History of Labor Day
Labor Day, which is commemorated on the first Monday in September every year, honors the sacrifices and accomplishments of American workers. It was developed by the labor movement in the late 19th century, and in 1894 it was declared a federal holiday. For many Americans, Labor Day weekend also marks the end of summer. To mark the occasion, sports competitions, street parades, and parties are held.
The Purpose of Labor Day Celebrations
The typical American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, in order to make a meager livelihood. Children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills, factories, and mines across the nation despite limitations in certain states, earning only a small portion of what their adult colleagues did.
People of all ages frequently worked in dangerous conditions with little access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, or breaks, especially the very poor and new immigrants.
Labor unions, which had initially arisen in the late 18th century, became more powerful and vocal as industrial gradually replaced agriculture as the source of employment in America. To protest terrible working conditions and force employers to renegotiate hours and pay, they started organizing strikes and protests.
First Labor Day Parade
10,000 employees took unpaid time off on September 5, 1882, to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, organizing the nation's first-ever Labor Day procession.
Other industrial centers around the nation adopted the concept of a "workingmen's holiday," observed on the first Monday in September, and other states approved legislation honoring it.
When a pivotal moment in American labor history thrust workers' rights directly into the public's view, 12 years after the holiday was first observed, Congress finally legalized it.
Who Founded Labor Day?
Following this turmoil, Congress approved a law declaring Labor Day an official holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories in an effort to mend fences with American workers. President Grover Cleveland ratified it on June 28, 1894. The actual creator of Labor Day has not been uncovered more than a century later.
Some claim that the holiday was first proposed by Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, while others attribute the idea to Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor.
History is not the past; rather, it is a map of the past drawn from a certain point of view for the benefit of future visitors. Let us never forget the history of the workers who came before us since that is what has brought us here today.