A: Alright everyone settle down. Let’s get started.
As you know, an important aspect of becoming a
good citizen is understanding the genesis of our
legal system. It is not enough to simply memo-
rize our laws, it is necessary that we comprehend
why and how they were formed. This brings me
to our topic for today. Does anyone know what we
celebrate on May first?
B: Cinco de mayo?
A: No, that’s May fifth in Spanish, James, no wonder
you are failing my Spanish class. No, May first is
International Workers’Day.
B: Do we get a day off from school then?
A: No! It is not considered to be a national holiday
here in the US, but in other countries it is.
B: Aww, man!
A: In the nineteenth century, working conditions
were appalling, with workers being forced to work
ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day. Support
for the eight-hour work day movement was grow-
ing rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of
many union leaders, and by April 1886, 250,000
workers were involved in the May Day movement.
Previous legislative attempts to improve working
conditions had failed, so labor organizers took
drastic measures. They passed a resolution stat-
ing that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s
work. And, on May First 1886, the resolution took
effect.
B: Cool! Is that why we only work eight hours now?
A: Yes! But the happy ending came at a high price.
On May third, 1886, police fired into a crowd of
strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works Factory,
killing four and wounding many. A mass meeting
was called for the next day to protest the brutality.
B: And then what happened?
A: Well, as we say, the rest is history... |