Remembering Frances Perkins, the Woman Behind the New Deal

Credit for many of the social safeguards we now take for granted can be attributed to Frances Perkins.

“Secretary of Labor under Franklin Delano Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945, Frances Perkins is widely recognized as a driving force behind the New Deal, most notably for the policies that created Social Security, the forty-hour work week, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, workplace safety standards, and a ban on child labor.” (1)

“The first female cabinet member in U.S. history and one of only two Roosevelt cabinet appointees to serve throughout his tenure, Perkins brought to the job an unwavering devotion to social reform. She demanded, and got from Roosevelt, a commitment to support federal initiatives in the areas of unemployment relief and public works, insurance to guard workers from the hazards of old age and unemployment, and efforts to regulate child labor as well as wages and hours for adults. These became the cornerstones of the New Deal’s policies for depression relief and reform. Carefully conceived under Perkins’s watchful eyes and shepherded by her through the intricacies of the political process, the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act remain monuments to her ability to make progress through incremental steps and to her mastery of the art of compromise.” (2)

“Although Roosevelt leaned heavily on her, Perkins’s strong attachment to social justice rendered her an unpopular figure in Congress and the press. She alienated business but won over the leaders of organized labor by resisting pressure from industrialists to intervene in strikes. She refused to succumb to threats of impeachment...” (2)

Sources:

https://francesperkinscenter.org/

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/frances-perkins