The Holiday for the American Laborer
From Wikipedia:
The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Cleveland was also concerned that aligning a US labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair. All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.Interesting. Now it is simply the end of summer. If someone tried to do a day like that today for the original reasons they would be branded a socialist- or worse. Amazing how times change.
The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families.
1 comment:
During the Progressive Era there was a great fear that labor-socialists-anarchists, etc. could achieve real political power and influence. Labor Day was a sop thrown to American labor and an attempt to drive a wedge between the American worker and his/her comrades worldwide.
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