It is a fact taken from the actual records that about one third of the enlisted men, fighting in the Revolutionary Army under the leadership of General Washington were of Irish birth or extraction. Likewise many fought in the civil war from 1861 to 1865. The Knights of Equity was founded in 1895. The signs posted back then in commercial and industrial establishments expressed a different need of Irish Catholics. Signs back then said CATHOLICS AND IRISH NEED NOT APPLY . Following the civil war, organizations began to form in the United States that were committed "to put the Catholic Church out of business." Organized mobs, particularly in New York city and Philadelphia, burned Catholic Churches and schools, killed and injured members of the Catholic clergy. Since most Catholics at that time were of Irish extraction, the Irish Americans were made the special target of these organizations. Then a group of sixteen men drew up a constitution and by-laws for an incorporation of an organization known as "The Knights of Equity." The object of the order was "to create and foster a spirit of mutual helpfulness among its members, to advance them spiritually, intellectually, and socially, and by cooperation among them promote their material interest and well-being." While the discrimination against Catholics has mostly disappeared in the larger cities you don't have to go far afield to find examples of anti Catholic bigotry.

In 2001, the Knights of Equity has those same objectives drawn in 1895. Now there are still anti-Catholic groups in America who lobby to pass legislation disabling Catholics from enjoying their rights under the United States Constitution. Ireland itself is not free. The Knights of Equity and the Daughters of Erin with cooperation of other organizations have allowed Irish Catholics in most places to enjoy their full civic rights and become respected in business, the professions, and public office.

You can join our efforts to promote education, Irish culture, and the United States constitution. If you are an American of Irish birth or extraction, a Roman Catholic, and are interested in the aims and objects of the Knights. We need you today, and America needs us now.