Frances Perkins: The Woman Behind Modern America

         Frances Perkins, courtesy of Library of Congress. 1932

        “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.” Frances Perkins.

Frances Perkins, The Chief Architect of the New Deal –   Has a Forgotten Legacy

Where would this nation be without the many benefits of Social Security? Medicare, Medicaid, old age retirement funds, 40-hour work week, minimum wage, and disability benefits are now part of modern America’s embedded structure. How about unemployment insurance? During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of workers lost their jobs, but in many situations, unemployment insurance was the difference between families surviving or living on the streets. Or the basic fire standards for commercial structures, including fire alarms and escapes. Let’s not forget about food sanitation standards, which help prevent rats and roaches from ending up in our foods. And there is more, much more.

An Era of Pervasive Misogyny – Frances Perkins Refused the Status Quo

Indeed, many people were involved in implementing these modern-day life-saving programs. In an age when misogyny was so pervasive, it was like the air you breathed. It is difficult to understand just how impossible her mission was. Frances, however, envisioned a dream centered around helping people through federal programs.

Nearly Always the Only Woman in a Room of Men – Frances Perkins

Frances Perkins convinced her boss of its importance and worked faithfully and exhaustively to accomplish the impossible. She did this while facing her own problems. As the architect of these bedrock social programs integrated into modern America, Frances Perkins should be considered an American icon. Instead, the average American does not know who she is. She is best remembered as a woman with frumpy clothes and an unfashionable hat, but in her time, Frances was nearly always the only woman in a room full of men. And when she spoke, which was often, men listened.

Grew Up in New England

Born into “dyed in the wool” Yankee stock, her well-to-do Massachusetts family traced their roots to the Mayflower. Frances came from a long line of family members who wanted to help those less fortunate. Her ancestors include a founder of Howard University, and several members were activists for the rights of slaves.

No Beauty – Frances Perkins

As a child, her mother told her that she was no beauty, that her face was too broad, and that her head was too narrow above the temple. The solution to this perceived grievous offense was for Frances to wear a three-cornered hat similar to that of Revolutionary War soldiers. Her mother’s point was that if Frances wanted to succeed, she shouldn’t rely on her looks but use her intelligence to open doors. This odd and certainly hurtful conversation served its purpose. She became well-educated and realized that her passion was to help people and fight for social justice for everyone. It would become her life’s work. And, she nearly always wore a hat, as her mother told her.

Undercover Work Investigating Prostitution Gangs – Frances Perkins

She was taught that poverty was the result of either alcoholism or laziness, but she soon began to question this entitled opinion. In 1907, she was compelled to seek social justice for all and began working for the city of Philadelphia, investigating abuses against immigrant workers, child laborers, and other workplace issues. At one point, she went undercover to source out pimps and break up prostitution gangs exploiting young girls.

Witnesses the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Horror – New York City, 1911

By 1910, Frances was the executive secretary of the Consumers League of New York and later the New York Committee on Safety. On Saturday, March 25, 1911, Frances had tea with friends in  Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Around 4 pm, she and others watched in horror as a 10-story building across the street was engulfed in flames. The Triangle Shirt Waist Company fire was one of the most horrifying events in American history, where 146 garment workers, mostly women, were either burned or jumped to their deaths.

The Fire

The fire truck ladders could only reach six floors, and the building’s only fire escape collapsed. The owners had locked the exit doors to prevent theft and to keep workers from taking unexcused breaks. More importantly, the locked exits kept union activists from entering and inciting the workers to strike for higher wages and safer work conditions.

National Outrage

It is hard not to see the glaring irony of the circumstances behind this tragic loss. Hundreds of people, including Frances, witnessed the horror as it happened. The tragedy would lead to many changes that the owners were fighting against. Accordingly, it sparked national outrage and became the foundation of a sweeping movement that not only changed fire standards but eventually developed over 30 health and safety laws, including child labor legislation.

Her Resolve to Seek Social Justice for All – Frances Perkins

This event would help solidify Frances Perkins’s resolve to work as hard as possible for people’s rights. She would never forget the young women’s screams or seeing them drop to their deaths. Her family had always supported helping those less fortunate, but Frances realized that real social change would require personal involvement.

Becomes Secretary of Labor for New York State

Her good work caught the attention of the governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Frances joined his cabinet and served as Secretary of Labor for the state. In that role, she advanced many initiatives protecting workers and the public.

Becomes Secretary of Labor for the United States -1933

In 1932, Roosevelt was elected President and never hesitated to appoint her Secretary of Labor. At first, she resisted accepting the job until Roosevelt agreed on several programs and other social initiatives she wanted. Among those were old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, 40-hour work weeks, minimum wage, national health insurance, and the elimination of child labor.

FDR and Frances Perkins

“Nothing like this has ever been done in the United States before,” she told Roosevelt. “You know that, don’t you?” With that, Roosevelt agrees, noting the exception for national health insurance.  Thus, Frances Perkins would become the first woman cabinet member and the longest-serving Secretary of Labor, remaining in her post until Roosevelt died in 1945.

