Labor Day 2021

There is a still lively debate as to whether Peter McGuire or Matthew Maguire should be credited as the Founder of Labor Day. You can review the particulars of the debate on the Department of Labor's "History of Labor Day" page. What is not in dispute is that on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday. The origin of an annual holiday to honor working men and women was clearly rooted in the organized labor movement, and it is certainly appropriate, on Labor Day, to acknowledge the generally positive historical contributions of private sector (non-government) labor unions to the nation's economic progress.

But here I wish to draw attention to the relationship between the labor of individuals, the creation of private property by virtue of such labor, and freedom. To do so, below is material that I have largely published previously, including on previous Labor Days. To my mind, while I will happily credit either Peter McGuire or Matthew Maguire as a founder of Labor Day – by the way, they both attended the country’s Labor Day parade in New York City in 1894 – for my purposes, it is more important today to recall how Abraham Lincoln resorted to the Declaration of Independence and the nation's Founders in thinking about the connection between labor, property, and freedom. (My colleague, Seth Cooper, the Free State Foundation's Director of Policy Studies, deserves credit too for the research and writing that led to the previous publication of much of this material.) 

 

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Though Lincoln is not often associated with, or quoted on, Labor Day, a holiday first observed a quarter century after his assassination, there is good reason, on Labor Day and every day, to consider his views on what, before the Civil War, was called the "free labor" movement.

An integral part of the anti-slavery "Free Soil" movement was rooted in a "free labor" philosophy. Here is how prize-winning historian Eric Foner put it in Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War:

For the concept of ‘free labor’ lay at the heart of the Republican ideology, and expressed a coherent social outlook, a model of the good society. Political anti-slavery was not merely a negative doctrine, an attack on southern slavery and the society built upon it; it was an affirmation of the superiority of the social system of the North—a dynamic, expanding capitalist society, whose achievements and destiny were almost wholly the result of the dignity and opportunities which it offered the average laboring man.

In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln famously called for a "new birth of freedom." Given his background and his philosophical grounding in "free labor" antislavery principles, which he consistently related to the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence, it is not surprising that Lincoln often cojoined freedom to an individual's natural right to enjoy the fruits of his own labor. For Lincoln, this natural right was inherent in the Declaration's pronouncement of the self-evident truth that all men are endowed with the unalienable right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

As far back as 1847 speaking at a Whig event, Lincoln said this:

I believe each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruit of his labor, so far as it in no wise interferes with any other man’s rights and that the general government, upon principle, has no right to interfere with anything other than that general class of things that does concern the whole.

And Lincoln frequently reminded his audiences that, "I always thought the man that made the corn should eat the corn."

This colloquial Lincolnian expression is stated in a decidedly less philosophically formal fashion than John Locke's famous injunction contained in his Second Treatise of Government:

[E]very man has a property in his own person: this no body has any right to but himself. The labour of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property.

As President, Lincoln affirmed this Lockean view of labor in his Reply to the New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association in 1864:

Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself….

As Seth Cooper and I show in our book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property, Lincoln's views regarding free labor and property rights extended to protection of intellectual property as well. In Chapter 10, "Adding Fuel to the Fire of Genius: Abraham Lincoln, Free Labor, and the Logic of Intellectual Property," we discuss Lincoln's 1859 Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, where he said this:

The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This, say its advocates, is free labor – the just and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way for all – gives hope to all, and energy, and progress, and improvement of condition to all.

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 As we celebrate Labor Day in 2021, at a time when many in America seek, sometimes mightily, to divide us based on all manner of discrete "identities," including race, gender, religion, and class, it is worth taking more than a moment to reflect on Lincoln's understanding of the importance of the "free labor" concept, and especially its integral relationship to a proper understanding of private property rights – and then, to a proper understanding of freedom itself.

On Labor Day, and every day, we should never forget the dignity that is inherent in an individual's natural right to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor, or as Eric Foner put it, free labor's central role in America's "dynamic, expanding capitalist society, whose achievements and destiny were almost wholly the result of the dignity and opportunities which it offered the average laboring man."

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 Best wishes to all for a happy and safe Labor Day!

