View source for Frances Perkins

{{Short description|American workers rights advocate (1880–1965)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image       = PERKINS, FRANCES LCCN2016862692 (cropped).jpg
|office1     = 4th [[United States Secretary of Labor]]
|president1   = [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]<br />[[Harry S. Truman]]
|term_start1  = March 4, 1933
|term_end1    = June 30, 1945
|predecessor1 = [[William N. Doak]]
|successor1   = [[Lewis B. Schwellenbach]]
|office2    = Member of the<br />[[United States Civil Service Commission]]
|president2 = Harry S. Truman
|term_start2 = 1945
|term_end2 = 1953
|successor2 = [[Frederick Lawton]]
|birth_name  = Fannie Coralie Perkins
|birth_date  = {{birth date|1880|4|10}}
|birth_place = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_date  = {{death date and age|1965|5|14|1880|4|10}}
|death_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
|party       = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse      = Paul Wilson (m. 1913; died 1952)
|children    = 1
|education   = {{nowrap|[[Mount Holyoke College]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])}}<br />[[Columbia University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])<br />[[University of Pennsylvania]]
{{labeldata|Work institutions|[[Cornell University]]<br />[[Telluride Association]]}}
}}

'''Frances Perkins''' (born '''Fannie Coralie Perkins'''; April 10, 1880<ref name="1880Census">{{cite web |title=Fannie Perkins |url=http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/census/individual_record.asp?INDI_CODE=1880US_4819520_2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926224147/http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/census/individual_record.asp?INDI_CODE=1880US_4819520_2 |archive-date=September 26, 2011 |access-date=June 5, 2011 |work=[[1880 United States Census]] |publisher=FamilySearch.org |quote=Birthplace: Ma; Age: 2 months; Head of Household: Fred Perkins; Relation: Daughter; Census Place: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |title= Volume 315, Page 132
 |url= http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=120191571
 |work= Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910
 |publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society
 |access-date=June 5, 2011
 |quote= Fannie Coralie Perkins; 1880; Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts; Birth}} {{subscription required}}
</ref> – 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 (United States)|Democratic Party]], Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a [[Cabinet of the United States|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 was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency (the other being Interior Secretary [[Harold L. Ickes]]).

Perkins's most important role came in developing a policy for [[Social Security (United States)|social security]] in 1935. She also helped form government policy for working with [[Labor unions in the United States|labor unions]], although some union [[leader]]s 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&nbsp;II]], when skilled labor was vital to the economy and women were moving into jobs formerly held by men.<ref name=":1">Downey, Kirstin. ''The Woman Behind the New Deal'', 2009, p. 250.</ref>

==Early life==
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]]).<ref name=1880Census/> Fannie Perkins had one sister, Ethel Perkins Harrington (1884–1965).<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1933-03-05/ed-1/seq-37/|title=Graduate of Hull House and Former Associate of Jane Addams, She's a Careful Student of Sociology|date=March 5, 1933|work=Evening Star|access-date=December 24, 2018|pages=9|issn=2331-9968}}</ref> The family could trace their roots to colonial America, and the women had a tradition of work in education.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 4" /> She spent much of her childhood in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]. Frederick loved Greek literature and passed that love on to Fannie.<ref name=":5" />

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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102959041|title=Frances Perkins, 'The Woman Behind the New Deal'|last=Corrigan|first=Maureen|date=April 16, 2009|work=NPR|access-date=December 24, 2018}}</ref> She was named class president.<ref name=":5" /> One of her professors was [[Annah May Soule]], who assigned students to tour a factory to study working conditions;<ref>[https://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm204.html Annah May Soule Papers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424150019/http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm204.html |date=April 24, 2019 }}, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.</ref> Perkins recalled Soule's course as an important influence.<ref name=":2" />

