May Day: An American Original and the Spirit of the Working Class

When most people hear the words “May Day”, they might picture red flags, clenched fists and parades marching through Red Square in Moscow. It’s often painted in broad strokes as a Communist holiday — an international celebration of socialism and the proletariat working class. But peel back the layers and you’ll uncover a surprising truth: May Day is as American as apple pie and its origins are deeply rooted in American history. Let’s take a step back and explore the fascinating tale of how May Day came to be and the breaking of chains forged by the robber barons of the industrial revolution.

Let’s turn the calendar back to 1886, to the smoke-filled skies of Chicago, Illinois, in the heart of the Industrial Revolution. It was an era of steam and steel, of long shifts and short paychecks. It was also the era when a brave group of men and women decided that enough was enough.

May 1^st, 1886, marked the start of a nationwide strike across the United States, a unified demand for something we take for granted today, an eight-hour workday. That weekend Chicago’s Haymarket Square became ground zero for this movement. The demonstration began peacefully, a gathering of workers and their families standing in solidarity for a better life, better working conditions and a shorter workday.

But on May 4^th, a tragedy unfolded. As police moved to disperse the rally, a bomb was thrown, by whom, we still don’t know, and chaos erupted. In the blast and gunfire that followed, seven police officers and at least four civilians lost their lives. Many more were injured. The tragedy became known as the Haymarket Massacre. Despite the tragic events, the Haymarket Massacre marked a turning point in the fight for workers’ rights and May Day was born.

May 1^st became a rallying cry for workers’ rights not just in America, but around the globe. Other nations saw the bravery of the American labor movement and adopted the day as their own, using it to honor the working class and advocate for better conditions.

But then came geopolitics. The rallying cry for improved working conditions spread across continents, but as May Day gained traction in other countries, particularly in the newly formed Soviet Union, its association with Marxist socialism created a dilemma for capitalist America. The Cold War cast a long shadow and embracing a holiday so deeply embraced by communism felt like a betrayal of American values.

In post-WWII America, where the Red Scare had taken hold, anything associated with communism became suspect, including May Day. In 1947, the Veterans of Foreign Wars proposed Loyalty Day, a counter-celebration to honor American values and reject communist influence. The U.S. government embraced the idea and Labor Day in September became the “official” workers’ holiday.

Here’s the kicker: the United States invented May Day. It was born not from the writings of Marx, but from the grit and determination of American factory workers demanding humane hours and decent pay. The irony is rich and perhaps a little tragic. The nation that birthed the movement for the eight-hour workday became hesitant to fully embrace its symbolic date.

But maybe we’ve been looking at this all wrong.

The truth is, no matter what day we mark on the calendar, the spirit of May Day is alive and well in every American who clocks in, rolls up their sleeves and gets to work.

It’s the spirit of ingenuity, the “elbow grease and good old fashioned know-how”, that has propelled this nation to the forefront of industrialized nations. From the assembly lines of Detroit to the tech hubs of Silicon Valley, from the farms of the Midwest to the fishing fleets of the coasts, the American worker has always been the engine of our progress.

It’s in the farmers who rise before the sun. It’s in the nurses pulling double shifts. It’s in the welders, the truckers, the small business owners, the tech workers solving problems on the fly, and the first responders who tirelessly answer the call in the middle of the night.

This country was built on calloused hands and untiring dedication. The American worker is not a relic of the past. They are our engine. They are our edge. They are our heartbeat.

Whether you celebrate on May 1^st, on Labor Day or every day in between, let’s take a moment to honor the enduring brilliance of American ingenuity and the everyday heroes who keep our world running.

So here’s to the common man and woman, the uncommon heroes of the American dream. They may not always get the spotlight, but without them, there is no show.