Dwight D. Eisenhower photo

Statement by the President: Labor Day.

September 03, 1956

ON THIS Labor Day 1956, America enjoys unprecedented opportunity. This opportunity is the result of the great God-given forces which quicken our Nation's progress. Today we celebrate the most fundamental of those great forces--labor. The working men and women of the United States have built our country and they provide vivid testimony to the world of the strength of our free government.

While our progress has been inspiring, we cannot rest on our accomplishments. There is much to be done to meet the opportunities ahead.

There are more than 66 million men and women employed in the United States but there are still those who seek a job and cannot find one. As long as this is so, the Government must seek to perfect its ways of helping people find jobs and providing security for those who are unemployed through no fault of their own.

Our skilled work force is the greatest in the world but it is not large enough to meet the ever-growing demands of our Nation. This is an opportunity which labor and management, education and Government, and all vital segments of our society must meet.

We are a Nation blessed with freedom and proud of our democracy, and we have advanced toward equality of economic and employment opportunities, but this task is not complete. There is more for all of us to do in securing the right of each American to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

On this Labor Day 1956, let us fix our eyes upon the future, confident that we can make our land an even better place in which to live full and useful lives.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Statement by the President: Labor Day. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/233126

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