Labor Day

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, honors the labor movement. Peter McGuire has been credited with the idea of Labor Day; he is said to have proposed the idea to the New York Central Labor Union in May 1882. However, there is evidence that the idea was first proposed by Matthew Maguire, the secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York.

On 21 February 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a state holiday. The same year, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York also made Labor Day in 1887. In 1889, Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania made Labor Day a state holiday. Iowa and Ohio followed in 1890. Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington followed in 1891.

 Chicago Daily Tribune, 8 September 1891, page 1

 Daily American (Nashville, TN), 8 September 1891, page 3

Alabama, Louisiana, and Virginia made Labor Day a state holiday in 1892. California, Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin followed in 1893.

St. Paul Globe, 5 September 1893, page 1. Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

On 28 June 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed S.730 into law, making Labor Day a legal holiday. Labor unions held parades and picnics to celebrate.

Chicago Daily Tribune, 4 September 1894, page 3

Daily American (Nashville, TN), 4 September 1894, page 1

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 September 1894, page 3

References
The First Labor Day
History of Labor Day. Bridgeman's Magazine, 1921.
Labor Day
The Real Maguire - Who Actually Invented Labor Day?