Labor Day History

In the United States of America, the first Monday of September is celebrated as Labor Day, as a mark of respect for the American worker's social and economic contributions for the development of this nation. As a part of the Labor Day celebrations in the United States, a street parade is organized to exhibit "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations." This is eventually followed by festivals for the workers and their families. Even though Labor Day is being celebrated in the country for more than a century now, not everybody can boast of being well-versed with various facts about it - one such lesser known attribute of this day is its history which spans over a period 128 years.

Labor Day History

The history Labor Day can be traced back to 5th September, 1882, when the first time it was celebrated in New York City. It was organized by the Central Labor Union in support of an eight-hour workday as opposed to the twelve-hour workday which prevailed in the 1800s. Subsequently, the second Labor Day was celebrated exactly a year after on 5th September, 1883, by the Central Labor Union. In the following year, the Central Labor Union decided to celebrate the first Monday as the Labor Day, and urged other organizations working for the welfare of workers to join them in this movement. In 1894, this day was declared as a Federal holiday by the then administration under the leadership of President George Cleveland. In 1909, the American Federation of Labor passed a resolution declaring the Sunday preceding the Labor Day as the Labor Sunday. This was done as a mark of respect to the spiritual and educational aspects pertaining to the Labor Movement in the United States.

Labor Day as a Federal Holiday

Labor Day was declared as a Federal holiday in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland made reconciliation with the U.S. Labor Movement the top priority of his government. This decision was taken by President Cleveland following the large number of deaths of workers at the hands of the United States military forces on eve of the Pullman Strike. Within a period of six days of this strike, the Congress brought about a legislation making this day a national holiday and signed it into a law. More recently, this day is celebrated in the United States as a day which marks the end of Summer. For kids, all that Labor Day means is the fact that it is a holiday. However, it is important for kids to understand the reason behind the holiday, and this is what we are trying to accomplish with this write up on the history of Labor Day.

One has to take a note of the fact that the American Labor Day is different from the International Workers' Day, also known as May Day. It was President Cleveland's idea to choose the September date for this day so as to make sure that the American Labor Day celebrations wouldn't coincide with the May Day celebrations. With a history spanning more than a hundred years, this day is undoubtedly one of the most important days in American history, and the way in which it is celebrated speaks volumes about its importance.