Labor Day 2020

Abraham Lincoln is not often associated with, or quoted on, Labor Day, a holiday first observed a quarter century after his assassination. But there is good reason, especially now but for all seasons, to consider Lincoln's views on what, before the Civil War, was called the "free labor" movement.

 

An integral part of the anti-slavery "Free Soil" movement was rooted in a "free labor" philosophy. Here is how prize-winning historian Eric Foner put it in Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War:

 

For the concept of ‘free labor’ lay at the heart of the Republican ideology, and expressed a coherent social outlook, a model of the good society. Political anti-slavery was not merely a negative doctrine, an attack on southern slavery and the society built upon it; it was an affirmation of the superiority of the social system of the North—a dynamic, expanding capitalist society, whose achievements and destiny were almost wholly the result of the dignity and opportunities which it offered the average laboring man.

 

In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln famously called for a "new birth of freedom." Given his background and his philosophical grounding in "free labor," anti-slavery principles, which he consistently related to the Declaration of Independence's ideals, it is not surprising that Lincoln often joined freedom to an individual's natural right to enjoy the fruits of his own labor. For Lincoln, such right was inherent in the Declaration's self-evident truth that all men are endowed with the unalienable right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

 

In many of his addresses, including as far back as 1847 speaking at a Whig event, Lincoln said this, usually in more or less the same words:

 

I believe each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruit of his labor, so far as it in no wise interferes with any other man’s rights and that the general government, upon principle, has no right to interfere with anything other than that general class of things that does concern the whole.

As often, Lincoln reminded his audiences that, "I always thought the man that made the corn should eat the corn."

 

This colloquial Lincolnian expression is stated in a decidedly less philosophically formal fashion than John Locke's famous injunction contained in his Second Treatise of Government:

 

[E]very man has a property in his own person: this no body has any right to but himself. The labour of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property.

 

As President, Lincoln affirmed this Lockean view of labor in his Reply to the New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association in 1864:

Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself….

 

As my Free State Foundation colleague Seth Cooper and I show in our book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property, Lincoln's views regarding free labor and property rights extended to protection of intellectual property as well. In Chapter 10, "Adding Fuel to the Fire of Genius: Abraham Lincoln, Free Labor, and the Logic of Intellectual Property," from which much of this special message is drawn, we discuss Lincoln's 1859 Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, where he said this:

 

The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This, say its advocates, is free labor – the just and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way for all – gives hope to all, and energy, and progress, and improvement of condition to all.

 

As we celebrate Labor Day in 2020, at a time when many in America seek to divide us based on all manner of discrete "identities," including race, gender, religion, and class, it is worth taking more than a moment to reflect on Lincoln's understanding of the importance of the "free labor" concept, and especially its integral relationship to a proper understanding of property rights, and of freedom itself.

 

On Labor Day, and every day, we should never forget the dignity that is inherent in an individual's natural right to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor – and as Eric Foner put it, free labor's central role in America's "dynamic, expanding capitalist society, whose achievements and destiny were almost wholly the result of the dignity and opportunities which it offered the average laboring man."

 

And an important postscript: It is especially important – you could say essential – to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of so many "essential workers" who, in so many ways, have provided and maintained many crucial services during the pandemic. Thanks to these special individuals who have labored for the benefit of us all.

Labor Day 2017

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr., a fitting thought for Labor Day.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

Instead of trying to improve upon Dr. King – which is difficult to do in any event – I am pasting in immediately below my message from last Labor Day. While not new, I don’t think it is out of date. And, of course, the line from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, Jr., while surely not always straight and true, nevertheless is a line that continues to have meaning with respect to the close relationship between free labor and individual freedom.   

Labor Day: Abraham Lincoln, Free Labor, Freedom and Free Enterprise

By Randolph J. May

On Labor Day – as on many other days – I often find my thoughts turning to Abraham Lincoln’s words. And so it was on this past Labor Day, for Lincoln had much to say that is worth considering concerning “labor” and its relationship to individual freedom and the American free enterprise system.

Lincoln, of course, was America’s first Republican president. But I fear that far too few today know that the party of Lincoln grew out of the antebellum “Free Soil, Free Labor” movement, itself grounded, of course, in the growing antislavery agitation leading up to Lincoln’s election in 1860.

