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[QUOTE]Originally posted by First of Two: [QB] It's older than that. It's origins stretch back to the original Labor Day, which was May 1st. On May 1st, 1886, the American Federation of Labor declared a national strike to demand an eight-hour work day and 350,000 workers across the country responded. When police attempted to disperse a peaceful rally in Haymarket Square, Chicago, a bomb was tossed into their midst, wounding nearly 70 officers, some mortally. Firing randomly into the crowd, police wounded 200 citizens, killing many. Police arrested eight revolutionary labor leaders, seven of whom had not even been present in Haymarket at the time. In the absence of any evidence linking them to the bomb, the "Chicago Eight" were tried solely on the basis of their political beliefs. All eight were sentenced to death; most were eventually executed. News of the trial electrified labor groups everywhere; protests were held around the world. In 1889, the Socialist International declared May 1st a day of demonstrations, and since 1890 these have been held annually worldwide by a variety of labor movements, in many cases eventually forcing official recognition of the holiday. Soon, labor advocates in the United States, too, pressed for a national holiday recognizing workers. Some states chose to hold their holiday on May 1, others opted for September. Eventually, the September date won out. The idea of a "Loyalty Day" began to take root in the 1930's, along with other related festivals. In 1932 some patriotic organizations were encouraged by the Loyalty Day concept and wanted to do something more to inspire loyalty to the nation. So, the concept of Americanism Day came into being to be celebrated on the same day of the Loyalty Day. The first Americanism parade was held in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1932. (As I've said before, I used to work in Uniontown.) In 1947, the U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars renamed May 1st "Loyalty Day" and a joint session of Congress later made the pronouncement official. (At least part of the idea was to take crowds away from Socialist and Communist events, some of which were still taking place on May 1.) [/QB][/QUOTE]
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