Do You Know the Real History Behind Labor Day? Not Peaceful

This weekend, is the unofficial ending of summer, the kids are back in school and Labor Day marks one last blast of vacation for many. But its roots go very far back.

Labor Day one of the oldest holidays in the US

Labor Day goes back to the mid to late 1800's. The Industrial Revolution really ramped up in the US in the late 1870's and 1880's, with factories and industry exploding in the US.

However, the massive numbers of workers needed to fuel the factories, steel mills, coal mines, and other industry were not always treated well. Long hours, low pay and child labor were not uncommon.

Chicago saw a violent strike, the Haymarket Affair in Chicago in 1886 and the Pullman strike (railroad) were among the most violent. Labor union movements began to be organized, and strikes were effectively used to get better conditions.

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The first Labor Day actually took place in New York before many of these incidents took place. It was a Labor Day Parade September 5th, 1882.

President Grover Cleveland formally named a national holiday in June of 1894, and it was set to happen on the first Monday of September. Doubtful they had end of summer and beginning of school in mind, but it has stuck ever since.