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Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880[1][2] – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition. She advocated for immigrants’ rights as well. She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency (the other being Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes).

Key Information

Perkins's most important role came in developing a policy for social security in 1935. She also helped form government policy for working with labor unions, although some union leaders distrusted her. Perkins's Labor Department helped to mediate strikes by way of the United States Conciliation Service. She dealt with numerous labor issues during World War II, when skilled labor was vital to the economy and women were moving into jobs formerly held by men.[3]

Perkins was born in Boston. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, she briefly worked as a teacher and at the Hull House settlement in Chicago. She obtained graduate degrees at Columbia University and became a labor leader and consumer advocate in New York City, where she first met Roosevelt in 1910. Perkins was appointed a commissioner in New York City government and later in the state government. As the head of Roosevelt's Industrial Commission when he was governor of New York, she addressed the early effects of the Great Depression. When Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, Perkins was asked to join his cabinet and she presented him with a list of programs to help workers. She oversaw many New Deal programs during the Depression and labor programs during World War II. The Frances Perkins Building, headquarters of the U.S. Labor Department, is named for her, and she is remembered with a feast day in the Episcopal Church.

Early life

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Fannie Coralie Perkins was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Susan Ella Perkins (née Bean; 1849–1927) and Frederick William Perkins (1844–1916), the owner of a stationer's business (both of her parents originally were from Maine).[1] Fannie Perkins had one sister, Ethel Perkins Harrington (1884–1965).[4] The family could trace their roots to colonial America, and the women had a tradition of work in education.[5] She spent much of her childhood in Worcester, Massachusetts. Frederick loved Greek literature and passed that love on to Fannie.[4]

Perkins attended the Classical High School in Worcester. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Mount Holyoke College in 1902. While attending Mount Holyoke, Perkins discovered progressive politics and the suffrage movement.[6] She was named class president.[4] One of her professors was Annah May Soule, who assigned students to tour a factory to study working conditions;[7] Perkins recalled Soule's course as an important influence.[8]

Early career and continuing education

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After college, Perkins held a variety of teaching positions, including one from 1904 to 1906 where she taught chemistry at Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy), an all-girls school in Lake Forest, Illinois.[8] In Chicago, she volunteered at settlement houses, including Hull House, where she worked with Jane Addams.[8] She changed her name from Fannie to Frances[9] when she joined the Episcopal church in 1905.[10] In 1907, she moved to Philadelphia and enrolled at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School to learn economics, and spent two years in the city working as a social worker.[11] During this time, she joined the Socialist Party of America,[12][13] but left after a few years as she felt the party was too idealistic.[14] Shortly after, she moved to Greenwich Village, New York, where she attended Columbia University and became active in the suffrage movement. In support of the movement, Perkins attended protests and meetings, and advocated for the cause on street corners. She earned a master's degree in economics and sociology from Columbia in 1910.[15][16]

In 1910 Perkins achieved statewide prominence as head of the New York office of the National Consumers League[17] and lobbied with vigor for better working hours and conditions. She also taught as a professor of sociology at Adelphi College.[18] The next year, she witnessed the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a pivotal event in her life.[19] The factory employed hundreds of workers, mostly young women, but lacked fire escapes. In addition, the owner kept all the doors and stairwells locked in order to prevent employees from taking breaks. When the building caught fire, many workers tried unsuccessfully to escape through the windows.[20] Just a year before, these same women and girls had fought for the 54-hour work week and other benefits that Perkins had championed. One hundred and forty-six workers died. Perkins blamed lax legislation for the loss.[21]

As a consequence of this fire, Perkins left her position at the New York office of the National Consumers League and, on the recommendation of Theodore Roosevelt, became the executive secretary for the Committee on Safety of the City of New York, formed to improve fire safety.[10][22] As part of the Committee on Safety, Perkins investigated another significant fire at the Freeman plant in Binghamton, New York, in which 63 people died. In 1912,[23] she was instrumental in getting the New York legislature to pass a "54-hour" bill that capped the number of hours women and children could work.[24][17] Perkins pressed for votes for the legislation, encouraging proponents including Franklin D. Roosevelt to filibuster, while Perkins called state senators to make sure they could be present for the final vote.[24]

Marriage and personal life

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In 1913, Perkins married New York economist Paul Caldwell Wilson.[5] She kept her maiden name because she did not want her activities in Albany and New York City to affect the career of her husband, then the secretary to the New York City mayor.[5] She defended her right to keep her maiden name in court.[5] The couple had a daughter, Susanna, born in December 1916.[25] Less than two years later, Wilson began to show signs of mental illness.[25] He would be institutionalized frequently for mental illness throughout the remainder of their marriage.[26] Perkins had cut back slightly on her public life following the birth of her daughter, but returned after her husband's illness to provide for her family.[27] According to biographer Kirstin Downey, Susanna displayed "manic-depressive symptoms", as well.[28][29] Perkins shared the Georgetown, D.C. home of an old friend, Mary Harriman Rumsey, who had founded the Junior League in 1901, for less than 17 months, until Rumsey's death in 1934. Rumsey and Perkins's arrangement was for practical reasons, as a December 1933 Washington Post columnist had criticized Perkins for not meeting social obligations, due to her apartment accommodations. Later Perkins shared a home with Caroline O’Day, a Democratic congresswoman from New York.[3][30]

Return to work in New York

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Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Perkins held various positions in the New York state government. She had gained respect from the political leaders in the state. In 1919, she was added to the Industrial Commission of the State of New York by Governor Al Smith.[10] Her nomination was met with protests from both manufacturers and labor, neither of whom felt Perkins represented their interests.[31] Smith stood by Perkins as someone who could be a voice for women and girls in the workforce and for her work on the Wagner Factory Investigating Committee.[31] Although claiming the delay in Perkins's confirmation was not due to her gender, some state senators pointed to Perkins's not taking her husband's name as a sign that she was a radical.[32] Perkins was confirmed on February 18, 1919, becoming one of the first female commissioners in New York, and began working out of New York City.[33][32] The state senate-confirmed position made Perkins one of three commissioners overseeing the industrial code, and the supervisor of both the bureau of information and statistics and the bureau of mediation and arbitration.[32] The position also came with an $8,000 salary (equivalent to $145,000 in 2024), making Perkins the highest-paid woman in New York state government.[34] Six months into her job, her fellow Commissioner James M. Lynch called Perkins's contributions "invaluable," and added "[f]rom the work which Miss Perkins has accomplished I am convinced that more women ought to be placed in high positions throughout the state departments."[32]

