C. American Railway Union
• D. International Ladies' Garment Workers Union

Answer: (A)

The Haymarket Affair shows how public sentiment can label a labor group as radical after a violent incident, even if that group wasn’t responsible for the violence. In 1886, a peaceful rally in Chicago for an eight-hour workday ended with a bomb blast and deadly violence. The Knights of Labor, which had been growing and aimed to unite all workers, became strongly associated in the public mind with radicalism and disorder. That perception damaged their reputation and helped push workers toward the American Federation of Labor, which was more conservative and focused on skilled crafts and practical bargaining rather than broad reforms. The other unions mentioned were not blamed for Haymarket in the same way.