As Seth Cooper, my Free State Foundation colleague, and I showed in our recent book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property, Lincoln’s thought concerning “free labor” was grounded largely in his understanding of the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, most particularly the Declaration’s proclamation that all persons are endowed with certain inalienable rights, including “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” For Lincoln, this meant, consistent with the Lockean view, that every person possesses a natural right to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor. As Lincoln put it as early as 1847, “each person is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor.”

Or, as Lincoln later put it more colorfully: “I always thought the man that made the corn should eat the corn.”

And here is Lincoln, in his 1859 Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, eloquently connecting his understanding of “free labor” to the opportunity for individual advancement in the American free enterprise system:

The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This, say its advocates, is free labor – the just and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way for all – gives hope to all, and energy, and progress, and improvement of condition to all. If any continue through life in the condition of the hired laborer, it is not the fault of the system, but because of either a dependent nature which prefers it, or improvidence, folly, or singular misfortune.

Of course, when Abraham Lincoln uttered all these words, the evil of slavery had yet to be eradicated. And much more needed to be accomplished in the decades after the Civil War to protect the rights of those who had been enslaved to make meaningful the opportunity to reap the benefits of “free labor.”

That said, as we think about Labor Day, I submit it’s certainly worth taking a little time to consider what Lincoln had to say about free labor, freedom, and free enterprise. Like much of what Lincoln said, his words still resonate – and have meaning – in 2016.

PS –  If you are interested in learning more about Lincoln and the Free Labor movement, especially including what Lincoln said about protecting intellectual property rights in the context of a person’s natural right to enjoy the fruits of his or her labor, see Chapter 10 of our book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property – A Natural Rights Perspective.

  

Labor Day 2016

I have not been nearly as regular in writing Labor Day messages as I have with my Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day messages. I make no apologies for that, except perhaps to offer only the weak, and not entirely true, excuse that I’ve avoided overly laboring on Labor Day weekend.

But in this roiled – and still roiling – election year, with what I consider to be the flawed nominees of our two major parties, I find myself thinking about some of our past presidents, especially those who demonstrated strength of character, intelligence, thoughtfulness, and principled leadership.

As many regular readers of this space know, I often turn to Abraham Lincoln. And so it is on this Labor Day, for Lincoln had much to say that is worth contemplating concerning “labor” and its relationship to individual freedom and the American free enterprise system.

Lincoln, of course, was America’s first Republican president. I fear that far too few today know – or appreciate – that the party of Lincoln grew out of the antebellum “Free Soil, Free Labor” movement, itself grounded, of course, in the growing antislavery agitation leading up to Lincoln’s election in 1860.

As Seth Cooper, my Free State Foundation colleague, and I showed in our recent book, The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property, Lincoln’s thought concerning “free labor” was grounded largely in his understanding of the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, most particularly the Declaration’s proclamation that all persons are endowed with certain inalienable rights, including “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” For Lincoln, this meant, consistent with the Lockean view, that every person enjoys a natural right to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor. As Lincoln put it as early as 1847, “each person is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor.”

Or, as Lincoln put it more colorfully: “I always thought the man that made the corn should eat the corn.”

And here is Lincoln, in his 1859 Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, eloquently connecting his understanding of “free labor” to the opportunity for individual advancement in the American free enterprise system:

The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This, say its advocates, is free labor – the just and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way for all – gives hope to all, and energy, and progress, and improvement of condition to all. If any continue through life in the condition of the hired laborer, it is not the fault of the system, but because of either a dependent nature which prefers it, or improvidence, folly, or singular misfortune.

Of course, when Abraham Lincoln uttered all these words, the evil of slavery had yet to be eradicated. And more needed to be accomplished in the decades after the Civil War to protect the rights of those who had been enslaved to make meaningful the opportunity to reap the benefits of “free labor.”

That said, on this Labor Day 2016, I submit that it’s certainly worth taking at least a little time to consider what Lincoln had to say about free labor, freedom, and free enterprise. Like much of what Lincoln said, his words still resonate – and have meaning – today.

PS –  If you are interested in learning more about Lincoln and the Free Labor movement, especially including what Lincoln said about protecting intellectual property rights in the context of a person’s natural right to enjoy the fruits of his or her labor, see Chapter 10 of our book, The Constitutional Foundations ofIntellectual Property – A Natural Rights Perspective.