Debatable

Labor Day was the beginning of workers having more rights in the United States, but curiously, there is a fierce debate as to who is actually responsible for its creation.

The Central Labor Union of New York and New Jersey, or the CLU, formed in the year 1881.

A year later in 1882, the CLU held a large labor parade in New York City attracting tens of thousands of participants.

These were all workers who were going a day without pay in solidarity with another demanding a 40-hour workweek limit.

At the time, they were required to work very long hours every day of the week.

Two different men are said to have been responsible for this parade, and it's extra confusing because they have almost exactly the same name.

One was Peter J. McGuire and the other was Matthew McGuire, both from New Jersey, both heavily involved in the union.

Peter was a carpenter and Matthew was a machinist, which is someone who works with machines that shape metal.

They had other differences too.

Peter was more of an opportunist who thought the union should try to get recognition through the two most powerful political parties, the Democrats and Republicans.

Matthew, on the other hand, was a member of the Socialist Party, a smaller group who believed in workers joining together to get elected to office and to force the government to heavily regulate businesses.

Matthew was the one who actually organized the parade, writing invitations to many smaller unions.

He even wrote a message to local newspapers beforehand making it clear that both union and non-union workers were invited.

After the parade was a success, Matthew attended a CLU meeting where he called for a labor parade on the first Monday of every September thereafter.

Peter spoke at the first parade, but that seems to be the extent of his involvement.

And this is important because that parade is often seen as the first Labor Day.

Over the next few years, several more parades and walkouts took place across the country, sometimes turning violent when police or paid agitators intervened.

In an effort to curb this violence, President Grover Cleveland officially recognized the first Monday in September as a national holiday by signing it into law in 1884, and thus Labor Day was born.

Now, Matthew McGuire wasn't at the signing ceremony, but Peter James McGuire was, and President Cleveland thanked him personally for his work in creating the day.

People are split as to why this happened.

Some believe that the president simply confused the two men because of their similar last names.

Others believe that James and the head of the union, Samuel Gompers, actually conspired to cut Matthew out of the picture.

And this conspiracy seems to have been real because just a few years later in 1897, James McGuire took credit for first suggesting the idea of Labor Day in an article that he wrote for a union newspaper, and his claim stuck.

Over the next several decades, James was credited more and more often as the creator of Labor Day, and this likely happened for two reasons.

One, Matthew wasn't that interested in taking credit because the Socialists saw Labor Day as a token measure that didn't really address the demand for the 40-hour workweek.

Labor Day was the beginning of workers having more rights in the United States, but curiously, there is a fierce debate as to who is actually responsible for its creation.

The Central Labor Union of New York and New Jersey, or the CLU, formed in the year 1881.

A year later in 1882, the CLU held a large labor parade in New York City attracting tens of thousands of participants.

These were all workers who were going a day without pay in solidarity with another demanding a 40-hour workweek limit.

At the time, they were required to work very long hours every day of the week.

Two different men are said to have been responsible for this parade, and it's extra confusing because they have almost exactly the same name.

One was Peter J. McGuire and the other was Matthew McGuire, both from New Jersey, both heavily involved in the union.

Peter was a carpenter and Matthew was a machinist, which is someone who works with machines that shape metal.

They had other differences too.

Peter was more of an opportunist who thought the union should try to get recognition through the two most powerful political parties, the Democrats and Republicans.

Matthew, on the other hand, was a member of the Socialist Party, a smaller group who believed in workers joining together to get elected to office and to force the government to heavily regulate businesses.

Matthew was the one who actually organized the parade, writing invitations to many smaller unions.

He even wrote a message to local newspapers beforehand making it clear that both union and non-union workers were invited.

After the parade was a success, Matthew attended a CLU meeting where he called for a labor parade on the first Monday of every September thereafter.

Peter spoke at the first parade, but that seems to be the extent of his involvement.

And this is important because that parade is often seen as the first Labor Day.

Over the next few years, several more parades and walkouts took place across the country, sometimes turning violent when police or paid agitators intervened.

In an effort to curb this violence, President Grover Cleveland officially recognized the first Monday in September as a national holiday by signing it into law in 1884, and thus Labor Day was born.

Now, Matthew McGuire wasn't at the signing ceremony, but Peter James McGuire was, and President Cleveland thanked him personally for his work in creating the day.

People are split as to why this happened.

Some believe that the president simply confused the two men because of their similar last names.

Others believe that James and the head of the union, Samuel Gompers, actually conspired to cut Matthew out of the picture.

And this conspiracy seems to have been real because just a few years later in 1897, James McGuire took credit for first suggesting the idea of Labor Day in an article that he wrote for a union newspaper, and his claim stuck.

Over the next several decades, James was credited more and more often as the creator of Labor Day, and this likely happened for two reasons.

One, Matthew wasn't that interested in taking credit because the Socialists saw Labor Day as a token measure that didn't really address the demand for the 40-hour workweek.