If you enjoyed the day off from work on Labor Day (Sept. 6, 2021), you can thank James Kyle.
As US Senator from South Dakota from 1891 to 1901, Kyle played a major role in establishing the federal holiday.
Beginning in the late 19th century, parades, picnics, and other celebrations took place to support labor issues such as shorter hours, better pay, and safer working conditions. On September 5, 1882, a pivotal event occurred in New York City when an estimated 10,000 people marched in what became the first Labor Day parade in United States history. Other cities began to have parades to show the public the strength of the trade and labor organizations. States began making Labor Day an official public holiday.
Kyle introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate on August 28, 1893, to make Labor Day a legal national holiday on the first Monday of September each year. In introducing the legislation, Kyle said that labor organizations were united in asking that the first Monday of September be set apart as a holiday in order to make the observance uniform. This would result in workers enjoying vacation privileges on the same day.
President Grover Cleveland signed the bill on June 28, 1894. Click here to learn more about James Kyle.
Illustration of the first American Labor Day parade held in New York City as it appeared in Frank Leslie’s Weekly Illustrated Newspaper’s Sept. 16, 1882, issue.
Image credit South Dakota Historical Society.
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