Saturday, September 1, 2007

Labor Day

Photo courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Franciso Public Library

Labor Day represents a special day in the U.S. and Canada to recognize and honor workers all over the nation. To learn more about the historical origins of this holiday:

1. Go to the SFPL Home Page and select Articles & Databases. You will need a San Francisco Public Library card to access the databases from outside the Library.

2. Under the Categories side bar on the left, select “Encyclopedias & Dictionaries,” then select “Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.”

3. From the search box, enter the keywords “labor day” and select the “Go” button.

4. From the search results, select the first link (“Labor Day”).

Here’s an excerpt:

“In the United States, Peter J. McGuire, a union leader who had founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881, is generally given credit for the idea of Labor Day. In 1882 he suggested to the Central Labor Union of New York that there be a celebration honouring American workers.”

The Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (Academic Edition) contains a wealth of information on a variety of topics drawn from several encyclopedias as well as video clips, atlases, selected articles from the New York Times and BBC News, historical timelines, quotations, and more.

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