Final answer:
False, the leadership of the Knights of Labor focused on broad social reforms and the moral betterment of workers and society, not just on wage increases, making the initial statement false.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the leadership of the Knights of Labor was more interested in seeking higher wage increases for employees than in seeking moral betterment for employees and society is false.
The Knights of Labor was a labor union that emerged in the late 19th century with a focus on broader social reforms rather than just wage increases.
This organization included skilled and unskilled laborers, along with women and African Americans, and its goals extended to establishing an eight-hour workday, improving factory safety conditions, abolishing child labor, and advocating for equal pay for equal work.
They also had more radical aims such as eliminating convict labor, introducing a graduated income tax, and the cooperative ownership of businesses.
Contrary to seeking mere wage increases, the Knights of Labor had a utopian vision of a restructured economic system with collective ownership of factories and labor solidarity, emphasizing the overall well-being, dignity, and moral betterment of workers and society at large.