1886, Labor Day celebrations were taking place throughout the country.
The rising labor movement had little diffi- culty persuading local, state, and (in 1894) na- tional legislators to add Labor Day to their offi- cial calendars. But few employers were eager to give workers the day off. "Consequently, for nearly two decades Labor Day was a virtual general strike in many cities," Kazin and Ross write. "In New York City, where many shops and factories remained open during the early...