Automobile Industry by William Gropper (1940-41)

Labor Day marks the end of summer. Likely, that means a day at the beach or a backyard BBQ with friends and family. As we bid summer adieu and welcome fall, here’s a nifty resource to help understand the meaning and origins of this American holiday: Labor Day Resource

This eCurriculum is based on a book called What So Proudly We Hail. It was compiled by scholars Amy and Leon Kass and Diane Staub.  This anthology is jam-packed with stories, speeches, and songs. Each help Americans realize more deeply — and appreciate more fully — who we are as citizens of the United States.

A Few Excerpts

Here are a few of the quotables you’ll find in this Labor Day curriculum:

• “The Fourth of July commemorates our political freedom—a freedom which without economic freedom is meaningless indeed. Labor Day symbolizes our determination to achieve an economic freedom for the average man which will give his political freedom reality.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

• “Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” —Whitewashing the fence from Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

• “Nearly all Americans must work to live. But there is also virtue in this necessity. Above and beyond the benefits of remuneration, there is dignity in earning a livelihood, in providing by oneself not only for oneself but also and especially for one’s family.” — Leon Kass in Working as Meaningful Fulfillment

Add What So Proudly We Hail to your Library

I had the good fortune of helping promote this book a few years back while working at the American Enterprise Institute.  It is chock full of wonderful selections about American identity, citizenship, and civic life. Besides Labor Day, you’ll find collections about other holidays. A fine collection of poems, songs and speeches that celebrate the American character.

You can still add this anthology to your personal library. What So Proudly We Hail is available for purchase here. [I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, and if you purchase through my website I receive a small commission at no cost to you, which helps me cover the costs associated with running this blog.]

Wishing you a Happy Labor Day!