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The working class consisted of poor and impoverished men and boys who had to work in sub-par facilities. The wages earned by the working class were barely enough to live on, with little to no chance of moving out of the slums their families lived in. The working class was the back bone of the Progressive Era of America, being the arbiters of change within their work environments.

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This page from the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog illustrates how luxuries that would only belong to wealthy city dwellers were now available by mail order to those all around the country.

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During the Progressive Era, despite poor wages and obscene work hours, Consumers began buying more and more. This was due to the expansion of advertising and the popularization of credit. Newspapers included adverts on almost every page, radios had regular intermissions to speak of the new sponsored product, and banks introduced a new way to pay for things. The credit system was founded on the well heard phrase, "Buy now, pay later.", which during times of high need for products and low availability of funds, was a dream come true for many Americans.

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The Great Financial Panic of 1873 - Closing the door of the Stock Exchange on its members, Saturday, September 20th. Library of Congress

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In 1873, a Stock Market crash caused a financial panic leading to an economic depression in Europe and North America. This was due to investors panic selling their stocks causing all of the other stocks to dramatically decrease in value. The main victims of this crash, were railroad companies, the same companies that were getting into arguments with their workers. The sudden loss in value of the railroad companies caused an even greater ill treatment of railroad workers leading to even greater arguments. This sudden need of funds caused banks to demand immediate payment on loans, to witch the poor and impoverished were unable to pay.

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As companies were desperate to earn more money, and workers were desperate for better working environments, an interesting proposal was made. Fredrick Taylor proposed the idea of a concept called "Scientific Management", where worker efficiency could be quantified, and factory work could be optimized. He suggested manufacturing work be compressed into short, repetitive work that most workers could manage. Although this method lacked any chance for interpersonal connection between workers, the efficient and optimal profits produced by this method was appealing to factory owners.

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In the wake of the Panic of 1873, workers were jumping at any opportunity to reform their working environment, of which the Knights of Labor(KOL) would gladly offer. While other groups such as the National Labor Union were also working hard for the same rights, it proved to be the wrong work at the wrong time. The KOL managed to reach a wide audience and a more sympathetic view from important figures. The KOL gained its following by appealing to more of their members and widening those who could enter the organization. The KOL aimed to create a singular body where all workers could air their concerns in the hopes of a grand reform.

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While the Knights of Labor were able to achieve much change, time would take its toll. However this was not the end of the organization as a whole, as it would later become the American Federation of Labor. The singular body that the KOL aimed to create was achieved by the AFL. More than any other organization before it, the AFL worked for the complete economic benefit of its members, which allowed for the workers to better the lives of themselves and their families. Over the course of its lifetime, the AFL managed to achieve over a 4 million members, however the federation was nowhere near perfect. The AFL excluded factory workers when it came to representation, and thus, only supported up to 15 percent of its members. Even with the great support of these organizations, the workers still lacked the support they needed.