In 1929, the newly elected New York governor, Franklin Roosevelt, appointed Perkins as the inaugural New York state industrial commissioner.[35][5] As commissioner, Perkins supervised an agency with 1,800 employees.[5]

Having earned the co-operation and the respect of various political factions, Perkins helped put New York in the forefront of progressive reform. She expanded factory investigations, reduced the workweek for women to 48 hours, and championed minimum wage and unemployment insurance laws. She worked vigorously to put an end to child labor and to provide safety for women workers.[10]

Secretary of Labor

[edit]
Secretary of Labor Perkins on the cover of Time (August 14, 1933)
Congressman Theodore Peyser and Perkins stand behind President Roosevelt as he signs the Wagner-Peyser Act (June 6, 1933)

In 1933, Roosevelt summoned Perkins to ask her to join his cabinet. Perkins presented Roosevelt with a long list of labor programs for which she would fight, from Social Security to minimum wage. "Nothing like this has ever been done in the United States before," she told Roosevelt. "You know that, don’t you?"[36] Agreeing to back her, Roosevelt nominated Perkins as Secretary of Labor. The nomination was met with support from the National League of Women Voters and the Women's Party.[37] The American Federation of Labor criticized the selection of Perkins because of a perceived lack of ties to labor.[37]

As secretary, Perkins oversaw the Department of Labor. Perkins went on to hold the position for 12 years, longer than any other Secretary of Labor and the fourth longest of any cabinet secretary.[38] She also became the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the United States, thus she became the first woman to enter the presidential line of succession.[39] The selection of a woman to the cabinet had been rumored in the four previous administrations, with Roosevelt being the first to follow through.[40] Roosevelt had witnessed Perkins's work firsthand during their time in Albany.[40] With few exceptions, President Roosevelt consistently supported the goals and programs of Secretary Perkins.

President Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, with Perkins among those witnessing the signing (third from right)[41]

Perkins was “the central architect of the New Deal”[42] and played a major role in its development by formulating policy, guiding legislation, and directing implementation.[17] As chair of the President's Committee on Economic Security, she was involved in all aspects of its advisory reports, including the Civilian Conservation Corps and the She-She-She Camps.[10] Her most important contribution was to help design the Social Security Act of 1935;[43][44] her role as chair of the Committee prepared the groundwork for what would ultimately become a landmark piece of legislation.[45]

Perkins created the Immigration and Naturalization Service.[46] She sought to implement liberal immigration policies but some of her efforts experienced pushback, especially in Congress.[46] Her goal to humanize the treatment of immigrants in the U.S. nonetheless led to some noteworthy successes in standing up against restrictive immigration practices, abolishing, for instance, the Bureau of Immigration’s “Section 24” squad, known for their illegal apprehension tactics which violated due process.[47][48]

Perkins went to Geneva between June 11 and 18, 1938. On June 13, she gave a speech at the International Labour Organization in which she called on the organization to make its contribution to the world economic recovery, while avoiding being dragged into political problems. She also defended the participation of the United States in the ILO, which it had joined in 1934[49][Note 1].

In 1939, she came under fire from some members of Congress for refusing to deport the communist head of the West Coast International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Harry Bridges. Ultimately, Bridges was vindicated by the Supreme Court.[51]

After the death of President Roosevelt in April 1945, Harry Truman replaced the Roosevelt cabinet, naming Lewis B. Schwellenbach as Secretary of Labor.[52][53] Perkins's tenure as secretary ended on June 30, 1945, with the swearing in of Schwellenbach.[53]

Later life

[edit]

Following her tenure as Secretary of Labor, in 1945, Perkins was asked by President Truman to serve on the United States Civil Service Commission,[45] which she accepted. In her post as commissioner, Perkins spoke out against government officials requiring secretaries and stenographers to be physically attractive, blaming the practice for the shortage of secretaries and stenographers in the government.[54] Perkins left the Civil Service Commission in 1952 when her husband died.[45] During this period, she also published a memoir of her time in the Roosevelt administration entitled, The Roosevelt I Knew (1946, ISBN 9780143106418), which covered her personal history with Franklin Roosevelt, starting from their meeting in 1910.[55]

Following her government service career, Perkins remained active and returned to educational positions at colleges and universities. She was a teacher and lecturer at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University until her death in 1965, at age 85. She also gave guest lectures at other universities, including two 15-lecture series at the University of Illinois Institute of Labor and Industrial relations in 1955 and 1958.[56]

At Cornell, she lived at the Telluride House where she was one of the first women to become a member of that renowned intellectual community. Kirstin Downey, author of The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience, dubbed her time at the Telluride House "probably the happiest phase of her life".[57]

Perkins is buried in the Glidden Cemetery in Newcastle, Maine.[58] She was also known locally as "Mrs. Paul Wilson" and is buried by that name.[59]

Legacy

[edit]
The Frances Perkins Building is the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the United States Department of Labor and is located at 200 Constitution Avenue NW and runs alongside Interstate 395.
The Frances Perkins House, a U.S. National Historic Landmark since 1991, in Washington, D.C.

Perkins is famous for being the first woman cabinet member, as well as from her policy accomplishments. She was heavily involved with many issues associated with the social safety net including, the creation of Social Security, unemployment insurance in the United States, the federal minimum wage, and federal laws regulating child labor.[60]

Frances Perkins championed the rights of immigrants. In her role as cabinet secretary, she facilitated the immigration of thousands of Jews to the U.S. from Germany and other European nations who were escaping Nazi persecution in the 1930s—including hundreds of Jewish children in collaboration with German Jewish Children's Aid—all in the face of American antisemitism and a restrictive immigration system.[61][62]

In 1967, the Telluride House and Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations established the Frances Perkins Memorial Fellowship.[63] In 1982, Perkins was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[64] In 2015, Perkins was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the 2015 LGBT History Month.[65] In 2019, she was announced as among the members of the inaugural class of the Government Hall of Fame.[66] Also that year, Elizabeth Warren used a podium built with wood salvaged from the Perkins Homestead.[67]

Character in historical context

[edit]

Perkins’s leadership has had a profound impact on women’s history in the United States by leading the way for women as they assume powerful roles in government.[45] Yet, as the first woman to become a member of the presidential cabinet, Perkins had an unenviable challenge: she had to be as capable, as fearless, as tactful, and as politically astute as the other Washington politicians, in order to make it possible for other women to be accepted into the halls of power after her.[68]

