 Eleven-year-old Peter McGuire sold papers on the street in New York
City. He shined shoes and cleaned stores and later ran errands. It
was 1863 and his father, a poor Irish immigrant, had just enlisted
to fight in the Civil War. Peter had to help support his mother and
six brothers and sisters.
Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century.
They found that living conditions were not as wonderful as they had
dreamed. Often there were six families crowded into a house made for
one family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working
conditions were even worse. Immigrant men, women and children worked
in factories for ten to twelve hours a day, stopping only for a
short time to eat. They came to work even if they were tired or sick
because if they didn't, they might be fired. Thousands of people
were waiting to take their places.
When Peter was 17, he began an apprenticeship in a piano shop. This
job was better than his others, for he was learning a trade, but he
still worked long hours with low pay. At night he went to meetings
and classes in economics and social issues of the day. One of the
main issues of concern pertained to labor conditions. Workers were
tired of long hours, low pay and uncertain jobs. They spoke of
organizing themselves into a union of laborers to improve their
working conditions. In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire and 100,000
workers went on strike and marched through the streets, demanding a
decrease in the long working day.
This event convinced Peter that an organized labor movement was
important for the future of workers' rights. He spent the next year
speaking to crowds of workers and unemployed people, lobbying the
city government for jobs and relief money. It was not an easy road
for Peter McGuire. He became known as a "disturber of the public
peace." The city government ignored his demands. Peter himself could
not find a job in his trade. He began to travel up and down the east
coast to speak to laborers about unionizing. In 1881, he moved to
St. Louis, Missouri, and began to organize carpenters there. He
organized a convention of carpenters in Chicago, and it was there
that a national union of carpenters was founded. He became General
Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America.
The idea of organizing workers according to their trades spread
around the country. Factory workers, dock workers and toolmakers all
began to demand and get their rights to an eight-hour workday, a
secure job and a future in their trades. Peter McGuire and laborers
in other cities planned a holiday for workers on the first Monday in
September, halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day.
On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York
City. Twenty thousand workers marched in a parade up Broadway. They
carried banners that read "LABOR CREATES ALL WEALTH," and "EIGHT
HOURS FOR WORK, EIGHT HOURS FOR REST, EIGHT HOURS FOR RECREATION!"
After the parade there were picnics all around the city. Workers and
celebrants ate Irish stew, homemade bread and apple pie. At night,
fireworks were set off. Within the next few years, the idea spread
from coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day. In 1894,
Congress voted it a federal holiday.
Today we celebrate Labor Day with a little less fanfare on the first
Monday of September. Some cities have parades and community picnics.
Many politicians "kick off' their political campaigns by holding
rallies on the holiday. Most Americans consider Labor Day the end of
the summer, and the beaches and other popular resort areas are
packed with people enjoying one last three-day weekend. |
 Read
the holiday information on this page. Choose the correct
answer for each of the following test questions. |
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1. What was Peter McGuire's job?
2. How many brothers and sisters did Peter have?
3. Many immigrants settled in New York City during which century?
4. Immigrant men, women and children worked in factories
how many hours?
5. When Peter was 17, where did he begin an apprenticeship?
6. What did Peter McGuire and 100,000
workers do in the spring of 1872?
7. Where did Peter move to in 1881?
8. When was the first Labor Day parade held?
9. Where was the first Labor Day parade held?
10. In what year did Congress vote to make Labor Day a federal
holiday?
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