Maybe you have kids or grand kids and they have asked you what Labor Day is. I labor hard and enjoy a day off from work, but what is Labor Day and why do we celebrate it?
Unlike most public holidays that we celebrate in the United States, Labor Day seems…odd. There aren’t any gifts exchanged, no patriotic remembrances, no time of thanksgiving, there aren’t even any fireworks! Sometimes we grill out or go shopping, but usually it’s just a day off from work, the last “official” day of summer and the last day the grandparents’ pool is open.
The Industrial Revolution in the United States was a time of great technological development which changed the labor force from agrarian to a labor-wage workforce. Inventions like the Spinning Jenny, Water Frame and the Spinning Mule revolutionized the textile industry. Steam locomotives, steam ships and automobiles revolutionized travel. The telegraph and telephone changed communications and the steel plow and mechanical reaper changed agriculture. Things that were once produced through painstaking manual labor were now mass produced by machines in factories. This industrial growth created a new class of wealthy business owners and a new, prosperous, working middle class.
This prosperity, however, was not shared by everyone. For some, unemployment was frequent, work hours were long and wages were low. To combat against these problems, labor unions began to form, lobbying for 8-hour work days, 6 day work week and more days off.
In 1882 the Central Labor Union wanted to create an event to bring different types of workers together, promote their common interests and, of course, encourage them to join the union. On September 5th, 1882 the CLU held the first Labor Day parade down the streets of New York City. The event was so successful, it was soon held in other cities. A few years later, in 1887, Oregon was the first state to pass a law recognizing Labor Day. Shortly thereafter four other states–Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York–also passed laws recognizing Labor Day. By the end of 1894, 26 additional states had passed laws recognizing Labor Day and on June 28, 1894 Congress officially passed an act declaring the first Monday in September as a federal holiday.
Today we recognize Labor Day as a day to honor the contributions that American workers have made in the success of our nation. At least, that’s the intent.