Perkins had a cool personality that held her aloof from the crowd. On one occasion, however, she engaged in some heated name-calling with Alfred P. Sloan, the chairman of the board at General Motors. During a punishing United Auto Workers strike, she phoned Sloan in the middle of the night and called him a scoundrel and a skunk for not meeting the union's demands. She said, "You don't deserve to be counted among decent men. You'll go to hell when you die." Sloan's late-night response was one of irate indignation.[69]

Her achievements indicate her great love of workers and lower-class groups, but her conservative upbringing held her back from mingling freely and exhibiting personal affection. She was well-suited for the high-level efforts to effect sweeping reforms, but never caught the public's eye or its affection.[70]

A plaque honoring Perkins at Boston's Logan Airport

Memorials and monuments

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President Jimmy Carter renamed the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., the Frances Perkins Building in 1980.[71] Perkins was honored with a postage stamp that same year.[72] Her home in Washington, D.C. from 1937 to 1940, and her Maine family home are both designated National Historic Landmarks.[73]

The Frances Perkins Center is a nonprofit organization located at the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2014.[74][75] In December 2024, the site was named a National Monument by President Joe Biden.[76]

On April 10, 2003, a historical marker honoring Perkins was dedicated in Homestead, Pennsylvania, at the southwest corner of 9th and Amity.[77]

On October 30, 2024, a plaque honoring Perkins was unveiled at 121 Washington Place in Greenwich Village, where Perkins once lived.[78]

Perkins remains a prominent alumna of Mount Holyoke College, whose Frances Perkins Program allows "women of non-traditional age" (i.e., age 24 or older) to complete a bachelor of arts degree. There are approximately 140 Frances Perkins scholars each year.[79]

Maine Department of Labor mural

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A mural depicting Perkins was displayed in the Maine Department of Labor headquarters,[80] the native state of her parents. On March 23, 2011, Maine's Republican governor, Paul LePage, ordered the mural removed. A spokesperson for the governor said he received complaints about the mural from state business officials and an "anonymous" fax charging that it was reminiscent of "communist North Korea where they use these murals to brainwash the masses".[81] LePage also ordered that the names of seven conference rooms in the state department of labor be changed, including one named after Perkins.[81] A lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court seeking "to confirm the mural's current location, ensure that the artwork is adequately preserved, and ultimately to restore it to the Department of Labor's lobby in Augusta".[82]

As of January 2013, the mural resides in the Maine State Museum, at the entrance to the Maine State Library and Maine State Archives.[83]

Veneration

[edit]

In 2022, Frances Perkins was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 13 May.[84]

[edit]

Perkins is a minor character in the 1977 Broadway musical Annie, in which she, alongside Harold Ickes, is ordered by Roosevelt to sing along to the song Tomorrow with the title character.[85] It is during this scene in the show that Roosevelt's cabinet comes up with the idea of the New Deal.

In the 1987 American movie Dirty Dancing, the lead character Frances "Baby" Houseman reveals that she was named after Perkins.[86]

David Brooks's 2015 book The Road to Character includes an extensive chapter biography of Perkins.[87]

Becoming Madam Secretary[88] is a novel by New York Times author Stephanie Dray that tells the story of Ms. Perkins’s life. It was copyrighted in 2024 and published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC in hard cover and paperback editions and by Thorndike Press in a large-type edition.

See also

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Notes

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Frances Perkins

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Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American social worker, administrator, and public official who served as the fourth from March 1933 to July 1945, the first woman appointed to a presidential Cabinet position and the longest tenure in that role to date. A graduate of and , Perkins began her career in social reform after witnessing the 1911 in , which spurred her advocacy for workplace safety and labor protections. As New York State's Industrial Commissioner under Governor , she advanced factory inspections, reduced workweeks for women, and promoted unemployment insurance precursors. In her Cabinet role under President Roosevelt, Perkins chaired the Committee on , which drafted the of 1935 establishing old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid for dependent children, while also contributing to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that set federal minimum wages, overtime pay, and child labor restrictions. Her efforts expanded the Department of Labor's influence during the and , though she faced opposition from business interests and congressional conservatives over perceived overreach in federal labor interventions. Perkins' tenure marked a shift toward involvement in worker welfare, influencing enduring U.S. frameworks despite critiques of fiscal sustainability and market distortions from such expansions.

Early Life and Education

Family Background and Upbringing

Fannie Coralie Perkins was born on April 10, 1880, in , , to Frederick William Perkins, a salesman who later owned a business, and Susan Ella Bean Perkins, both of whom hailed from . The family relocated to , when Perkins was two years old, settling into a comfortable middle-class existence supported by her father's enterprise. Her parents' union reflected contrasting backgrounds: Frederick embodied a reserved, patrician demeanor akin to sensibilities, while Susan maintained a more unadorned, practical outlook shaped by rural life. The Perkins family traced its lineage to colonial New England settlers, with deep roots among Maine farmers and craftsmen, fostering a Republican, conservative that emphasized self-reliance and traditional Protestant values. Summers were spent at the ancestral Brick House farm in Newcastle, , where Perkins engaged in outdoor activities and absorbed the rhythms of agrarian existence, contrasting with urban Worcester routines. This dual environment—urban stability intertwined with rural heritage—instilled in her an early appreciation for disciplined work and community interdependence, though her upbringing remained insulated from industrial poverty. As an only child in a household prioritizing education and moral rectitude, Perkins benefited from well-read parents who encouraged intellectual curiosity, laying groundwork for her later pursuits amid a dynamic marked by paternal and maternal domesticity. Her father's and the family's modest prosperity shielded her from economic hardship, enabling focus on rather than survival exigencies.

Academic Training and Influences

Perkins attended Worcester Classical High School, completing the college preparatory curriculum before enrolling at Mount Holyoke College in 1898. She graduated in 1902 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics, serving as class president during her studies. At Mount Holyoke, a course taught by Professor Annah May Soule required students to observe and report on local industrial working conditions, exposing Perkins to the harsh realities of factory labor, including child workers operating machinery without safety protections; this experience profoundly shifted her career interests from scientific research toward social reform. Following graduation, Perkins initially taught physics and chemistry at various schools while pursuing further academic training. In , she studied under Simon N. Patten at the University of Pennsylvania's , where Patten's emphasis on and the role of consumption in societal progress influenced her views on labor and welfare policy. Patten directed her to practical fieldwork at the New York School of Philanthropy (now the School of ), bridging theoretical study with applied social investigation. By 1909, she enrolled at , earning a in and in 1910 through part-time coursework combined with professional experience in settlement houses and labor advocacy. Her academic influences drew from Progressive Era reformers, including the empirical methods of social survey work promoted at institutions like the New York School of Philanthropy, which stressed data-driven analysis of urban poverty and industrial hazards over ideological advocacy. While not formally mentored in a traditional sense during her graduate studies, Perkins credited early exposures—such as Soule's assignments and Patten's lectures—with instilling a commitment to evidence-based policy, later evident in her insistence on statistical rigor for labor legislation. These formative experiences redirected her from pure science to interdisciplinary social economics, prioritizing causal links between workplace conditions and broader societal outcomes.