==Early career and continuing education==
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]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://francesperkinscenter.org/life-new/|title=Her Life: The Woman Behind the New Deal |website=francesperkinscenter.org|access-date=December 24, 2018}}</ref> In Chicago, she volunteered at [[settlement house]]s, including [[Hull House]], where she worked with [[Jane Addams]].<ref name=":2" /> She changed her name from Fannie to Frances<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aspace.fivecolleges.edu/repositories/2/resources/138|title=Collection: Frances Perkins collection &#124; Mount Holyoke and Hampshire College archives|website=aspace.fivecolleges.edu}}</ref> when she joined the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal church]] in 1905.<ref name="Kennedy, Susan E 2000">Kennedy, Susan E. "Perkins, Frances". American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press, Feb. 2000. Web. March 27, 2013.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 22, 2021|title=Frances Perkins|url=https://www.nps.gov/people/frances-perkins.htm|access-date=June 27, 2021|website=National Park Service}}</ref> 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.<ref>Downey, Kristin. ''The Woman Behind the New Deal''. Anchor Books, 2010, pp. 11, 25.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Blumberg |first1=Barbara |title=Perkins, Frances |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3404500417/GPS?u=mlin_n_westford&sid=GPS&xid=e2da82c2 |website=Gale Reference Library |publisher=Gale |access-date=November 29, 2020}}</ref>

In 1910 Perkins achieved statewide prominence as head of the New York office of the [[National Consumers League]]<ref name="francesperkinscenter.org">{{Cite web|url=https://francesperkinscenter.org/life-new/|title=Frances Perkins Center {{!}} Her Life: The Woman Behind the New Deal|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref> and [[lobbying|lobbied]] with vigor for better working hours and conditions. She also taught as a professor of sociology at [[Adelphi University|Adelphi College]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_4079571/index.html|title=Frances Perkins papers, 1895–1965|website=www.columbia.edu|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-date=July 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715021127/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_4079571/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The next year, she witnessed the tragic [[Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire]], a pivotal event in her life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/lectures/FrancesPerkinsLecture.html|title=Cornell University – ILR School – The Triangle Factory Fire – Lecture by Frances Perkins|website=trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu|access-date=2018-07-31}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-people/frances-perkins|title=Frances Perkins|website=aflcio.org|access-date=December 24, 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86058226/1913-08-20/ed-1/seq-1/|title=Young Woman Expert Probing Fatal Fire|date=August 20, 1913|work=The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram|access-date=December 26, 2018|issn=2572-8911}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Kennedy, Susan E 2000" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93055779/1912-07-29/ed-1/seq-2/|title=Suffragette News|date=July 29, 1912|work=The Cairo bulletin.|access-date=December 26, 2018|pages=2|issn=2381-3172}}</ref> As part of the Committee on Safety, Perkins investigated another significant fire at the [[1913 Binghamton Factory fire|Freeman plant]] in [[Binghamton, New York]], in which 63 people died. In 1912,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Buffalo News 20 Apr 1912, page 8 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/352613316/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 3">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1933-02-19/ed-1/seq-23/|title=Frances Perkins, Crusader|last=Parkhurst|first=Genevieve|date=February 19, 1933|work=Evening Star|access-date=December 24, 2018|pages=3|issn=2331-9968}}</ref><ref name="francesperkinscenter.org"/> 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.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 3" />

