Recently, when I was searching the Library of Congress for “Labor Day,” the September 3, 1921 issue of The Labor World caught my attention. The paper headlined the ‘greatest Labor Day in history;’ and the masthead mentioned Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, the Twin Ports, way out at the end of the Great Lakes system. I remember reading about Samuel Gompers in high school social studies (I think) – the first president of the American Federation of Labor was featured in several stories in the newspaper.
The Worker
It was a big newspaper for a big Labor Day. Most issues of The Labor World were six pages at the time. The September 3rd issue was thirty-six pages full of articles, cartoons, and advertisements. A couple topics were the large number of unemployed World War I veterans and the paper’s opposition to open shops. The opinion page included a history of the holiday (image 36 at the Library of Congress) – Labor had to labor to get the holiday:
History of Labor Day
Labor Day, 1921, is the twenty-seventh annual celebration of Labor Day as a legal national holiday.
The history of Labor Day is significant of the increasing strength and progress or [sic] organized labor.
Labor Day evolved from the aspiration of the labor movement; it was-not handed down as a present. Its recognition as a legal holiday was won by labor; it was not given to labor.
The united voluntary efforts of the workers themselves established Labor Day as a national holiday long before any state legislature or the national legislature enacted the custom into statute law.
But the history of the statute law is in itself significant; it indicates the ever-increasing influence of the economic organizations of labor over the deliberations of law-makers.
The Labor Day idea was originated by P. J. McGuire, for many years first vice-president of the American Federation of Labor.
At a meeting of the New York City central labor union, held on May 8, 1882, McGuire urged the propriety of setting aside one day in the year as a general holiday for the laboring people. He suggested that it be called “Labor Day.”
The idea was adopted by the central labor union, and it staged a Labor Day parade and festival on the first Monday in September, 1882.
The A. F. of L. endorsed the national Labor Day holiday at its 1884 convention, held at Chicago.
The convention unanimously adopted the following resolution, introduced by A. C. Cameron, delegate from the Chicago trades and labor allianace [sic]:
“Resolved, That the first Monday in September of each year be set apart as a laborers’ national holiday, and that we recommend its observance by all wage workers, irrespective of sex, calling, or nationality.”
Through the activity of the state federations of labor and the central labor bodies the Labor Day demand spread from city to city and state to state.
Many municipal councils and state legislatures made it a legal holiday.
Oregon was the first state to accede to labor’s demand that Labor Day be made a state holiday. The Oregon Labor Day law was signed by the governor on February 21, 1887. The legislatures of Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York also made Labor Day a state holiday in 1887. Connecticut, Nebraska and Pennsylvania followed in 1889; Iowa and Ohio in 1890; Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington in 1891; Alabama, Louisiana, Utah and Virginia, in 1892, and California, Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Texas and Wisconsin in 1893.
In the meantime A. F. of L. officials sought congressional legislation to make Labor Day a legal holiday, in conformity with the resolution of the 1884 convention. The bill became a law ten years later. It passed congress on June 28, 1894.
On June 29,1893 [sic], President Cleveland signed the Labor Day law in the presence of Amps [Amos?] J. Cummings, representtive [sic] in congerss [sic] from
New York city. Mr. Cummings presented the pen and penholder used by President Cleveland to President Gompers.
In his annual report to the 1894 A. F. of L. convention President Gompers said:
“National Labor Day—It affords me pleasure to be able to report that the demand by the A. F. of L. for making the first Monday in Septemper [sic] of each year a legal holiday passed congress and was made a law on June 29,1894.”
Peter J. McGuire
Samuel Gompers
Amos Cummings
Here are a few clippings from the same issue of the newspaper:
closed shop secures pie
out of balance
progressive and practical labor movement
“Duluth’s oldest union man”
whole world in Labor’s hand
at Duluth’s Labor Day
According to Wikipedia, Amos J. Cummings served in the Civil War as a “sergeant major in the 26th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He earned the Medal of Honor on May 4, 1863, at Salem Heights, Virginia. His official citation reads: “Rendered great assistance in the heat of the action in rescuing a part of the field batteries from an extremely dangerous and exposed position.” His medal was not awarded until several decades later, on March 28, 1894. He was mustered out in June 1863.” According to Wikipedia, the 26th New Jersey fought in the Second Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps in the Army of the Potomac during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He served as a Congressman from the New York City area.
In its biography of Samuel Gompers, the AFL-CIO stressed that his racial attitudes are not accepted today: “Samuel Gompers stood for white workers of his time, often pitting them against black and Chinese workers. Under his leadership, the AFL actually reversed its position on race, disallowing black members, despite explicitly pledging to welcome them at its founding.”
I found out at the National Park Service that there is an actual “The Worker” sculpture in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Duluth’s Labor World Newspaper still exists. There was a picnic this year, too! You can read a history of The Labor World at the Library of Congress.
Samuel Gompers memorial in Washington, D.C.
From the Library of Congress: Samuel Gompers; the c1915 Bird’s-eye-view of the Twin Ports, a “Perspective map not drawn to scale”.
From Wikimedia: Peter J. McGuire and Amos J. Cummings; Bestbudbrian’s 9 May 2015 photograph of the Gompers’ memorial is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license, no changes made – here’s more about the memorial.
All the [sic]s in the article about Labor Day history above are from me.
the western end of Lake Superior