Early Career in Social Reform

Settlement House Work and Initial Advocacy

In 1902, following her graduation from , Frances Perkins relocated to , where she accepted teaching positions while volunteering her spare time at Chicago Commons and , two pioneering settlement houses dedicated to alleviating urban poverty and providing educational and social services to immigrant communities. At , founded by , Perkins participated in direct assistance programs, including , health clinics, and labor education initiatives, gaining firsthand exposure to the harsh realities of industrial exploitation and living among working-class families. By 1907, Perkins advanced to a paid role as general secretary of the Research and Protective Association (PRPA), an organization established by church and philanthropic groups to safeguard young immigrant women—often arriving alone from or rural America—from predatory employment practices, (termed "" at the time), and unsafe working environments. In this capacity, she conducted investigative fieldwork, interviewing over 500 cases of vulnerable girls and women, documenting systemic abuses such as low wages, extended hours without breaks, and recruitment into illicit trades, which informed early reports advocating for stricter oversight of employment agencies and moral safeguards. Perkins's settlement house experiences and PRPA tenure marked her entry into , emphasizing preventive over charity; she pushed for institutional reforms, including better of labor recruiters and protective homes for at-risk youth, drawing on empirical observations of causal links between unchecked , economic desperation, and exploitation. These efforts, though limited by the era's fragmented , built her expertise in evidence-based interventions, influencing her later campaigns for state-level labor protections.

Impact of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

On March 25, 1911, Frances Perkins, then a 30-year-old social worker with the Consumers League, was attending a meeting in when she heard fire sirens and commotion outside. She rushed to the scene of the at 23-29 , where flames rapidly engulfed the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the Asch Building, trapping approximately 500 garment workers—mostly young immigrant women—due to locked exit doors, inadequate fire escapes, and flammable materials. Perkins witnessed dozens of workers jumping to their deaths from the upper floors to escape the blaze, an event that killed 146 people and injured dozens more, exposing systemic failures in factory safety and building codes. The horror of the fire crystallized Perkins's commitment to industrial reform, transforming her from an observer in settlement house work to an active advocate for workplace protections. She later described the scene as a pivotal moment that "gave me a shock that I never recovered from," motivating her to prioritize fire prevention, sanitation, and labor standards in her career. This experience directly influenced her decision to accept an appointment in 1912 to the New York State Factory Investigating Commission (FIC), established by Governor John Dix in response to public outrage over the disaster and chaired by State Senator Robert F. Wagner. As chief investigator for the FIC, Perkins conducted over 2,000 inspections across New York factories, documenting hazardous conditions such as overcrowding, poor ventilation, and child labor, often traveling incognito to avoid detection. Her findings, presented in exhaustive reports and legislative testimonies, contributed to landmark reforms enacted between 1912 and 1914, including stricter fire safety laws mandating sprinklers and unlocked doors, improved building codes, limits on women's work hours to 54 per week (later reduced to 48), and prohibitions on industrial homework to curb exploitation. These measures positioned New York as a leader in progressive labor legislation and elevated Perkins's profile, paving the way for her subsequent roles as executive secretary of the Consumers League and New York State Industrial Commissioner.

Personal Life

Marriage, Family, and Domestic Choices

In 1913, Frances Perkins married Paul Caldwell Wilson, a New York economist working for , who later became . Perkins chose to retain her maiden name professionally, citing her established career in social reform as the rationale, and successfully defended this decision in court against conventions requiring women to adopt their husband's surname. This choice reflected her prioritization of professional identity over traditional marital norms, allowing her to maintain continuity in advocacy work without the risk of diminished recognition. The couple's daughter, Susanna Winslow Perkins Wilson, was born on May 4, 1916. Shortly thereafter, around 1917, Wilson began exhibiting symptoms of severe mental illness, characterized by temperamental behavior, heavy drinking, and manic-depressive episodes, which led to frequent institutionalizations throughout the remainder of their marriage. Perkins managed these challenges by hiring domestic staff, including a German couple for household duties and a for , enabling her to sustain her public career while overseeing family needs. Perkins effectively raised Susanna as a , as Wilson's condition confined him to mental institutions for much of their married life, though no formal occurred. She maintained strict privacy around her husband's illness to shield her family from public scrutiny and potential professional repercussions, balancing regular visits to him with her commitments to labor reform. This arrangement underscored Perkins' domestic strategy of resilience and delegation, prioritizing her daughter's stability and her own vocational pursuits amid personal adversity.

Health Struggles and Personal Sacrifices

Perkins faced severe health complications during her childbearing years. She experienced a in her first , followed by a second marked by acute illness, including , which necessitated a cesarean section and resulted in a stillborn . Despite these setbacks, she became pregnant again and gave birth to her only surviving , daughter Susanna, on December 30, 1916, after another difficult . Her family life imposed profound personal sacrifices, compounded by mental health crises among her husband and daughter. Paul Caldwell Wilson, whom she married in 1913, began exhibiting symptoms of manic depression in 1917, leading to excessive alcohol consumption, loss of his inheritance and employment, repeated institutionalizations in sanitariums, and eventual death from a stroke on December 31, 1952. Susanna also struggled with mental health issues, including manic-depressive episodes that strained their relationship, culminating in estrangement by 1965. Perkins shouldered sole financial and caregiving responsibilities for her family amid these challenges, returning to intensive public service roles—such as her positions in New York state government—to support them, while shielding her private turmoil from public scrutiny in an era when bipolar disorder lacked effective treatments or understanding. These burdens persisted alongside her demanding career, including long hours as Secretary of Labor, yet she prioritized family obligations without institutional support, forgoing personal stability for professional commitments to social reform.