== Marriage and personal life ==
In 1913, Perkins married New York economist Paul Caldwell Wilson.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 4" /> 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.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 4" /> She defended her right to keep her maiden name in court.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 4">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1933-02-19/ed-1/seq-23/|title=Frances Perkins, Crusader|last=Parkhurst|first=Genevieve|date=February 19, 1933|work=Evening Star|access-date=December 24, 2018|pages=4|issn=2331-9968}}. This newspaper article does not make any reference to an actual court case. The phrase that she "defended her right to keep her maiden name in court" was often used in newspaper articles about her, but even in Downey's recent biography of 2009, there is no mention of such a court proceeding.</ref> The couple had a daughter, Susanna, born in December 1916.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=http://www.findarticles.com/?noadc=1|title=Labor Hall of Fame: Frances Perkins and the flowering of economic and social policies|last=Berg|first=Gordon|date=June 1989|website=www.findarticles.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050418003620/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_n6_v112/ai_7847159|archive-date=April 18, 2005|access-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref> Less than two years later, Wilson began to show signs of mental illness.<ref name=":11" /> He would be institutionalized frequently for mental illness throughout the remainder of their marriage.<ref>Downey, Kirstin. The Woman Behind the New Deal, 2009, p. 2.</ref> 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.<ref name="Shiff">{{cite book|title=Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America|author=Karenna Gore Schiff|publisher=Miramax Books/Hyperion|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4013-5218-9|oclc=62302578|url=https://archive.org/details/lightingwayninew00schi}}</ref> According to biographer [[Kirstin Downey]], Susanna displayed "[[Bi-polar disorder|manic-depressive]] symptoms", as well.<ref>Downey, Kirstin. ''The Woman Behind the New Deal'', 2009, p. 380.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/places/frances-perkins-house.htm|title=Frances Perkins House (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov|access-date=2019-01-05}}</ref> 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 a year, 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 Love Goodwin O'Day|Caroline O’Day]], a Democratic congresswoman from New York.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Preservation of LGBTQ Heritage (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/lgbtqtheme-preservation.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227194328/https://www.nps.gov/articles/lgbtqtheme-preservation.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>

== Return to work in New York ==
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]].<ref name="Kennedy, Susan E 2000"/> Her nomination was met with protests from both manufacturers and labor, neither of whom felt Perkins represented their interests.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-01-16/ed-1/seq-7/|title=Frances Perkins Opposed as Industrial Official|date=January 16, 1919|work=New-York tribune|access-date=December 26, 2018|pages=7|issn=1941-0646}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":9" /> 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.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-08-03/ed-1/seq-67/|title=New York's New Citizen Makes Good as an Officeholder and Paves the Way for Future Appointments|date=August 3, 1919|work=New-York tribune|access-date=December 27, 2018|issn=1941-0646}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-02-20/ed-1/seq-11/|title=Miss Perkins to Begin Work for State To-day|date=February 20, 1919|work=New-York tribune|access-date=December 27, 2018|pages=11|issn=1941-0646}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> 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.<ref name=":10" /> The position also came with an $8,000 salary ({{inflation|US|8000|1919|r=-3|fmt=eq}}), making Perkins the highest-paid woman in New York state government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86091349/1919-02-21/ed-1/seq-2/|title=Miss Frances Perkins|date=February 21, 1919|work=[[Pioche Record|The Pioche Record]]|access-date=February 10, 2025|issn=2472-176X|via=[[Chronicling America]]}}</ref> 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."<ref name=":10" />

In 1929, the newly elected New York governor, Franklin Roosevelt, appointed Perkins as the inaugural New York state industrial commissioner.<ref>[http://www.labor.ny.gov/about/history.shtm Our History – New York State Department of Labor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312221431/http://www.labor.ny.gov/about/history.shtm |date=March 12, 2012 }}. Labor.ny.gov (March 25, 1911). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref><ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 4" /> As commissioner, Perkins supervised an agency with 1,800 employees.<ref name="Parkhurst, Crusader, page 4" />

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.<ref name="Kennedy, Susan E 2000"/>

==Secretary of Labor==
[[File:Frances Perkins TIME FC 1933.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Secretary of Labor Perkins on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' (August 14, 1933)]]
[[File:Wagner-Peyser-Act-1933.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Congressman [[Theodore A. Peyser|Theodore Peyser]] and Perkins stand behind President [[Franklin&nbsp;D. Roosevelt|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?"<ref>{{cite web|title=The Woman Who Brought You the Weekend|url= https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2019/8/28/the-woman-who-brought-you-the-weekend |website=The Attic|access-date=November 5, 2019}}</ref> Agreeing to back her, Roosevelt nominated Perkins as [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]]. The nomination was met with support from the [[League of Women Voters|National League of Women Voters]] and the Women's Party.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1933-03-01/ed-1/seq-3/|title=Green Hits Choice of Miss Perkins|last=Associated Press|date=March 1, 1933|work=Evening Star|access-date=December 24, 2018|pages=A–3|issn=2331-9968}}</ref> The [[American Federation of Labor]] criticized the selection of Perkins because of a perceived lack of ties to labor.<ref name=":6" />

