Carl Sandberg once called Chicago the City of the Big Shoulders. America is the Nation of Broad Shoulders: builders, farmers, professionals, service workers, all putting their shoulders to the wheels of commerce and prosperity.

Labor Day, a federal holiday observed the first Monday of September, is usually thought of as the last long weekend of summer. It was meant to be more.

The Department of Labor said Labor Day is rooted in the late 19th century as “an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.”

Labor activists at that time “pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity and well-being.”

Our workers feed a nation of 350 million people. They invent and build devices that help mankind, everything from MRI machines to the cars that move us down the road. They build ships and smart weapons and otherwise provide for the common defense, as ordained by our Constitution. ...