Labor Day in the United States is not in May
Labor Day in the United States is the last major holiday before the start of the school year, and the holiday on the first Monday of September provides opportunities for travel and recreation for families, offering enjoyment before schools and universities reopen and a moment to catch one’s breath.
Holidays other than weekends are fewer in the United States compared to many countries, and any such opportunity is cherished by Americans.
In election years, Labor Day in the United States marks the end of the gradual rise to the peak of election campaigns, and after this day, the final round of the candidates’ battle begins, making this day a special milestone.
However, the distinctive aspect of Labor Day in the United States is its difference from Labor Day in most countries around the world. Labor unions and the efforts to secure workers’ rights in the United States have a history similar to the social and civil activities of workers in Europe, and even in the late 19th century, it was the American labor unions that initiated the establishment of a special day for workers on the calendar.
Even the first day of May was established as Labor Day by the American Federation of Labor, but the tradition of celebrating this day for workers in September existed, and interestingly, two labor activists known as the main designers of this idea have similar names.
The descendants of Peter McGuire and Matthew Maguire have long considered their ancestors as the main designers of Labor Day in America.
The U.S. Department of Labor, based on research, has credited Matthew Maguire with the honor in its materials related to the commemoration of Labor Day. What solidified Labor Day in the United States in September, apart from the previous tradition of September, was the disastrous event of May 4, 1886. Labor gatherings in Chicago, demanding an eight-hour workday, which was a significant idea for that time, led to a simple clash with the police, and in the midst of this, anarchists and extreme socialists took advantage of the opportunity.
An anarchist threw a homemade bomb at the police, which marked the beginning of serious clashes between the police and the demonstrators.
The killing of several people and numerous injuries accompanied by the arrest of eight individuals and serious tensions followed this day.
This event, which occurred at Haymarket in Chicago, has remained in memory by that name forever.
President Grover Cleveland of the United States agreed with the popular and conventional idea of establishing Labor Day in September and officially described this month as a time with less sensitivity and tension in 1887.
He was determined that Labor Day should not be associated with the memory of the Chicago riot or May.
Thus, in 1889, Labor Day was officially added to the calendar for Americans in the month of September.