In stark contrast to much of the world, the United States does not celebrate May 1st as Labor Day [1]. May Day has traditionally been associated with anarchy and social unrest, and not much has changed there, as May Day is still being used for the purposes of political fermentation even today. Loyalty day, as a substitution for May Day, appears to be more popular at periods of political crisis than during normal times. Both the initial celebration of the day and the official promogulation of the day are due to various Red Scares. It was in 1955 that May 1st was declared Loyalty Day (and also Law Day) by the United States congress. It was made an official recurring holiday in 1958. Intriguingly, there has been an official proclamation in favor of both law and loyalty every year since 1958 by the President of the United States [2], although it is not a day that I had ever heard of, nor one that seems to be well-known in general.
According to Title 36 of The United States Code, Section 115 [3], Loyalty Day is defined as follows:
“(a) Designation.— May 1 is Loyalty Day.
(b) Purpose.— Loyalty Day is a special day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.
(c) Proclamation.— The President is requested to issue a proclamation—
(1) calling on United States Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on Loyalty Day; and
(2) inviting the people of the United States to observe Loyalty Day with appropriate ceremonies in schools and other suitable places.”
On a day like today, Loyalty Day would seem strangely appropriate to some people, and strangely malicious to others. For one, the day was clearly established in reaction to tendencies towards social disorder and forces of revolution, as a way of increasing the loyalty to the social order of the United States. In light of its role as a reaction, it has tended to be viewed with the greatest importance when that order appears under the gravest threat. It is therefore likely that its celebration would not be consistent in the way one would expect from days like Independence Day or Memorial Day, but rather that it would ebb and flow, being neglected in calmer times when loyalty was more to be assumed, and more urgently and more widely celebrated during times when the social order appeared to be in danger, especially from left-wing anarchism and socialism.
It is interesting to note that there is a tension at the heart of Loyalty Day and what it symbolizes, as well as its history and purpose. After all, it is on the part a day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States where that loyalty is suspected or in doubt, and also a day to recognize the heritage of freedom. Yet that freedom is not license, as freedom is taken to be. It is, instead, freedom in the sense of being self-disciplined, and of being resistant to chaos and disorder but also hostile to tyranny. Being in opposition to the tyrannical threats of Communism as well as the anarchical threat of protestors and revolutionaries, it represents a firm commitment to a middle way that can only endure with a self-disciplined people who realize that freedom requires self-government. Even if the day may be obscure, at least let us hope that it may not be entirely forgotten, for the beginning of May is a good time for many of us to reflect on both loyalty and freedom.
[2] See, for example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_Day
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?searchterm=loyalty%20day
Edge Induced Cohesion 
I grew up in a culture that observed May 1st as “May Day” which is now, as we all know, a cry of distress and a call for help. “Loyalty Day” sounds suspiciously like a side effect of McCarthyism, an irrational fear of Communism that swept the nation; a time when everyone was made to believe that a Communist could be lurking around every corner, and all–including relatives–were suspect. So many lives and reputations were unnecessarily ruined during this time. I, too, have never heard of it, even though I was a child of the Cold War. We’ll honor our veterans, the soldiers who died in battle, and the day that signified our becoming an independent country, but we have problems with the duck step. The violent backlash that occurred when Joe McCarthy’s paranoia was publicly revealed (I’ve seen the films so I believe that the hearings were televised) might be a reason why this particular national holiday never got off the ground. It is not even considered a federal holiday, unlike Presidents Day in February when all federal employees have the day off. Oops, I’ve let the cat out of the bag; here’s another day to legitimately mark the calendar. 🙂
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You got it. The day was first celebrated in the 1920’s after the first “red scare” during and immediately after WWI, and it was made into an official recurring federal holiday in the 1950’s during the second “red scare” shortly after McCarthy, but yes, that is why it has never gotten off the ground.
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