Why do Americans and Canadians celebrate Labor Day? -Kenneth C. Davis

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In the United States and Canada, the first Monday of September is a federal holiday, Labor Day. Originally celebrated in New York City's Union Square in 1882, Labor Day was organized by unions as a rare day of rest for the overworked during the Industrial Revolution. Kenneth C. Davis illustrates the history of Labor Day from Union Square to today.

Lesson by Kenneth C. Davis, animation by TED-Ed.

How's this for a strange idea:

a day off from work in honor of work itself?

Actually, that is what Labor Day,

celebrated in the United States and Canada

on the first Monday of every September,

is all about.

The first American Labor Day

was celebrated in New York City

on September 5th, 1882,

as thousands of workers and their families

came to Union Square for a day in the park.

It was not a national holiday

but had been organized by a union

to honor workers and their hard efforts

with a rare day of rest,

halfway between July 4th and Thanksgiving.

There were picnics and a parade,

but there were also protests.

The workers had gathered,

not just to rest and celebrate,

but to demand fair wages,

the end of child labor,

and the right to organize into unions.

During the period known as

The Industrial Revolution,

many jobs were difficult, dirty and dangerous.

People worked for twelve hours,

six days a week,

without fringe benefits,

such as vacations, health care and pensions,

and if you were young, chances are

you were doing manual labor

instead of your ABCs and fractions.

Children as young as ten

worked in some of the most hazardous places,

like coal mines or factories filled with boiling vats

or dangerous machines.

Trying to win better pay, shorter hours

and safer conditions

workers had begun to form labor unions

in America and Canada,

but the companies they worked for

often fought hard to keep unions out

and to supress strikes.

At times, this led to violent battles

between workers and business owners

with the owners often backed up by the police,

or even the military.

In the following years,

the idea of Labor Day caught on in America

with official celebrations reaching 30 states.

But then came the violent

Haymarket Square Riot of 1886,

which led to the deaths of several policemen

and workers in Chicago

and the execution of four union leaders.

After that, many labor and political groups

around the world

had begun to mark Haymarket Square on May 1st,

which became known as

International Workers' Day.

In 1894, President Grover Cleveland

signed the law making Labor Day a

federal holiday in America,

only days after he had sent

12,000 soldiers to end

a violent railroad strike

that resulted in the death of several people.

The original September date was kept,

partly to avoid the more radical associations of May 1st.

Canada also created its Labor Day in 1894.

But, in spite of this new holiday,

it would be a long time before the changes

that workers wanted

became a reality.

In 1938, during the Great Depression

that left millions without jobs,

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

signed a law calling for an eight-hour work day,

a five-day work week,

and an end to child labor,

some of the first federal protections for American workers.

As America and Canada celebrate Labor Day,

most of the two countries' children enjoy

a day off from school.

But it is important to remember

that there was a time that

everyday was a labor day for children in America and Canada,

and unfortunately,

the same fact remains true

for millions of children around the world today.