HAMLET – Monday, September 3, is the date of 2018’s recognition of Labor Day. This is a public holiday that has been officially celebrated on the first Monday in September as early as 1887 (when it was first established as a recognized holiday in the state of Oregon) and informally for the five years prior (1882-1886).
Honoring the American labor movement of the late-19th century, Labor Day is intended to pay homage to the workers who have contributed directly to the strength, prosperity, and economic solvency of our nation.
Considered to mark the unofficial end of summer in the United States, Labor Day was first denoted as a holiday by the federal government in 1894, but only after 30 states had already established it as such at their level. It came about as a result of labor movements and trade union progress that manifested into parades and celebratory events sponsored by organizations such as the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor (the latter of which facilitated the first Labor Day parade in New York City).
McGuire vs. Macguire
So just who should be credited with the initial idea of Labor Day? While the year of 1882 is generally agreed upon as the commencement point of the movement to establish a holiday honoring the nation’s labor force, there is debate as to who proposed it first.
Peter J. McGuire claimed that honor, contending that it was he who, in the spring of 1882, while serving as the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters, came up with the idea. While there is no doubt that McGuire was an effective activist in this movement (he went on to be a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor), the accuracy of his “recollections” of the temporal order of relevant events has been questioned.
Research tends to support the allocation of credit to Matthew Macguire. Although it was September of 1882 (and thus a few months after the supposed actions of Peter McGuire) before he is thought to have proposed a “Labor Day” holiday, the growing body of evidence seems stronger in his favor. A machinist, Macguire served as secretary of the Local 344 Chapter of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey, as well as secretary of New York’s Central Labor Union (CLU). Given that it was in fact the CLU that first sponsored a Labor Day public celebration and parade (which actually occurred on a Tuesday of that year in conjunction with a clandestine Knights of Labor assembly), perhaps it was indeed Macguire who should receive accolades as the true founder of the holiday.
But regardless as to who may lay claim to the title of the true “Father of Labor Day,” the holiday has been firmly entrenched as a significant temporal focal point for American culture. From market sales (Labor Day weekend is second only to Christmas in regard to retail activity) to education (many states purposely delay the start of school until the Tuesday after Labor Day) to sports (the weekend normally marks the occasion of the beginning of NCAA and NFL football as well as many other significant sports events), the juxtaposition of Labor Day is such that it is considered to be the “unofficial end of summer” and thus denotes a general “change of season” mentality for American society.