New York State Public Service

Appointments to Labor Commissions

In January 1919, Governor Al Smith appointed Frances Perkins to the New York State Industrial Commission, marking her entry into formal state public service on labor matters; this body oversaw industrial safety, workers' compensation, and factory regulations. The appointment surprised Perkins, as she had no prior direct connection to Smith beyond collaborative reform efforts, yet it leveraged her expertise from earlier advocacy on workplace safety following the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. By 1922, Perkins had transitioned to serving as a commissioner on the restructured New York State Industrial Board, which absorbed functions of the prior commission and enforced labor laws amid post-World War I industrial expansion. In this role through 1926, she focused on inspections and compliance, addressing persistent issues like hazardous working conditions and inadequate enforcement that allowed violations to persist despite existing statutes. In 1926, Governor Smith elevated Perkins to chairwoman of the Industrial Board, positioning her to lead policy recommendations on minimum wages for women and children, though legislative resistance limited implementation to advisory capacities. This leadership highlighted her influence in advocating evidence-based reforms grounded in factory inspection data, rather than unverified union demands. Upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's election as governor in 1928, he appointed Perkins as the state's first female Industrial Commissioner in December 1928, effective January 1929; this role made her head of the Department of Labor, overseeing a budget of approximately $1.5 million and a staff enforcing laws across thousands of workplaces. As commissioner, she prioritized unemployment insurance studies and wage boards, drawing on empirical data from economic downturns to propose systems that balanced worker protections with business viability, though full enactment awaited federal action.

State-Level Reforms and Enforcement Challenges

Following her appointment to the New York State Industrial Commission in 1919 by Governor , Frances Perkins focused on implementing and strengthening labor protections derived from the Factory Investigating Commission's recommendations, including enhanced fire safety, ventilation, sanitation, and machine-guarding standards enacted between 1912 and 1914. These reforms addressed persistent industrial hazards exposed after the 1911 , with the commission's investigations of over 3,385 workplaces informing administrative rulemaking to prevent recurrence. In 1926, Perkins became the first woman to chair the Industrial Commission, where she oversaw the administration of the state's 1914 law, emphasizing efficient claims processing and safety compliance to provide financial relief for injured workers without protracted litigation. As Industrial Commissioner from 1929 to 1933 under Governor , Perkins advanced further reforms, including reducing the maximum workweek for women and children from 54 hours to 48 hours, a measure codified amid efforts to mitigate fatigue-related accidents and exploitation in garment and sectors. She also facilitated the strengthening of mechanisms for vulnerable workers, building on the state's 1913 by promoting wage boards to set industry-specific floors, and initiated studies leading to New York's 1931 unemployment insurance program modeled on European systems. These initiatives prioritized empirical assessments of working conditions, drawing from field inspections and data on stagnation and job loss during economic downturns. Enforcement proved challenging due to entrenched within the labor department, which undermined compliance with and compensation rules, prompting Perkins to prioritize purging graft and professionalizing inspections. Industrial opposition from employers, who viewed regulations as burdensome to profitability, led to frequent legal challenges and against expansions, while limited inspector resources—relative to the scale of New York's factories—resulted in uneven application, particularly in remote or small operations. Despite these hurdles, Perkins' administrative reforms, including closer coordination with labor unions and industry representatives, improved adjudication rates for workers' claims and laid groundwork for more robust state oversight, though full compliance often required sustained political pressure.

Appointment and Tenure as Secretary of Labor

Selection by FDR and Cabinet Confirmation Battles


Following Franklin D. Roosevelt's election as president in November 1932, he drew on his experience as New York , where Frances Perkins had served as Industrial Commissioner since 1929, to select her for his cabinet. On February 22, 1933, Roosevelt offered Perkins the position of Secretary of Labor, recognizing her expertise in labor reform and unemployment relief efforts amid the . Perkins accepted the nomination only after securing Roosevelt's agreement to pursue key initiatives she outlined, including a 40-hour workweek, laws, compensation, old-age , , abolition of child labor, and federal programs. This agenda formed the basis for much of the subsequent labor policies. The nomination encountered resistance from labor union leaders, such as Andrew Furuseth of the International Seamen's Union, who viewed Perkins as insufficiently aligned with organized labor's interests, preferring a traditional union figure over a social reformer seen as too conciliatory toward management. Additional opposition stemmed from gender-based skepticism among some senators and conservatives, who questioned a woman's capacity for the role in an era without precedent for female cabinet members. Nevertheless, Roosevelt's firm support and the urgency of the economic crisis facilitated a swift confirmation on March 4, 1933—the day of his —enabling Perkins to be sworn in immediately as the first woman to hold a U.S. presidential cabinet position. The process lacked extended hearings or a recorded vote tally, reflecting minimal procedural obstruction despite the voiced concerns.

Architectural Role in New Deal Labor Framework

Upon accepting the position of Secretary of Labor on March 4, 1933, Frances Perkins presented President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a detailed agenda for labor reform as a condition of her service, encompassing unemployment insurance, old-age insurance, a federal minimum wage, a 30- to 40-hour maximum workweek, universal workers' compensation, and the abolition of child labor. This blueprint served as the structural foundation for subsequent New Deal labor legislation, shifting from fragmented state-level protections toward a coordinated federal framework aimed at stabilizing employment and wages amid the Great Depression's 25% unemployment rate in 1933. Perkins' emphasis on these elements reflected her prior experience in New York state reforms, prioritizing empirical needs like relief from mass joblessness over ideological experimentation. Perkins promptly reorganized the Department of Labor to enhance its capacity for policy formulation and enforcement, creating of Labor Standards in to develop model state laws and promote uniformity in labor protections. She initiated a series of interstate conferences beginning in July to foster between federal and state governments, enabling the dissemination of best practices in factory inspection, wage standards, and hour limitations, which addressed inconsistencies that had previously undermined worker safeguards. This federal-state partnership model, exemplified by the Wagner-Peyser Act of June 16, , which established a national system of public employment offices under federal oversight, laid the groundwork for integrated labor market interventions without immediate centralization that might provoke constitutional challenges. In designing early recovery mechanisms, Perkins contributed to the architecture of relief agencies like the (FERA) in May 1933, which allocated $500 million in grants to states for direct aid, and the (CWA) later that year, employing 4 million workers in public projects while enforcing standards. Her oversight ensured these programs incorporated labor protections, such as priority hiring for the needy and anti-discrimination measures, establishing causal links between immediate relief and long-term structural reforms like standardized employment services. This approach prioritized verifiable outcomes—reducing relief rolls through job creation—over unproven expansions, though critics later noted dependencies fostered by such interventions.

