40 Hours to Freedom: The Invention of the Weekend
Conflicted: A History Podcast
The Wages and Hours Act of 1938
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 effectively ended child labor in the U.S., and set a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour, not bad for the time. The bill was riddled with a Swiss cheese network of exceptions, exemptions, and caveats; only about one-fifth of the American workforce was actually covered by it. By 1955, the two-day weekend was standard in Britain, Canada, and the United States, and short Saturdays were common across Europe. But as economies have reoriented from local to global, the financial boon to a country that keeps ours in line has altered the shape of the weekend.
00:00
Transcript
Play full episode
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