As secretary, Perkins oversaw the [[United States Department of Labor|Department of Labor]]. Perkins went on to hold the position for 12 years, longer than any other [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]] and the [[List of United States Cabinet members who have served more than eight years|fourth longest of any cabinet secretary]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/fdr-labor-secretary-frances-perkins-winslent-madness-tournament/2013/03/28/6a2b5240-97ed-11e2-b5b4-b63027b499de_story.html |title=FDR Labor Secretary Frances Perkins wins 'Lent Madness' tournament |last=Markoe |first=Lauren |date=March 28, 2013 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=March 2, 2018 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> She also became the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the United States, thus she became the first woman to enter the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/125anniversaryissue/perkins.html|title=125 Influential People and Ideas: Frances Perkins|date=Spring 2007|work=Wharton Alumni Magazine|publisher=Wharton.upenn.edu|access-date=March 12, 2017|archive-date=March 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313044421/https://www.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/125anniversaryissue/perkins.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The selection of a woman to the cabinet had been rumored in the four previous administrations, with Roosevelt being the first to follow through.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1933-03-05/ed-1/seq-24/|title=The New Cabient|date=March 5, 1933|work=Evening Star|access-date=December 24, 2018|pages=4|issn=2331-9968}}</ref> Roosevelt had witnessed Perkins's work firsthand during their time in Albany.<ref name=":7" /> With few exceptions, President Roosevelt consistently supported the goals and programs of Secretary Perkins.

[[File:Signing Of The Social Security Act.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|President Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, with Perkins among those witnessing the signing (third from right)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ssa.gov/history/1930.html |title=History 1930 |publisher= [[Social Security Administration]] }}</ref>]]

Perkins played a role in the [[New Deal]] by helping to write legislation. 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]].<ref name="Kennedy, Susan E 2000" /> Her most important contribution was to help design the [[Social Security Act]] of 1935.<ref>Thomas N.Bethell, "Roosevelt Redux". ''American Scholar'' 74.2 (2005): 18–31 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41222489 online], a popular account.</ref><ref>G. John Ikenberry, and Theda Skocpol, "Expanding social benefits: The role of social security." ''Political Science Quarterly'' 102.3 (1987): 389-416. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2151400 online]</ref>

Perkins created the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Hernandez |first=Neil V. |date=2023 |title=Labor Secretary Frances Perkins Reorganizes Her Department's Immigration Enforcement Functions, 1933–1940: "Going against the Grain" |journal=Journal of Policy History |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=33–67 |doi=10.1017/S0898030622000392 |s2cid=254927454 |issn=0898-0306|doi-access= }}</ref> She sought to implement liberal immigration policies but some of her efforts experienced pushback, especially in Congress.<ref name=":3" />

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<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://genevemonde.ch/entries/J9L1y581bYw|title=Frances Perkins à l'OIT en 1938 geneveMonde.ch|date=25 October 2022|access-date=26 January 2023}}</ref>{{refn|group=Note|The Recording of this speech (in English) of June 13, 1938 was digitized by the genevaMonde.ch<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genevemonde.ch/entries/J9L1y581bYw|title=Frances Perkins à l'OIT en 1938|via=genevemonde.ch}}</ref>}}.

In 1939, she came under fire from some members of Congress for refusing to deport the [[Communist Party USA|communist]] head of the West Coast [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]], [[Harry Bridges]]. Ultimately, Bridges was vindicated by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gibbons |first=Chip |date=September 2016 |title=The Trial(s) of Harry Bridges |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/09/harry-bridges-longshore-strike-deportation-communist-party |magazine=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |access-date=March 2, 2018}}</ref>

