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There was an economic downturn in 1893, and by 1894 there was a depression where up to 18% of the country's population was out of work. Wages were slashed at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois, and workers went on strike. The American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene Debs, joined the cause, and workers of the ARU refused to handle Pullman railcars. Eventually, President Grover Cleveland sent in federal troops, and the state militia also arrived. The strike was crushed and some died. It was at this time that Labor Day was pushed through as a federal holiday, in order to placate labor after this bitter strike. By this time, thirty states already officially observed the holiday. Some groups wanted Labor Day to take place on May 1, which is International Workers Day, but President Cleveland did not want the day to evoke memories of the the Haymarket Affair. Therefore, a more innocuous date was chosen, one on which various labor days had been celebrated on in the past.
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