Labor Day
2 min read
By: Calia (Kiki) Bennett
On the first Monday in September of each year, we celebrate an annual holiday known as Labor Day. What is this holiday about? Why is it so important to our nation’s history? This article will dive into all these questions.
Labor Day is a holiday made to commemorate the many social and economic accomplishments of American laborers. The holiday originated in the late nineteenth century, when labor leaders pushed for a government holiday to honor all the contributions that workers have made to America’s strength, wealth, and well-being. At first, the day was not recognized as a federal holiday. Despite this, many activists and individual states celebrated it.
The first Labor Day was introduced on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, and took place in New York City. While the founder of the holiday is not clear, there are two men that can be connected to it. According to some older records, Peter J. McGuire, who was a secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners as well as co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, proposed a “general holiday” for laboring classes in 1882. Despite this, recent research suggests that machinist Matthew Maguire, who later became secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists, proposed the holiday the same year while serving as Central Labor Union secretary. Either way, both men made an appearance at the very first Labor Day parade.
There are many ways that people spend Labor Day. Some people watch parades, while others set off fireworks. During an interview with Jasmine Sadler, a student from Lenape Tech’s advertising department, said that, “My family will usually have a cookout, but sadly I’m working this Labor Day.” Another student from the construction department, Isaiah Lee, stated that “I generally wake up and get ready to visit my grandparents for the day. We spend the afternoon making food and talking to each other about how our workdays have been.”
There’s no right or wrong way to celebrate Labor Day. No matter how someone may spend the holiday, it is an important day that focuses on honoring the hard work of American laborers.
