Frances Perkins, First Woman Cabinet Member

Secretary of Labor Perkins worked on the New Deal, Social Security

Sep 28, 2009

Behind every great man, there is an even greater woman. Such was the case with Frances Perkins in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt years.

Housing prices had been pumped up by crazy new kinds of loans, and foreclosures of homes and farms were surging as borrowers faltered under the payments. Companies had enjoyed record profits and ploughed the money into machinery designed to boost productivity, cutting their workforces. The unemployment rate skyrocketed. Companies slashed the wages of the remaining workers, and asked them to work longer and longer hours.[1]

This is not a summary of the current state of America. This is actually an assessment of the State of the Union in the year 1932 by Kirstin Downey, former Washington Post staff writer.

Fannie Coralie Perkins, born April 10, 1880, changed her name to Frances. Even after she married Paul Wilson in 1913, Perkins fought in court - and won - the right to keep and use her last name.

Educated at Worcester’s Classical High School in Maine, Perkins graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a BA and Columbia University with a Masters in Sociology. She taught chemistry and volunteered at settlement houses before entering a career in the political field. She later drew from her observations in the settlement houses - dangerous conditions of working in factories, employees unable to get medical care for workplace injuries or paid wages - to help make change during an era of unrest and instability.

Witness to Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

She became head of the New York Consumers League in 1910 for better working hours and conditions. She was also witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, an image which would remain with her throughout her days.

As Perkins said, [it was] "seared on my mind as well as my heart—a never-to-be-forgotten reminder of why I had to spend my life fighting conditions that could permit such a tragedy." [2]

Political Career

When New York Governor Al Smith offered Perkins the opportunity to join the New York State Industrial Commission, Perkins did not hesitate. She was the first female member of that organization and became the Chairwoman in 1926.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York, he appointed Perkins to the position of State Industrial Commissioner. In this position, Perkins was able to cut the workweek for women to 48 hours, expand factory inspections and supported minimum wage and unemployment insurance laws.

After Roosevelt was elected President in 1932, he appointed Perkins to the position of Secretary of Labor. She was the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the United States, also making her the first woman in the presidential line of succession.

The New Deal and Social Security

Perkins was instrumental in formulating the New Deal which provided much-needed jobs for unemployed Americans. More of her efforts went into the Wagner Act, giving workers the right to organize unions and the Fair Labor Standards Act, establishing a minimum wage and a maximum workweek.

But Perkins’ largest contribution came in the form of the Social Security Act of 1935. Perkins was chair of the Committee on Economic Security and was involved in all aspects of the reports and hearings which resulted in the Act.

Something of a spitfire, it was Perkins herself who informed steelworkers of their right to organize and use collective bargaining. A newspaper photo captured Perkins marching toward a U.S. post office in Homestead with steelworkers in her wake. Since she and the workers had been denied a meeting place by the mayor and executives of the steel company, Perkins found an alternative site at which to hold the meeting.

Threat of Impeachment

Perkins was unflappable in her support to benefit workers with rights they had not had up until that point. But she, herself, did not always garner support. The House Un-American Activities Committee attempted to impeach Perkins based on her decision not to deport Harry Bridges, the Communist head of the west coast International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Bridges was eventually vindicated by the Supreme Court and the case of impeachment against Perkins was dropped due to lack of evidence.

Perkins served as Secretary of Labor for twelve years - the full run of Roosevelt’s presidency.

In 1945, Perkins resigned as labor secretary to head the US delegation to the International Labor Organization conference in Paris. Afterward, President Truman offered Perkins the opportunity to serve on the United States Civil Service Commission. Perkins accepted the offer and served on the commission until 1953.

After her political career, Perkins accepted a professorship at Cornell University.

Perkins’ Memoirs and Books About Perkins

In 1946, Perkins published her memoirs “The Roosevelt I Knew” (Random House). There have been a number of books published about Frances Perkins herself. “Frances Perkins: First Woman Cabinet Member” is a Young Adult novel published by Morgan Reynolds Publishing, November 30, 2006, authored by Emily Keller. “The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience” written by Kirstin Downey and published by Nan A. Talese, March 3, 2009.

The Frances Perkins Center

The Frances Perkins Center is located at The Brick House, as Perkins’ homestead is called. The house itself is on the National Register of Historic Places. The center is to honor Perkins’ accomplishments and carry on her work. The house was built by Perkins’ grandfather and great grandfather from bricks fired at the family brickyard.

The headquarters of the United States Department of Labor in D.C. is named after Frances Perkins.

The copyright of the article Frances Perkins, First Woman Cabinet Member in Politicians is owned by Penny White. Permission to republish Frances Perkins, First Woman Cabinet Member in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.