The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’s Labor Day were all part of the first cel
ebration, held in New York City in 1882.Its promoter was an Irish-American labor leader named Peter J. McGuire.A carpenter by trade, McGuire had worked since the age of eleven, and in 1882 was president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBCJ).Approaching the City’s Central Labor Union that summer, he proposed a holiday that would applaud “the industrial spirit – the great vital force of every nation”.On September 5 his suggestion born fruit, as an estimated 10,000 workers, many of them ignoring their bosses’ warnings, left work to march from Union Square up Fifth Avenue to 42nd Street.The event gained national attention, and by 1893 thirty states had made Labor Day an annual holiday.
The quick adoption of the scheme may have indicated less about the state lawmakers’ respect for working people than about a fear of risking their anger.In the 1880s the United States was a land sharply divided between the immensely wealthy and the very poor.Henry George was accurate in describing the era as one of “progress and poverty.” In a society in which factory, owners rode in private Pullmans while ten-year-olds slaved in the mines, strong anti-capitalist feelings ran high.Demands for fundamental change were common throughout the labor press.With socialist demanding an end to “wage slavery” and anarchists singing the praises of the virtues dynamite, middle-of-the-roaders like Samuel Gompers and McGuire seemed attractively mild by comparison.One can imagine practical capitalists seeing Labor Day as a bargain: A one-day party certainly cost them less than paying their workers decent wages.
6.Judging from the passage, McGuire was ().
A.a moderate labor leader
B.an extreme anarchist in the labor movement
C.a devoted socialist fighting against exploitation of man by man
D.a firm anti-capitalist demanding the elimination of wage slavery
7.We can see from the first paragraph that the first Labor Day march ().
A.immediately won nationwide support
B.involved workers from 30 states
C.was opposed by many factory owners
D.was organized by the UBCJ
8.Which of the following is the key factor in the immediate approval of Labor Day as a national holiday？（）
A.The lawmakers’ respect for the workers
B.The workers’ determination to have a holiday of their own
C.The socialists’ demands for thorough reform
D.The politicians’ fear of the workers’ anger
9.We learn from the passage that the establishment of Labor Day ().
A.was accepted by most bosses as a compromise
B.marked a turning point in the workers’ struggle for more rights
C.indicated the improvement of the workers’ welfare
D.signaled the end of “wage slavery”
10.McGuire proposed Labor Day in order to ().
A.draw people’s attention to the striking contrast between the rich and the poor
B.make prominent the important role of the working class in society
C.win for the workers the right to shorter working hours
D.expose the exploitation of the workers by their bosses
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