Labor Day is an annual tip of the cap to workers, an unofficial marker that summer is winding down and schools are starting up, and an excuse for firing up grills across America. People generally know – perhaps just vaguely – that the holiday has something to do with labor unions.

But how and when did we actually get this national holiday?

It’s a tale that involves picnics (yes, even back in the early days of organized labor), state-by-state campaigning by labor groups, and the half-hearted support of a Democratic president.

The story goes back to the 1880s, when the nation’s agrarian economy was rapidly shifting toward cities, factories, and the supply of mass-produced goods to consumers.

Read the article “Why Labor Day? Where Does it Come From?” on csmonitor.com.