Sunday-closing laws were backed by labor unions seeking a shorter workweek

Evidence

To be sure, the moral, ideological element was joined with a strong element of group self-​interest. The sleepy and puritanical Sunday laws, for example, were backed by labor unions and by workers in general. They wanted a shorter workweek. Connecticut passed a tightened Sunday law in 1897. Between twelve o’clock Saturday night and twelve o’clock Sunday night all shops, warehouses, and factories had to be shuttered. Ministers and preachers were the willing accomplices of the unions: an odd but useful coalition. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3348

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle on the strange ‘barbers and ministers’ coalitions behind moral legislation — moral crusades as disguised economic regulation.