Labor Day

Today is Labor Day across the United States. But one has to wonder, why do we celebrate this day? Labor Day is surely not just a day created in early September so all kids can have a break from school a week after starting. There must be something more to this day. We did a little digging and found out the real reason for this nice day off. 

"Labor Day (the first Monday in September) was the idea of Peter J. McGuire, a pioneer labor union leader, who argued in 1882 that the nation's workers deserved to be honored as much as its soldiers. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894. Today its union connections are often forgotten, and Labor Day is thought of simply as the last holiday of summer" (Garraty, John A. The Young Readers Companion to American History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Print).

Additionally, there was a great article in this week's The Valley Advocate reminiscing about the events that took place in Peekskill, New York some 60 years ago. Find out for yourself why Labor Day is such an important holiday in this small, North Eastern town. 

Image from Wikimedia Commons, "Standard House". 

Welcome!

Welcome to the first ever Resources for History Teachers blog! In this space we will post current news stories from around the US and the world. We thought it would be fun to have a blog to discuss current history, since history itself is not something that is strictly in the past. If you find any articles or stories that you'd like us to post on this blog for others to enjoy send them our way at: resourcesforhistoryteachers@gmail.com.

This week the New York Times featured a great article about Senator Ted Kennedy and his life as the Lion of the Senate. This article discusses how Senator Kennedy's politics were very similar to that of President Roosevelt with his New Deal policies. It's definitely an article worth reading.