The US celebrates Labor Day because of a bloody clash over 100 years ago that left 30 people dead and cost $80 million in damages
Áine Cain
Pullman Strike Fighting in Chicago spiraled out of control and cost 30 people their lives. Wikimedia Commons
• Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, after the Pullman strike.
• The bloody strike led to 30 deaths and millions of dollars in damage.
• The strike prompted Congress and US President Grover Cleveland to establish the holiday.
Labor Day tends to be a pretty low-key US holiday.
Workers across the country typically receive a Monday off to enjoy the unofficial end of summer and shop the sales.
But the history behind the day is far more dramatic and charged than this modern day observance suggests. US President Grover Cleveland signed the holiday into law just days after federal troops brought down the bloody Pullman strike in 1894.
Continued: http://www.businessinsider.com/labor-day-history-2017-8
That was the unrest of those times; images from back then are always fascinating to me.
The below would be some time after the main strike in May, 1894 but illustrates how the Feds left troops remaining in July.
