Delegates from the Agricultural Wheel, the Corn-Planters, the Anti-Monopolists, Farmers' Alliance, and Grangers, attended a convention in February, 1887, and joined the Knights of Labor and the Greenbackers to form the United Labor party.

In the country, at this time, there were numerous other labor parties of local origin and composition, with trade unionists predominating in some places and Socialists in others.
Very early, however, these parties showed a tendency to division that indicated a clash of incompatible elements.

Single taxers, greenbackers, labor leaders, grangers, and socialists were agreed only in condemning existing public policy.

When they came to consider the question of what new policy should be adopted, they immediately manifested irreconcilable differences.

In 1888, rival national conventions were held in Cincinnati, one designating itself as the Union Labor party, the other as the United Labor party.