Political Enemies

Frances was not without her detractors, and many hoped she would fail. Some referred to the historic offense of a woman appointed to a male cabinet as a “rose in a field of thorns.” Others called her a prima donna and said she wasn’t worthy of sitting in a male cabinet representing the United States of America.

Newspaper Articles Attacking Perkins

News articles attacked Perkins, like the one from the New York American on October 30, 1936, which suggested that FDR might not reappoint her, saying “she was probably the greatest failure of the Roosevelt administration.” The article intended to criticize Perkins because she had purged the Department of Labor of many of its well-entrenched union supporters and replaced them with college-educated professionals who did not have a vested interest. The professionals she hired would be more inclined to support her values of looking at the welfare of employees rather than the employers.

Disparaging Comments Trying to Make Her Quit

The political back-and-forth about Perkins working in a man’s world led to many disparaging comments against her, especially those calling Perkins a communist or a socialist. The article in the New York American  slammed Perkins initiatives by writing “This is the failure of the Fabian socialist mind when confronted by practical and realistic situations.” Frances Perkins resisted the notion that all systems should be based on the survival of the fittest. The unfairness of systems that brought about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire tragedy needed to end. The practical and realistic situations referred to were nothing more than a reference to going back to the old ways, back to a time when big business ruled and workers’ rights had little or no value.

More Criticisms Including the Civilian Conservation Corps 

Other articles referred to Perkins as a “glorified social worker”, albeit she loved that reference.  According to the Buffalo Evening News on March 12, 1935, in an article entitled “New Deal or Raw Deal,” some young people said they felt misled by the CCC. In the article, The CCC received harsh criticism because of its military-type culture, and some jobs were perceived to be taken away from union workers. Overall, however, the benefits of the CCC were tremendous, and the program itself was considered one of the most successful in the New Deal.

The Success of the CCC

The CCC planted over 3 billion trees, constructed over 3,000 fire lookout towers, helped build trails, roads, and bridges to national parks and forests, and provided over 3 million jobs for young men between 1933 and 1942. Considered the architect of the New Deal programs, Perkins received nearly all the blame and only a fraction of the praise.

Impeachment Hearings Against Frances Perkins Fall Flat

By 1939, it became apparent that Roosevelt would not drop Perkins from the cabinet. In an article entitled “Perkins Ouster Motion Filed in House by Thomas” from the New York Post, this began an effort to remove her through impeachment. A House committee accused her of wanting to overthrow the government. The sensational accusation was based on the distorted notion that Frances was conspiring to delay the deportation of Mr. Harry Bridges. Bridges was a leader with the International Longshoremen’s Association ( and had dangerous ties to crime and the Communist Party.

She was Never Afraid of a Fight – Frances Perkins

Never afraid of a fight, Perkins said she “welcomed an immediate hearing to inform the country of the facts about the case.” Caused by a Supreme Court’s decision, the delay would likely impact Bridges’ case and others. The effort by the House Committee had no merit and quickly fell apart. The committee’s effort was nothing more than a desperate attempt by her enemies to try once again to rid themselves of Perkins and return the Department of Labor to the days when employers ruled, and workers had few rights.

A Private and Religious Person

Many described her as brilliant and determined. A private person and deeply religious, she protected her family from the media throughout her career. Shortly after finishing college in 1913, she married Paul Wilson, and they had a daughter within a few years. Paul developed a serious mental illness, which turned their happy marriage upside down. Eventually, his illness became so severe that he was committed to a mental hospital. This was all kept from the public.

Life was a Balancing Act for Frances Perkins

Frances had to balance all the extraneous challenges of being a woman pioneering significant social changes in a man’s world with the harsh realities of her home life. Always the only woman in a room of men, on August 14, 1935, FDR and his cabinet met together to sign Social Security into law.

Historic Image

The image of that historic event speaks volumes about the pressures she endured. The signers seemed genuinely pleased, or, at least not unhappy; except the chief architect of the program, Frances Perkins. She appears to be deeply troubled by something else. Just before the signing, she received a phone call advising her that her husband had wandered away from the mental hospital and was lost somewhere in New York City. When the ceremony ended, she rushed to Union Station, where she got a train to the city. After hours of searching, she finally located her husband, disoriented and confused.

Dismissed From Her Job

After Roosevelt died, Truman dismissed her from her post. She accepted the position of Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission, which she held until her husband’s death in 1952.

Modest and Selfless – Frances Perkins

Later in life, Perkins wrote her memoir and credited FDR with most of her accomplishments,  even attributing her own ideas to his. A truly selfless person, she did not seek or want fame; she simply wanted social justice for all. She passed away in 1965 at the age of 85.

Recognized as a Saint

In 2009, the Episcopal Church recognized Frances Perkins as a notable saint, stating that, in faithfulness to her baptism, she “sought to build a society in which all may live in health and decency.”

Sources:

Newspaper articles noted in the narrative

A Woman Unafraid: The Achievements Of Frances Perkins P – February 26, 2010  by Penny Colman

The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance,  – Illustrated, February 23, 2010 by Kirstin Downey

Related Reading

• FDR and His Enemies: The Rise of Evangelism
• Defeated for Re-election, Some of FDR’s Programs Had Been Herbert Hoover’s Ideas
• The Price of Industrializing America: Children in the Workplace

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