Daily Quiz for November 24, 2008

Martin Van Buren. On March 31, 1840, American President Martin Van Buren issued an executive order extending the “10-hour system” to all laborers and mechanics employed on federal public works. The movement for the 10-hour workday grew after Eastern city building trades workers and the municipal government of Philadelphia instituted it in the early 1830s. The average daily hours of factory workers in 1840 was estimated at 11.4. By 1860 the 10-hour day was standard among most skilled workers and laborers.