Labor Day

The celebration of Labor Day, in honor of the working class, was initiated in the U.S. in 1882 by the Knights of Labor, who held a large parade in New York City. In 1884 the group held a parade on the first Monday of September and passed a resolution to hold all future parades on that day and to designate the day as Labor Day. Subsequently other worker organizations began to agitate for state legislatures to declare the day a legal holiday. In March 1887, the first law to that effect was passed in Colorado, followed by New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. In 1894 the U.S. Congress made the day a legal holiday. Parades, and speeches by labor leaders and political figures, mark Labor Day celebrations.

"Labor Day," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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