Every September, Americans fire up their grills, crack open a cold one, and celebrate Labor Day. But it didn’t start as an excuse to party, or buy mattresses at 30% off. It was born in the late 1800s, when workers sweated 12-hour days just to keep food on the table. Strikes turned bloody — most famously in Chicago at the Haymarket Riot — and demands for fair pay, safe conditions, and reasonable hours grew too loud to ignore.