Major Policy Initiatives

Social Security Act of 1935

In June 1934, amid the Great Depression's economic devastation, President issued an establishing the Committee on Economic Security (CES) to develop legislative proposals for addressing unemployment, old-age dependency, and related insecurities. Frances Perkins, as Secretary of Labor, chaired the committee, which included other cabinet members such as Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., Secretary of Agriculture , Attorney General Homer Cummings, and Federal Emergency Relief Administrator . Under her leadership, the CES assembled a technical board of federal experts, an advisory council of civic leaders, and a staff led by executive director Edwin Witte to conduct nationwide field visits, public hearings, and consultations with economists and policymakers. The CES focused on designing a self-financing system, emphasizing contributory mechanisms funded through taxes to distinguish it from temporary and ensure constitutional viability under the general welfare clause. Perkins advocated for core provisions including federal old-age insurance benefits, state-administered unemployment compensation, grants to states for old-age assistance for the needy, and aid to dependent children. Working groups addressed specific areas like old-age security and unemployment insurance, producing draft recommendations that balanced comprehensive coverage with political feasibility; proposals for were ultimately excluded due to opposition from business interests and fiscal conservatives. The 's final report, submitted to Roosevelt on January 15, 1935, formed the basis for the administration's bill introduced to on January 17. After debates and amendments, including compromises to exclude agricultural and domestic workers—predominantly employed in Southern states—the passed the House on April 19, the on June 19, and a reconciled differences by July 17. Roosevelt signed the Act into law on August 14, 1935, establishing Titles II for old-age benefits payable from 1942 onward, III for unemployment , IV for aid to dependent children, and I for old-age assistance grants. Perkins' insistence on an insurance framework over outright federal charity aimed to foster worker dignity and program sustainability, though initial benefits were modest and coverage limited to wage earners in commerce and industry.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

As Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins played a central role in advocating for and shaping the Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of , which established the first federal , overtime compensation, and restrictions on child labor in the United States. Enacted after years of legislative battles following the Supreme Court's invalidation of earlier wage-hour provisions in the National Industrial Recovery Act, the FLSA addressed exploitative labor conditions Perkins had witnessed firsthand, including her investigations into the 1911 that highlighted child labor hazards. Perkins conditioned her acceptance of the cabinet post in 1933 on the ability to pursue such reforms, viewing them as essential to preventing worker destitution amid the . The bill faced fierce opposition from business interests, who argued it would stifle employment and raise costs, as well as from concerned about impacts on and industries reliant on low-wage labor. Perkins employed diplomatic strategies, testifying before , building coalitions with labor unions, and compromising on coverage to exclude , domestic service, and certain small enterprises—limitations that preserved regional exemptions but ensured passage. Signed into law by President Roosevelt on June 25, 1938, and effective October 24, 1938, the FLSA set an initial of 25 cents per hour, mandated time-and-a-half pay for hours worked over 44 per week (phasing to 40 by 1940), and prohibited most employment of children under 16 in interstate commerce, with stricter rules for hazardous occupations up to age 18. Perkins' efforts extended to implementation, as she oversaw the creation of the Wage and Hour Division within the Department of Labor to enforce compliance through inspections and recordkeeping requirements for covered employers. The act applied initially to about 11 million workers in industries like and engaged in , though exemptions left significant gaps in protection for farmworkers and domestics, reflecting pragmatic trade-offs amid economic recovery priorities. Empirical data from the era showed pre-FLSA wages as low as 10-15 cents per hour in some sectors, with child labor affecting over 1 million minors under 16, underscoring the reforms' targeted intent to raise living standards without uniform application.

National Labor Relations Act and Union Policies

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), signed into law by President on July 5, 1935, guaranteed workers the right to form unions, engage in , and conduct strikes without employer retaliation, while prohibiting unfair labor practices such as discrimination against union members or interference in organizing efforts. The legislation created the independent (NLRB) to supervise union elections and adjudicate disputes, marking a shift from prior voluntary systems under the invalidated National Industrial Recovery Act. As Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins contributed to post-National Recovery Administration strategies by advancing constitutional mechanisms to protect organizing rights, including ideas for federal enforcement of amid the Supreme Court's May 1935 Schechter Poultry ruling that struck down industry codes. Perkins, alongside Roosevelt, advocated a "progressive middle course" in labor relations, balancing worker protections with economic recovery goals, though the NLRA's emphasis on union empowerment drew opposition from business groups fearing monopolistic union power. Her Department of Labor facilitated the Act's rollout by coordinating with the NLRB on enforcement and providing technical support for union certification processes. Empirical data reflect the policy's impact: union membership expanded from about 3 million in 1933 to roughly 9 million by 1940, driven by NLRB-backed organizing drives in industries like auto and steel. Perkins' broader union policies prioritized workers' self-organization and the use of economic leverage, such as strikes, to compel employer negotiations, viewing as essential to counter Depression-era wage suppression. She directed the Labor Department to promote consistent state-federal standards for union recognition and established mediation frameworks, including the U.S. Service, to avert prolonged disruptions while avoiding direct arbitration that might undermine autonomy. Throughout major organizing campaigns, Perkins consistently aligned with labor in disputes, endorsing federal intervention against employer resistance but critiquing internal union factionalism when it hindered stability. This pro-union stance facilitated rapid membership gains but correlated with heightened strike activity, exceeding 2,000 major work stoppages in alone, as newly empowered unions tested leverage.

Controversies and Criticisms

Accusations of Radical Associations

During her tenure as Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins faced accusations from congressional investigators and conservative critics of harboring radicals, particularly communists, within labor unions and government agencies. In 1939, Representative , chairman of the House Special Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), initiated proceedings against her, alleging that she had protected communist agitators and failed to enforce laws against aliens advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. The resolution specifically charged Perkins with complicity in a plot to subvert the by issuing labor certificates to suspected radicals, including Australian-born union leader , whose International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union had documented ties to the through its leadership and strikes in the 1930s. The Bridges case exemplified these claims: Despite evidence from FBI investigations and congressional testimony linking Bridges to communist organizations since the early 1930s, Perkins' Department of Labor granted him re-entry certificates in 1938 and opposed his deportation under the 1918 Alien Act, arguing insufficient proof of direct advocacy for violent overthrow. Critics, including Dies, contended this decision enabled communist infiltration of West Coast ports, citing Bridges' role in the 1934 general strike and his public endorsements of Soviet policies. The impeachment effort failed due to lack of evidence for criminal intent, but it amplified broader allegations that Perkins' enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act (1935) tolerated radical organizers in the (CIO), where communist-led unions like the United Electrical Workers gained footholds. Perkins also drew fire for purported early associations with socialist and radical reformers, including her time at in (1907–1910), where she collaborated with figures like , a Marxist-influenced advocate for child labor laws whose writings drew from European socialist models. Detractors produced forged documents claiming Perkins attended communist meetings in the 1920s and maintained ties to the Socialist Party, though these were later discredited as fabrications amid the era's . Perkins denied personal communist affiliations, emphasizing her Episcopalian faith and commitment to pragmatic reforms, but opponents like Father and isolationist newspapers portrayed her advocacy as veiled socialism, fueling hate mail accusing her of "red" sympathies. These charges often intertwined with antisemitic tropes falsely depicting her as a hidden Jewish radical, despite her documented Protestant background, highlighting how policy disputes escalated into personal vilification. While Perkins' defenders dismissed the accusations as politically motivated smears against progressive labor policies, empirical reviews of declassified files reveal that her administration's lax oversight did allow some verified communist operatives to secure union positions, contributing to internal CIO purges of radicals by 1940. persisted into her resignation in 1945, with critics arguing her tolerance of such elements undermined during , though no formal convictions resulted and her role in anti-subversive intelligence efforts was later acknowledged.

