Timber!
Photograph by A.R. Moore, National Geographic Creative


Loggers fell a giant sequoia in California in 1917—an example of the pain, sweat, and grit of workers who are recognized on the U.S. holiday of Labor Day.

On the first Monday of September, Americans enjoy a day of rest to appreciate the social and economic efforts of those whose hard work built our country.

The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882, in New York City, by the Central Labor Union, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

As President Theodore Roosevelt once said: "It is only through labo