Title: The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
Author: Kristin Downey
Pages: 480 Pages (Hardcover)
Published: 2009
One Sentence Review: Kristin Downey paints a picture in this terrific biography that looks at one of the most influential forgotten figures of the 20th century.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the face and name people remember when the New Deal is mentioned, but Frances Perkins is the heart and soul of the New Deal. Despite considerable personal household and financial problems, her fight to improve living standards for all Americans is an inspiring story. It’s certainly worth one worth remembering. Born Fannie Coralie Perkins, her life can be defined as one for social advocacy.
Her advocacy became all the more important after being a witness to the terrible Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York. Women and some men who worked in terrible conditions were forced to either die because of the flames or die jumping from high off the building in order to escape the flames. Frances Perkins made allies out of some of the most interesting figures or institutions, including the infamous Tammany Hall and President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. The ally that would end up most defining her own work and America is President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Frances Perkins fought for unemployment compensation when it didn’t exist. She fought for child labors in order to protect children who in many cases were forced to work in factories at the age of ten and were unable to get a education because of it. She fought for a forty-hour workweek, something that is sometimes forgotten didn’t always existed. She was the first female Cabinet secretary, living in a political world where the majority of men (but not Roosevelt) looked down at her and her ideas simply because of her gender. However, she was able to overcome these obstacles in order to become arguably the most important Secretary of Labor in this country’s history.
At the height of the Great Depression when FDR took office, it was Frances Perkins among others who fought for the public works programs that helped put millions of Americans back to work. Also worth mentioning is her time spent as head of the Immigration Service as Secretary of Labor. Her fight to bring European refugees (especially German Jews) to the United States at the dawn of Hitler’s reign is courageous considering how unpopular it was amongst many people. Especially since she was risking her job when she needed it most.
It’s fascinating to watch her push for a National Health Insurance program, over seventy years before the United States finally implemented one to a certain extent. Her finest moment of all her accomplishments was arguably the creation of Social Security. The same Social Security (although criticized today) helped lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty and has helped countless generations.
Overall, The Woman Behind the New Deal is a look at one of the most interesting women of the 20th century. Her accomplishments and drive helped changed the United States for the better. Her biography by Kristin Downey is well-detailed and most certainly worth reading.
I’d give The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kristin Downey 5 out of 5 stars.
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