Historical Site Paper

Union Square

Alexis Reyes

POLSC 110

T.A. Sari Kriege

Mondays 12:10pm 1:00pm

December 1st, 2014

Politics has been affected by events such as meting at key places, peaceful walks and even riots. When the people want to be heard, they tend to use the right given to them by the first amendment and speak up. Throughout the years, we remember those events and connect them to the places where they started. Popularly protests have been done in Washington DC but New Yorker have gathered many times at sites such as Union Square to demand their rights. One of the most famous protests that took place in that site was the protest for Labor Day.

Since it was projected on 1807, Union Square was meant to be a site where many people would gather for recreation purposes. Because of its initial location at Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) and Bowery Road (now Fourth Avenue), this site was the intersection of two major avenues thus making it a heavily visited place on a daily basis (Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, 2014). It was undergone a few changes throughout the years but it was always kept the essential value of being a heavily populated site.

Then in July 1839, the park was opened to the public. It reassembled the residential squares in London. It focused the shape of an oval. After the raid growth of New Yorks downtown as an economic landmark, it made Union Square even more populated. It served as a break of the stressful life of the new residents of New York.

It was also served for many important events such as labor protests, political rallies, and official celebrations such as the Great Metropolitan Fair of the U.S. Sanitary Commission in 1864.

Those events forced the city to redraw the design of the park itself in order to meet the expected mass meetings that would be predicted to happen as a result of past rallies. For example, it used to be enclosed by a fence surrounding the oval-shaped site so that was removed so people would not be retrained and raise the capacity of participants. The sidewalks were also widened to serve the same purpose.

In 1882, a group of labor workers named the Knights of Labor marched up Broadway and Fifth in order to demand regulation in jobs institutions. One of the biggest demands was a fair eight-hour day for the labor force. This was later called the First Labor Day parade, in which, more than 30,000 people participated on (Archives, 2003). As the march was taking place Robert Price of Lonaconing, Maryland said to Richard Griffiths, the General Worthy Foreman of the Knights of Labor, "This is Labor Day in earnest, Uncle Dick." (Recreation, 2014). Later in 1993, The National Park Service designated the site as a national landmark in observance to the First Labor Day parade.

That event showed the power of the freedom of speech and assembly. Those workers got the former President Grover Cleveland to sign Labor Day as a national holiday and thus accomplishing the demands of the people.

In more recent times people have rallied up for many different reasons. For example, immigration has been an issue that had people gather up at Union Square. Many people that believe that Illegal Immigrants should be given a fair reform that would allow them to stay with their families was their main demand. As a result (not directly), President Barack Obama has used his presidential power to extend the age on the controversial Deferred Action. Now, parents of children that have been born in the US or green card holders cannot be deported back the their countries. This has been a great step to a change in the immigration reforms. Once again, it was a result of constant marches and peaceful walks in not only New Yorks Union Square but also many other historical sites.

Even more recently, New Yorkers have marched to Union Square after the decision on the case of Ferguson. Though, it wasnt very peaceful people showed how outraged they were because of this. Though, no action has not been taken as a result of this rallies, it is sure that they sent a message to the government with their actions.

Nowadays Union Square is surrounded by a full urban city full of banks, restaurants and other commercial institution. Personally I have been there many times as I loved the feeling of the hybrid combination of a stressful city and that place that showed union between people. People would usually play very intense chess competition or even dances would break out of nowhere. Small food carts show the variety of cultures mixing with each other and interacting in a environment of acceptance and learning. It seems that the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, affects the environment with his ideologies of peace and respect.

(Archives, 2003) First Labor Day.

Works CitedArchives, R. F. (2003). Retrieved 11 28, 2014, from Laborarts.org: http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/opel/imageframe.cfm?id=1Recreation, O. W. (2014). Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 11 26, 2014, from nycgovparks.org: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/union-square-park/history

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