Republican candidates for office are rarely elected. Still constituting the bulk of the party, African-Americans seldom formulate policy. Members of the Molly Maguires are executed . Photo of the last meeting of the first Farmers Alliance . The Farmers Alliance, devoted to the interests of small farmers, first met in Pleasant Valley, Lampasas County, Texas, during the height of economic depression.
Union soldiers withdraw from their last outposts in Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina.
The first unit of the Northern Alliance is formed in New York demanding redress of grievences against railroads and tax reform. The Knights of Labor , a secret organization originally formed in 1869, becomes a national order. Open to both skilled and unskilled, it is the first successful U.S. union. 1880 Census of 1880 . Many who don't have enough money to rent become farm laborers.