History of Labor Day (3:33)
In a History of the Holidays video, discover the origins of Labor Day, the American holiday which served to honor its workers. Learn how Americas unions came together to take the day off from work and march.
Videos (14)
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History of Labor Day
History of Labor DayVideo Clip (3:33)
Video Clip (3:33)
In a History of the Holidays video, discover the origins of Labor Day, the American holiday which served to honor its workers. Learn how Americas unions came together to take the day off from work and march.
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The Assembly Line: Then and Now
The Assembly Line: Then and NowVideo Clip (2:00)
Video Clip (2:00)
In a History of the Holidays video, discover the origins of the assembly line in honor of our workers holiday, Labor Day. Learn who created the assembly line and what it was originally created for.
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The Fight to End Child Labor
The Fight to End Child LaborVideo Clip (1:39)
Video Clip (1:39)
In a History of the Holidays video, discover how unions put an end to child labor in factories during the early 1900's, along with excessive hours and pay cuts.
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Henry Ford and the Model T
Henry Ford and the Model TVideo Clip (3:18)
Video Clip (3:18)
Find out how Henry Ford's Model T revolutionized transportation in America.
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Jacob Riis
Jacob RiisVideo Clip (2:07)
Video Clip (2:07)
Learn how photographer Jacob Riis changed the lives of New York Citiy's poor by exposing how they were forced to live.
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Hoover Dam
Hoover DamVideo Clip (4:09)
Video Clip (4:09)
Built during the Great Depression, Hoover Dam was a marvel of engineering and labor.
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1930s GM Sit-Down Strike
1930s GM Sit-Down StrikeVideo Clip (3:44)
Video Clip (3:44)
Marissa Tomei performs the words of a General Motors employee during a 1930s labor strike.
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Andrew Carnegie and the Homestead Strike
Andrew Carnegie and the Homestead StrikeVideo Clip (4:45)
Video Clip (4:45)
The famed Industrialist breaks the back of organized workers.
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J.P. Morgan Battles Coal Miners in 1902
J.P. Morgan Battles Coal Miners in 1902Video Clip (3:10)
Video Clip (3:10)
J.P Morgan versus the coalminers.
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Modern Marvels: Coal Mines
Modern Marvels: Coal MinesVideo Clip (3:02)
Video Clip (3:02)
Coal mining has undergone many changes over the years. What are the latest innovations in modern mining? Take a trip inside a West Virginia coal mine and find out more. From "Modern Marvels."
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Characteristics of Early Factory Girls
Characteristics of Early Factory GirlsVideo Clip (2:04)
Video Clip (2:04)
Marissa Tomei performs the words of a young factory girl preparing to strike.
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Theodore Roosevelt vs. J.P. Morgan
Theodore Roosevelt vs. J.P. MorganVideo Clip (3:11)
Video Clip (3:11)
Theodore Roosevelt believed America's greatest evil was too much power in the hands of corporate America. Find out what happened when he took on J.P. Morgan, the nation's most powerful financier.
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Henry J. Kaiser Builds Hoover Dam and U.S. Warships
Henry J. Kaiser Builds Hoover Dam and U.S. WarshipsVideo Clip (3:58)
Video Clip (3:58)
From photography to engineering, Henry Kaiser's love for a young lady spurred him to build the Hoover Dam and great Liberty ships.
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John D. Rockefeller: Oil, Money, and Power
John D. Rockefeller: Oil, Money, and PowerVideo Clip (4:08)
Video Clip (4:08)
The standard oil trust.
Photo Galleries (1)
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Labor Day
Labor Day(14 Photos)
14 Photos
View photos celebrating the History of Labor Day
Speeches & Audio (7)
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Gompers Pledges Labor's Support for World War I
Gompers Pledges Labor's Support for World War IAudio Clip (1:10)
Audio Clip (1:10)
Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), discusses the effects of World War I on the United States.
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Walter Reuther Delivers Labor Day Address
Walter Reuther Delivers Labor Day AddressAudio Clip (2:37)
Audio Clip (2:37)
On September 5, 1966, Walter Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and a social justice champion, gives his annual Labor Day speech to the workers of America.
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End of First NYC Transit Strike
End of First NYC Transit StrikeAudio Clip (1:46)
Audio Clip (1:46)
In a broadcast on January 13, 1966, to the people of New York, Mayor John Lindsay announces the end of a transit strike in the city. The strike, which started the first day of Lindsay's term, lasted 12 days.
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Reagan Fires Striking Air Traffic Controllers
Reagan Fires Striking Air Traffic ControllersAudio Clip (0:29)
Audio Clip (0:29)
On August 4, 1981, President Ronald Reagan reads a statement to the press on his decision to fire any air traffic controllers who do not show up to work within 48 hours. After negotiations with the federal government to raise their pay failed, 13,000 air traffic controllers went on strike.
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Senate Investigates Teamsters Union
Senate Investigates Teamsters UnionAudio Clip (4:13)
Audio Clip (4:13)
Live courtroom coverage of the 1957 select Senate committee hearing of Teamster president Dave Beck gets heated as Beck invokes the Fifth Amendment time and again, frustrating the efforts of Robert Kennedy, the committee chief counsel.
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Coughlin Denounces New Deal
Coughlin Denounces New DealAudio Clip (3:54)
Audio Clip (3:54)
From the pulpit of his weekly religious radio program, "Golden Hour of the Shrine of the Little Flower," Father Charles Edward Coughlin rails against the WPA and the "dole" system. Coughlin's broadcasts were hugely popular during the Great Depression, reaching 16 million listeners, but his increasingly vitriolic and anti-Semitic statements led to the eventual demise of his radio show.
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Theodore Roosevelt's Address to Boys' Progressive League
Theodore Roosevelt's Address to Boys' Progressive LeagueAudio Clip (1:31)
Audio Clip (1:31)
Though Theodore Roosevelt was not able to attend the meeting of the Boys' Progressive League in New York City, he made a recording of a speech on a cylinder phonograph on July 3, 1913, to be played in his absence.
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The last major holiday of summer, Labor Day celebrates the American worker.
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