May Day

May Day has competed with Labor Day as a workers' holiday in the United States from the late nineteenth century. Both celebrations have deep roots in the struggle for the eight hour day in the 1880s, though May Day's origins go back to European agricultural spring festivals. Most of the images here are from New York City, where Union Square played a central role for both holidays.

Tens of thousands of people marched in the annual May Day parades in Union Square in the 1930s, though by accident of history we have a larger number of photographs and pamphlets here from 1948, when the numbers were greatly diminished.

"No Child Toilers" and "Production for Use not for Profit" are a few of the slogans woven into the giant May Day wreath held by a young woman in this unidentified May Day image on a greeting card from Bolerium Books in San Francisco.

"Workingmen and Working Women--Negro and White--Veterans, Youth" are urged to join the May Day Peace Parade marching from 54th Street and Eighth Avenue to Union Square on this back page of a Committe for May Day - 1948 pamphlet.

In the post-World War II period of the Cold War, New York City's May Day parades attracted the trade unions and other organizations that were associated with the left. Banners, like this one at the head of the 1948 parade, called for peace. Participating organizations encouraged their members who were World War II veterans to wear their service uniforms in order to counter the charge that they were "unpatriotic."

This May Day Committee poster proclaiming "Peace - Civil Rights - Equality" typifies the demands that would have been put forward by participating unions and other organizations in the 1962 parade. By that year, the number of participating organizations had narrowed done considerably, and this is one of the last May Day parades.

Current May Days have been used to protest injustices against illegal immigrants.