President Grover Cleveland made it a national holiday in 1894, during a crisis over the federal government’s efforts to end a railroad workers’ strike.

In the late 19th century, many Americans worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, often in physically demanding and poorly paid jobs. Children worked too, on farms and in factories and mines. Conditions were often harsh and unsafe.

Against this backdrop, American workers held the first Labor Day parade, marching from New York City Hall to a giant picnic in an uptown park on September 5, 1882.

“Working Men’s Parade,” read the headline in The New York Times . The article, which appeared on the back page, reported that 10,000 people had marched “in an orderly and pleasant manner,” far fewer than organizers had anticipated would attend. The workers included cigar makers, dressmakers, printers, shoemakers, bricklayers and other tradesmen.

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As it was not yet an official holiday, many of the protesters risked their jobs by taking part in the one-day strike.

Their banners called for “Less work and more pay”, an eight-hour work day and a ban on the use of convicted labour. They were greeted with cheers.

The American labor movement was one of the strongest in the world at the time, and in the years that followed, municipalities and states passed laws to recognize Labor Day. New York did so in 1887, and the Times reported that the parade that year was larger than ever, even amid political tensions over the role of socialist groups. The city’s parks, shops and bars were packed.

“Bars have never been more resplendent,” wrote the Times . “On a liquid level, the first legal celebration of Labor Day may go down in history as a resounding success.”

But it took several more years for the federal government to make it a national holiday, when it served a larger political purpose. In the summer of 1894, the Pullman Strike severely disrupted railroad traffic in the Midwest, and the federal government resorted to a court injunction and soldiers to break it.

It had begun when the Pullman Palace Car Company lowered wages without lowering rents in the company town, also called Pullman. (It is now part of Chicago.)

When angry workers complained, owner George Pullman had them fired. They decided to go on strike, and other workers from the American Railway Union, led by firebrand activist Eugene V. Debs, joined the action. They refused to operate Pullman’s cars, paralyzing freight and passenger traffic around Chicago. Tens of thousands of workers walked off the job, wildcat strikes broke out, and authorities fired on angry crowds.

During the crisis, President Grover Cleveland signed a law on June 28, 1894, declaring Labor Day a national holiday. Some historians say he feared losing the support of working-class voters.

“At the time, there were a lot of political advantages to recognizing Labor Day,” said Joshua Freeman , distinguished professor of history at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

But it was not the only workers’ holiday on the table. Since 1884, the labor movement had called for strikes and protests on May 1 to push for the eight-hour work day.

That day was called May Day, and is now celebrated around the world , although it is not officially recognized in the United States.

The Haymarket Affair could be blamed. On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a demonstration in Chicago’s Haymarket Square in support of the eight-hour work day and against police killings of protesters. The authorities opened fire in response, killing seven police officers and four protesters.

The episode made headlines around the world, and the police response in Chicago was ferocious. “Anarchists Cowed,” read the headline of a Times article on the front page of May 8, with a subheading: “Forced to Seek Hideouts, Disorderly Element Deeply Frightened.” Eight anarchists were convicted and four hanged. Critics argued that the trial was poorly conducted, and seven years later Governor John Altgeld pardoned the three who were still alive.

In the following years, May Day became an occasion to protest the arrests of socialists, anarchists and trade unionists

.As it became associated with the radical left, and as Labor Day was recognized by more and more states, Labor Day became the dominant holiday in the United States.

In recent decades, Labor Day in the U.S. has been dominated more by barbecues , sales, and last-minute beach days than by raucous labor protests. The labor movement has weakened, and in New York there are calendar conflicts, such as out-of-town vacations and the big West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn, which usually includes a sizable labor contingent .