“Working men on parade,” The New York Times article read, September 5, 1882.
Here in the US, we are gearing up for a three-day weekend. It’s the de-facto end of summer (which began on memorial day), a time for cookouts and vacation, camping and road-trips.
But what is it exactly?
In many respects, Labor Day is a tradition born from those brave enough to hold a sense of personal worth and morality which superseded that of the larger construct of the time.
It seems fitting to end out two weeks on morality with an applied lesson that just so happens to coincide with the holiday.
The first Labor Day was a risk—workers from all over New York City deciding to walk out in a peaceful protest and make their way to a day of rest, picnics, and community.
At this time, working class Americans worked 7 days per week, often for grueling 12-15 hour stints. Children worked, conditions were often unsafe, and the worker was often an afterthought as a matter of practice.
The first Labor Day was illegal, …
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