After the death of President Roosevelt in April 1945, [[Harry S. Truman|Harry Truman]] replaced the Roosevelt cabinet, naming [[Lewis B. Schwellenbach]] as Secretary of Labor.<ref name="Wilmington morning star, Future Cabinet">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78002169/1945-05-14/ed-1/seq-1/|title=Future Cabinet Changes Cited|date=May 14, 1945|work=The Wilmington morning star|access-date=December 27, 2018|issn=0163-402X}}</ref><ref name="Evening star, Four New Cabinet">{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1945-06-30/ed-1/seq-1/|title=Four New Cabinet Members Take Oaths of Office Today|last=Associated Press|date=June 30, 1945|work=Evening star|access-date=December 27, 2018|issn=2331-9968}}</ref> Perkins's tenure as secretary ended on June 30, 1945, with the swearing in of Schwellenbach.<ref name="Evening star, Four New Cabinet" />

==Later life==
Following her tenure as Secretary of Labor, in 1945, Perkins was asked by President Truman to serve on the [[United States Civil Service Commission]],<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1951-10-29/ed-1/seq-2/|title=Boys Will Be Boys|date=October 29, 1951|work=Evening Star|access-date=December 27, 2018|pages=A–2|issn=2331-9968}}</ref> Perkins left the Civil Service Commission in 1952 when her husband died.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://fdrlibrary.org/perkins |title=Frances Perkins |last=Breitman |first=Jessica |website=FDR Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=March 2, 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/american-history-book-review-the-roosevelt-i-knew.htm|title=American History Book Review: The Roosevelt I Knew|last=Cooper|first=Andrea|date=September 26, 2017|website=HistoryNet|access-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref>

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 [[Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations|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 [[UIUC School of Labor and Employment Relations|Institute of Labor and Industrial relations]] in 1955 and 1958.<ref>Soderstrom, Carl; Soderstrom, Robert; Stevens, Chris; Burt, Andrew (2018). ''Forty Gavels: The Life of Reuben Soderstrom and the Illinois AFL-CIO''. '''3'''. Peoria, IL: CWS Publishing. p. 42. {{ISBN|978-0998257532}}.</ref>

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".<ref>{{cite news |title=Discovering Frances Perkins |url=https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/discovering-frances-perkins |access-date=April 3, 2016|publisher=ILR School|date=February 24, 2009}}</ref>

Perkins is buried in the Glidden Cemetery in [[Newcastle, Maine]].<ref>[http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/Archive/2004Julaug/features/Feature.html "CAM Cover Story"]. ''Cornell Alumni Magazine.com'' (May 17, 1965). Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref> She was also known locally as "Mrs. Paul Wilson" and is buried by that name.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frances Perkins in the Twin Villages, as recalled by attendees |url=https://www.wiscassetnewspaper.com/article/frances-perkins-twin-villages-recalled-attendees/35656 |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Wiscasset Newspaper |language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:US Dept of Labor.jpg|left|thumb|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 (District of Columbia–Virginia)|Interstate 395]].]]
[[File:Frances Perkins House - Washington, D.C.jpg|thumb|120px|The [[Frances Perkins House]], a [[U.S.&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/hallofhonor/1989_perkins |title=Labor Hall of Fame – Frances M. Perkins |publisher=U.S. Department of Labor |date=June 20, 2011 |access-date=September 5, 2016}}</ref>

In 1967, the [[Telluride House]] and [[Cornell University]]'s [[School of Industrial and Labor Relations]] established the Frances Perkins Memorial Fellowship.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pasachoff|first1=Naomi|title=Frances Perkins: Champion of the New Deal|date=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|pages=147}}</ref> In 1982, Perkins was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/frances-perkins/|title=Perkins, Frances|website=National Women’s Hall of Fame}}</ref> In 2015, Perkins was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the 2015 [[LGBT History Month]].<ref>{{cite web|author= Malcolm Lazin |url=http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/08/20/op-ed-here-are-31-icons-2015s-gay-history-month |title=Op-ed: Here Are the 31 Icons of 2015's Gay History Month |publisher=Advocate.com |date=August 20, 2015 |access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref> In 2019, she was announced as among the members of the inaugural class of the Government Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tom Shoop |url=https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/08/inaugural-inductees-government-hall-fame-unveiled/159156/ |title=Inaugural Inductees Into Government Hall of Fame Unveiled – Government Executive |date=August 15, 2019 |publisher=Govexec.com |access-date=2019-08-16}}</ref> Also that year, [[Elizabeth Warren]] used a podium built with wood salvaged from the [[Perkins Homestead]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5678605/one-woman-and-millions-of-people-to-back-her-up-how-elizabeth-warren-made-fighting-corruption-a-feminist-rallying-cry/|title=How Elizabeth Warren Made Fighting Corruption A Feminist Rallying Cry|magazine=Time}}</ref>

