Here are a couple links that provide some background info on the holiday and its relationship to the labor movement in the US which picked up steam in the late 19th century, but has since withered.
- Wikipedia.
- US Labor Department.
The celebration fits into a broader discussion we will have on the evolution of ideology over history - especially that dating back to the French Revolution. The labor movement is part of a series of movements and ideologies - the socialists, progressives and populists among them - that responded to the inequities that emerged as a consequence of the classical liberalism, capitalism and the industrial revolution.
More on these soon enough.
