Timeline of T.R.’s Labor Days
Follow Theodore Roosevelt through two decades of Labor Days, from Camp Wikoff in 1898 to a shipyard launch in 1918. Only years with a documented Labor Day appear here. Read the full story at Labor Day with Theodore Roosevelt.
BACK FROM CUBA
Labor Day found T.R. at Camp Wikoff on Montauk Point, New York, where the Rough Riders were camped after the war in Cuba. How he spent the day itself is not recorded.
THE CHICAGO LABOR DAY PICNIC
As Governor of New York and the Republican candidate for Vice President, T.R. spoke on the labor question at Chicago's Labor Day picnic. He traced his respect for working men to "the cattle country of the Northwest." William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate for President, also spoke at the city's celebration that day.
"SPEAK SOFTLY"
At the Minnesota State Fair, Vice President Roosevelt quoted what he called an "old proverb": "Speak softly and carry a big stick—you will go far." Four days later President McKinley was shot in Buffalo.
THE LAW OF WORK
On his first Labor Day as President, T.R. spoke across Vermont, at Rutland, Bellows Falls, Middlebury and Proctor. "The law of successful national life is the law of work," he told Rutland. Two days later a trolley car struck his carriage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, killing Secret Service operative William Craig.
A SQUARE DEAL AT SYRACUSE
At the New York State Fair, before crowds that wire reports put at 100,000, T.R. spoke about the farmer and the wage-worker. "We must see that each is given a square deal," he said, "because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less."
A BASEBALL GAME AT HOME
In the middle of his campaign for a full term, the President spent Labor Day at Sagamore Hill. A wire report said the day "was celebrated at the president's home principally by the attendance on a baseball game."
THE FLEET OFF OYSTER BAY
From the presidential yacht Mayflower, T.R. reviewed the Atlantic Fleet in Long Island Sound, within sight of his summer home. The morning's rain cleared before the review ended.
LABOR DAY IN FARGO
Back in North Dakota, T.R. spoke at the laying of the cornerstone of a library at Fargo College and gave a Labor Day speech, "Labor and Capital," to a crowd that sat through a heavy rainstorm. When a heckler pushed onto the platform and called him a liar, T.R. helped put him off the stage.
THE BULL MOOSE IN HARTFORD
As the Progressive Party candidate for President, T.R. made stops across Connecticut on his way to the State Fair at Hartford, where he spoke despite the rain. It was the first day of a month-long campaign tour.
A PICNIC IN NEW ORLEANS
Campaigning for Louisiana's Progressive candidates, T.R. spoke at a Labor Day picnic in New Orleans. That night he spoke at the French Opera House.
THE LAST LABOR DAY
Seven weeks after his son Quentin was killed in France, T.R. spoke to shipyard workers at Newburgh, New York, at the launch of the yard's first ship, the cargo ship Newburgh. It was his last Labor Day. He died four months later.
From the Archives
Letters, speeches and photographs about Labor Day from the Theodore Roosevelt Center’s digital library.