Economic and Business Opposition

Business leaders and organizations, including the (NAM) and the U.S. , mounted vigorous opposition to Frances Perkins' key initiatives, particularly the of 1935, contending that its mandatory payroll taxes—initially 1% each on employers and employees rising to 3% by 1949—imposed unsustainable financial burdens and eroded private sector autonomy in managing workforce benefits. NAM's , James A. Emery, testified before that the proposed old-age insurance system lacked sound actuarial basis and would foster dependency on government rather than individual or employer-provided solutions. Critics within these groups framed the legislation as a gateway to centralized , with NAM labeling aspects of the broader [New Deal](/page/New Deal) framework, including Perkins' contributions, as veering toward "socialistic control of life and industry." The Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of , establishing a federal of $0.25 per hour, a 44-hour workweek (phasing to 40 hours), and child labor restrictions, drew fierce resistance from and industries, which argued that uniform standards disadvantaged low-wage regions like the and would elevate production costs by 20-30% in some sectors, potentially leading to layoffs and business closures. Southern industrialists and national trade associations lobbied intensely against the bill Perkins helped draft, warning that it interfered with contractual freedom and market-driven wage setting, with opponents like the NAM asserting it would stifle small enterprises unable to absorb compliance expenses. Perkins' support for the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) of 1935 further alienated business interests, as it empowered the to enforce union elections and prohibit employer interference, which critics claimed tilted bargaining power disproportionately toward organized labor, resulting in strikes that disrupted production—over 2,000 major work stoppages by —and escalated labor costs without corresponding productivity gains. Employer groups, including elements of the , decried the act as an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority that undermined managerial prerogatives, with some executives forming anti-union campaigns to counter what they saw as Perkins' pro-labor bias in administration. This opposition manifested in coordinated and legal challenges, reflecting broader economic concerns that Perkins' regulatory approach prioritized worker protections over business viability amid the Depression.

Long-Term Policy Drawbacks and Empirical Critiques

The of 1935, championed by Perkins, established a pay-as-you-go system that has resulted in chronic fiscal imbalances, with the Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund projected to be depleted by 2035, necessitating either a 21% across-the-board benefit reduction or equivalent revenue increases absent reforms. This structure, reliant on current workers funding retirees, has exacerbated intergenerational inequities, as demographic shifts including longer lifespans and lower birth rates have widened the worker-to-beneficiary ratio from 42:1 in to approximately 2.8:1 in 2023, straining payroll taxes that now exceed 12.4% of wages up to an income cap. Empirical analyses indicate the program discourages private saving by substituting public benefits for personal retirement preparation, with estimates suggesting it reduced rates by up to 30% in its early decades, contributing to lower and long-term . The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which Perkins advocated for including provisions initially set at $0.25 per hour, has been linked to persistent disemployment effects among low-skilled workers, particularly and minorities, through empirical meta-analyses showing elasticities of to floors ranging from -0.1 to -0.3, implying 1-3% job losses per 10% hike. Longitudinal studies of FLSA expansions, such as coverage extensions in the 1940s-1960s, reveal elevated teen rates in affected sectors, with non-white experiencing up to 5-10% higher joblessness compared to pre-act baselines, as employers substituted capital for labor or reduced hiring to offset mandated costs. These distortions have compounded over time, fostering black markets and skill mismatches that hinder workforce entry for the least advantaged, contrary to the act's protective intent. Perkins's support for the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 empowered unions via protected organizing and bargaining rights, but long-term data indicate it fostered wage rigidities and adversarial that reduced manufacturing flexibility, with unionized firms showing 10-20% lower growth rates from 1940-1980 due to seniority-based rules and resistance to technological adoption. Strikes surged post-enactment, averaging over 2,000 annually in the late versus under 1,000 pre-1935, disrupting output and contributing to prolonged recovery lags in union-heavy industries, as evidenced by sector-specific output gaps persisting into the . Econometric evaluations attribute part of the U.S. decline to NLRA-induced union monopoly power, which elevated labor costs by 15-25% above competitive levels, accelerating and in response to inelastic supply demands.

Postwar Transition and Later Years

Resignation and Advisory Roles

Perkins tendered her resignation as Secretary of Labor on May 23, 1945, shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, to enable President to assemble his own cabinet; her tenure officially ended on June 30, 1945, marking the longest service of any individual in that position at 12 years, 3 months, and 26 days. Truman praised her "untiring service" in his acceptance letter but sought a replacement aligned with his administration's priorities, appointing Lewis B. Schwellenbach effective July 1, 1945. Following her resignation, Perkins led the delegation to the (ILO) conference in , arriving in October 1945 alongside delegates including Senator Elbert D. Thomas and industrialist James Zellerbach; this role facilitated U.S. full membership and participation in the ILO, an organization she had supported during her cabinet tenure to advance international labor standards. In October 1946, Truman appointed Perkins to the , where she served until resigning in 1953 following the death of her husband, Paul Wilson Caldwell, on , 1952; during her time on the commission, she advocated against in federal hiring practices, drawing on her prior experience in labor policy to promote merit-based employment free from political patronage or bias. Perkins's commission work emphasized efficiency and equity in the federal workforce, though it operated amid postwar bureaucratic expansions that some contemporaries critiqued for entrenching New Deal-era administrative growth.

Academic Positions and Writings

Following her resignation from the U.S. in 1953, Perkins accepted a professorship at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, where she taught courses on and policy until her death in 1965. She focused her lectures on the practical implementation of labor reforms, drawing from her experiences in the administration, and emphasized the role of government in mediating industrial disputes. Perkins also held visiting or adjunct roles at institutions such as and the University of , delivering guest lectures on social welfare and workers' rights during the late 1940s and early 1950s. In her writings, Perkins produced "The Roosevelt I Knew," a published in 1946 by , which detailed her collaboration with President on key labor legislation, including the . The book, based on her personal observations and documents, presented Roosevelt's leadership style and policy decisions without idealization, attributing successes to pragmatic alliances between labor, business, and government rather than ideological purity. She supplemented this with numerous articles, pamphlets, and speeches on , often critiquing postwar labor-management tensions and advocating for voluntary cooperation over coercive state intervention. Perkins's later essays, published in academic journals and labor periodicals, analyzed the limitations of wartime controls and called for empirical of unemployment insurance outcomes based on state-level data from and .

