Today, May 1, is Law Day, started in 1958 by President Dwight Eisenhower as day of national dedication to the principles of government under law.
Law Day in the United States coincides with International Labor Day celebrated in much of the rest of the world. Many historians believe this is no accident.
“The ruling class did not want to have a very active labor force connected internationally,” said Peter Linebaugh, author of The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day. “The principle of national patriotism was used against the principle of working-class unity or trade union unity. For a day that celebrates reform and revolution, political discussion and petitions, as in much of the rest of the world, ‘there’s nothing in it for the capitalist class,’ said Linebaugh.
Hence Law Day in the United States.
— Michael R. Schaefer
Michael R. Schaefer is a partner at Fullerton, Lemann, Schaefer & Dominick in San Bernardino. He chairs the firm’s Litigation Department and focuses his practice in the areas of trust and estate litigation, probate litigation, general trial practice, real estate, construction, debtor-creditor rights, insurance, corporations, partnerships and condemnation. Reach him at mschaefer@flsd.com or 909-889-3691.
