I often feel like we take these national holidays for granted. We don’t know why they exist… not really. I mean, we may know that Labor Day is in recognition of workers… but do you know how this holiday came to exist? I’ll be honest – I didn’t know the history of it so I decided to look it up!

In the late 1800s, we were in the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to make a meager income. Even children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories, and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages simply to try and help their families make ends meet. People of all ages, especially the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced dangerous working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, and breaks.

As manufacturing continued to supplant agriculture as the basis for American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They started organizing strikes and rallies to protest the poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay. Sadly, many of these events turned violent. The most well-known incident being the Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers were killed. But there were other events that gave rise to longstanding traditions. Primarily on September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

The concept of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. However, Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later…

On June 26, the American Railroad Union called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the strike, the government sent troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

So that is why today is a holiday that you get to enjoy spending away from working celebrating and having fun with your friends and loved ones. I know that in the past… I’ve taken this holiday a bit for granted. I didn’t understand everything that was wrapped up in this day. The fight and loss that occurred to simply earn workers a single day off of work. I don’t know about you – but I’ll definitely be thinking about that more this year.

Happy Labor Day everyone!