Final Years and Death

Following her retirement from the U.S. in 1953, Perkins maintained an active schedule of teaching and public lecturing into her eighties, emphasizing and . From 1955 to 1965, she served as a visiting professor at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, where she delivered lectures drawing on her extensive government experience. She also held visiting positions at and the University of , and in spring 1960, she was a guest in residence at Cornell's Telluride Association. Perkins continued these engagements until approximately two weeks before her death, underscoring her enduring influence in education despite advancing age. On May 14, 1965, she suffered a and died at Midtown Hospital in at the age of 85. She was buried in Glidden Cemetery, Newcastle, , alongside her husband, Paul Caldwell Wilson.

Legacy and Reassessments

Achievements in Worker Protections

As the first female U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, Frances Perkins played a central role in advancing federal worker protections through key legislation. She chaired the Committee on Economic Security in 1934, which drafted the framework for the signed into law on August 14, 1935. This act established a national system of old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children, providing a foundational safety net for workers against economic hardship. Perkins also spearheaded efforts leading to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), enacted on June 25, 1938, which set a federal of $0.25 per hour, mandated time-and-a-half overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per week, and prohibited most child labor for those under 16. The FLSA covered interstate commerce workers, affecting millions by standardizing basic labor standards previously left to inconsistent state laws. Her advocacy built on earlier initiatives, including 1933 conferences of state minimum wage boards to promote uniformity. In labor organizing, Perkins contributed to the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), passed on July 5, 1935, which guaranteed private sector employees the right to unionize, bargain collectively, and engage in protected concerted activities, while creating the to oversee fair elections and address unfair practices. This legislation marked a shift from prior judicial hostility toward unions, enabling significant growth in organized labor membership from about 3 million in 1933 to over 9 million by 1939. Additionally, the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, which Perkins helped implement, created the U.S. Employment Service to coordinate job placement and reduce unemployment through a national network of public employment offices. These reforms collectively addressed Depression-era vulnerabilities, establishing enduring federal mechanisms for wage floors, workplace safety nets, and collective bargaining rights.

Critiques of Government Expansion

Critics of Frances Perkins' contributions to the New Deal have argued that her advocacy for expansive federal labor and welfare programs fundamentally altered the scope of government intervention in the economy, establishing precedents for bureaucratic overreach and fiscal unsustainability. As the architect of initiatives like the Social Security Act of 1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Perkins helped institutionalize federal agencies and entitlements that shifted responsibilities from private enterprise and local charity to Washington, D.C., thereby increasing the federal workforce and regulatory apparatus. By 1940, federal civilian employment had more than doubled from pre-Depression levels, reflecting the administrative bloat associated with New Deal programs under her Department of Labor. Economists and policy analysts, particularly from free-market perspectives, contend that these expansions prolonged the Great Depression by distorting labor markets and discouraging private investment through measures like minimum wages and collective bargaining mandates, which Perkins championed via the National Industrial Recovery Act. Long-term, the welfare frameworks she helped design, including unemployment insurance and old-age pensions, fostered dependency rather than self-reliance, as evidenced by the sustained growth of entitlement spending that now constitutes a significant portion of the federal budget—over 60% in recent decades—and contributes to intergenerational debt transfer. Conservative commentators, such as those echoing Ronald Reagan's views, have highlighted how such bureaucratic proliferation under New Deal architects like Perkins deviated from constitutional limits on federal power, prioritizing centralized planning over individual initiative and market signals. Empirical reassessments further critique the causal chain from Perkins' policies to diminished economic dynamism, noting that federal spending as a share of GDP rose from about 3% in 1930 to over 10% by the late , crowding out recovery and setting the stage for postwar entitlement expansions. While proponents credit these reforms with humanitarian gains, detractors, including historians like , argue they entrenched inefficiency and political favoritism, as programs often served coalition-building over pure economic relief, ultimately undermining the very prosperity they aimed to restore. This expansionist legacy, per these views, prioritized state , leading to higher taxes, costs for businesses, and a cultural shift toward viewing as the primary solver of social ills.

Memorials, Honors, and Ongoing Debates

The United States Department of Labor headquarters, located at 200 Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Frances Perkins Building in 1980 to honor her tenure as the department's longest-serving secretary. On December 16, 2024, President Joe Biden designated her homestead in Newcastle, Maine, as the Frances Perkins National Monument, administered by the National Park Service, recognizing her role in advancing labor protections and New Deal initiatives. The Frances Perkins Center, based in her birthplace of Boston, Massachusetts, continues to award honors to individuals advancing social justice and economic security in her name. A plaque commemorating Perkins' contributions is displayed at Boston's , highlighting her roots and national impact. Ongoing debates surrounding Perkins' legacy focus on the balance between her pioneering worker protections and the broader economic consequences of the policies she championed. While supporters credit her with establishing foundational safeguards like the 40-hour workweek and Social Security, critics contend that labor regulations, including those she enforced, contributed to prolonged unemployment and wage rigidities during the by distorting market signals and discouraging business investment. These critiques, echoed in economic analyses, argue that such interventions prioritized short-term relief over long-term growth, fostering dependency on government programs whose fiscal strains persist today. Her refusal to deport suspected communist labor leaders, such as , has also sustained discussions about the influence of radical elements in early union movements under her oversight.

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  84. https://www.hillsdale.edu/educational-outreach/free-market-forum/2006-archive/the-new-deal-reputation-and-reality/
  85. https://studycorgi.com/franklin-d-roosevelts-federal-bureaucracy/
  86. https://fee.org/articles/fdr-s-new-deal-worsened-and-prolonged-the-great-depression/
  87. https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_581.pdf
  88. https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/critics-of-bureaucratic-government-herbert-hoover-and-ronald-reagan
  89. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/011116/economic-effects-new-deal.asp
  90. https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/visit
  91. https://www.nps.gov/frpe/
  92. https://francesperkinscenter.org/programs-events/awards-honorees/
  93. https://kids.kiddle.co/Frances_Perkins
  94. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/thomas-kochan-what-would-frances-perkins/
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