![]() ![]() As the police advanced, an individual who was never identified threw a bomb into their ranks. The speaker, August Spies, was winding down when a group of officers arrived to disperse the crowd. The next day a rally was planned at Haymarket Square to protest the killing and wounding of several workers by the police. Overall, the protests were peaceful, but that all changed on May 3 where Chicago police and workers clashed at the McCormick Reaper Works. In the following days, more workers joined and the number of strikers grew to almost 100,000. On May 1, 1886, more than 300,000 workers (40,000 in Chicago alone) from 13,000 business walked out of their jobs across the country. The following year the Knights of Labor-then America’s largest labor organization-backed the proclamation as both groups encouraged workers to strike and demonstrate. The FOTLU proclaimed “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1, 1886.” In an attempt to end these inhumane conditions, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which would later become the American Federation of Labor, or AFL) held a convention in Chicago in 1884. During the 19th century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, thousands of men, women and children were dying every year from poor working conditions and long hours. The connection between May Day and labor rights began in the United States. Challenged to come up with a word that would be easily understood by pilots and ground staff in case of an emergency, Frederick Mockford coined the word "mayday" because it sounded like "m'aider," a shortened version of the French term for " come and help me." International Workers’ Day The code was invented in 1923 by an airport radio officer in London. What does May Day have to do with the international distress call, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday"? Nothing, as it turns out. But other forms of celebrations did find their way to the New World.ĭuring the 19th and 20th centuries, May Basket Day was celebrated across the country, where baskets were created with flowers, candies and other treats and hung on the doors of friends, neighbors and loved ones on May 1. The maypole never really took root in America, where May Day celebrations were discouraged by the Puritans. Historians believe the first maypole dance originated as part of a fertility ritual, where the pole symbolized male fertility and baskets and wreaths symbolized female fertility. The day’s festivities involved merriment, as people would dance around the pole clad with colorful streamers and ribbons. Villagers would enter the woods to find a maypole that was set up for the day in small towns (or sometimes permanently in larger cities). While the exact origins of the maypole remain unknown, the annual traditions surrounding it can be traced back to medieval times, and some are still celebrated today. Another popular tradition of May Day involves the maypole.
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