As many people know, the first Monday of September is Labor Day, besides the family barbecue and pool parties, Labor Day has lots of history behind it.

Labor Day is the annual celebration of economic and social achievement of American labor workers. The holiday’s origin started in the late 1900s, when labor work activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the contributions workers have made for America’s prosperity and well-being.

Before Labor day was a federal holiday it was recognized by labor activists and individual states. After municipal laws were passed in 1885 and 1886, a movement developed to secure a state legislation.

New York was the first state to introduce the bill, but Oregon was the first to pass the law recognizing Labor Day, on February 21, 1887. Later in 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – had passed laws creating a Labor Day holiday. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, Pennsylvania had followed in passing the law.

By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday and on June 28, 1894, congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.