5 For Labor Day: Have a Wonderful Holiday!

As you are celebrating Labor Day with friends and family, take a few minutes to see how far we have come:

• At the height of the Industrial Revolution, the average American worker worked 12-hour days, seven days a week to make a very basic living. Children as young as 5 or 6 worked.
• As labor and unions organized to improve working conditions, some of the rallies that served as a foundation for Labor Day turned bloody. During the Haymarket Riot in 1886, several workers and policeman died. During the Pullman Railroad Stike of 1894, dozens died.
• While the holiday can be traced to a New York City parade in 1882, Labor Day did not become a national holiday until 1896.
• Union leaders pushed for a September date for Labor Day to coincide with the New York City Knights of Labor Conference. The Knights of Labor happened to be one of the largest unions.
• There is some debate over who the founder of the holiday is. Some credit Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, for proposing the idea first. Others credit Peter McGuire, co-founder of American  Federation of Labor.

Have a great day with family and friends! 

Sources: History Channel: Labor Day

             Huffington Post: The Bloody Origin of Labor Day

             Time Magazine: Here's Why we Celebrate Labor Day

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4 for the Fourth! {Happy Fourth of July}

Here are some Fourth of July facts to think about as you are enjoying a barbecue with a slice of pie:

• John Adams thought that July 2nd would be the day we would celebrate our nation's birth. July 2nd happened to be the day that the Continental Congress ruled in favor of independence. The Continental Congress accepted Jefferson's Declaration of Independence on July 4.
• Americans have been celebrating the Fourth for quite some time. In fact, Philadelphia held a large celebration on the day in 1777 including a canon salute, fireworks, bonfires and a parade.
• The Continental Congress actually charged a committee including Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and John Adams with the task of drafting the declaration. Jefferson was considered the most eloquent writer in the group and crafted the original document.
• John Phillip Sousa, famous for composing some of the marches we hear on the Fourth, also composed 10 operas and wrote 3 novels and an autobiography

Thanks to the Huffington Post and PBS with putting together so many fun facts!

Happy Fourth of July!

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Five for President's Day {Trivia}

I am total President geek. I love learning pretty much anything about our history. Every year, I look forward to learning some new tidbits on President's Day. Here some interesting facts about our Commanders-in-Chief:

• Benjamin Harrison was the first President to attend a baseball game. He attended a Cincinnati Reds and Washington Senators game on June 6, 1892. The Reds beat the Senators, 7-4.
• When John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were in England, they visited William Shakespeare's home and chipped off a piece of Shakespeare's chair to bring back as a souvenir.
• While he was president, John Quincy Adams enjoyed skinny dipping in the Potomac River early in the morning. 
• James Garfield was ambidextrous. He also could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other---both at the same time.
• Jimmy Carter is the first president to go on record about seeing a UFO.

Check our previous post for some more interesting Presidential facts

Sources: National Geographic
               Mashable
               Buzzfeed

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