A True Story of Labor Day’s Origin

A True Story of Labor Day’s Origin

True Story Of Labor Day’s Origin

query_builder September 4, 2017

What does Labor Day mean to you? The first thing that would come to your mind is that this very day you can stay home and relax a bit. Additionally, people would also associate this occasion with the end of the summer.

However, the intended meaning of Labor Day remains to be unknown.

Therefore, we propose you to find out more about the celebration’s origins

The First Celebrations

More than a century ago, people created a national holiday to honor working women and men. To be exact, 1894 was the year of Labor’s Day origination. Canada and America were the very countries where it all started.

The Initiator of Labor Day

In general, labor unions organized the celebrations and treated themselves to have a day of rest. But historians are interested in getting more precise information on the exact personality to come up with the idea.

Some of them prove that Peter McGuire put forward the concept of the day to pay tribute to people who work hard. McGuire was a general secretary of an organization called the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. What is more, this enthusiastic man contributed much to the American Federation of Labor. As a result, his position in the office let him bring the proposal of Labor Day to reality.

Another great man to play his part in establishing this holiday was Matthew Maguire. He occupied a position of secretary of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson.

The Holiday’s Festivities

The first celebration was held on 5^th of September in 1882. The parade was the most important event in the lists of ceremonies of the day. It took place in New York City.

How it All Started

It was the beginning of the first working week of September. This Monday was chosen not by chance as it was between two significant holidays, Thanksgiving and Independence Day.
The suggestion was fast to spread across the country so many states liked it and adopted this idea. Despite being successful, it was not still approved as an official federal holiday.

There was a delay with the passage of the law as the president Grover Cleveland was against such a holiday. He signed a bill to save the political situation which was damaged because of the way the Cleveland decided to pacify Railway Union‘s strike in Chicago. In order to keep his reputation, he finally signed the bill.