===Character in historical context===
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.<ref>''[[The Tennessean]]'', Arts & Entertainment, March 8, 2009, "The Woman Behind the New Deal" (Kirstin Downey). "Perkins ...not only had to do more than her male counterparts to prove herself, but she had to do it while dealing with rough-and-tumble labor leaders, a husband in and out of mental institutions, condescending bureaucrats and some Congress members hell-bent on impeaching her." p. 11.</ref>

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.<ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II'', p. 68, Random House, New York, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref>

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.<ref>Frances Perkins Collection. Mount Holyoke College Archives</ref>

[[File:Perkins Plaque at Boston's Logan Airport.jpg|thumb|A plaque honoring Perkins at Boston's Logan Airport]]

===Memorials and monuments===
President [[Jimmy Carter]] renamed the headquarters of the U.S.&nbsp;Department of Labor in Washington,&nbsp;D.C., the [[Frances Perkins Building]] in 1980.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |date=March 2006 |title=Frances Perkins: Trailblazer for Workers' Rights |work=apwu.org |url=https://www.apwu.org/join/women2008/lbportraits/portraits-labor-perkins.htm |access-date=March 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203153050/https://www.apwu.org/join/women2008/lbportraits/portraits-labor-perkins.htm |archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref>  Perkins was honored with a postage stamp that same year.<ref name="NPM">{{Cite web |title=Frances Perkins |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/women-on-stamps-part-1-political-firsts-advising-the-president-and-representing-the |website=Women on Stamps: Part 1 |publisher=National Postal Museum}}</ref> [[Frances Perkins House|Her home in Washington, D.C.]] from 1937 to 1940, and [[Perkins Homestead|her Maine family home]] are both designated [[National Historic Landmark]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of NHLs by State |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nhls-by-state.htm |access-date=March 2, 2019 |website=National Park Service }}</ref>

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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://francesperkinscenter.org/about-us/our-mission/|title=Our Mission & Vision|website=Frances Perkins Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://francesperkinscenter.org/|title=Frances Perkins Center|website=Frances Perkins Center}}</ref> In December 2024, the site was named a [[National monument|National Monument]] by President [[Joe Biden]].<ref>Megerian, Chris et. al, [https://apnews.com/article/biden-national-monument-frances-perkins-labor-3b58f0c1bae51fe26017acb3688eb505 "Biden establishes a national monument for Frances Perkins, the 1st female Cabinet secretary"]. ''Associated Press''. Published December 16, 2024. Accessed December 16, 2024.</ref>

On April 10, 2003, a historical marker honoring Perkins was dedicated in [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]], at the southwest corner of 9th and Amity.<ref>https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-34B</ref>

On October 30, 2024, a plaque honoring Perkins was unveiled at 121 Washington Place in [[Greenwich Village]], where Perkins once lived.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/plaque-honoring-labor-leader-and-feminist-trailblazer-frances-perkins-unveiled/|title=Plaque Honoring Labor Leader and Feminist Trailblazer Frances Perkins Unveiled - Village Preservation|date=November 1, 2024|website=www.villagepreservation.org}}</ref>

Perkins remains a prominent alumna of [[Mount Holyoke College]], whose Frances Perkins Program allows "women of non-traditional age" (i.e.,&nbsp;age&nbsp;24 or older) to complete a bachelor of arts degree. There are approximately 140&nbsp;Frances Perkins scholars each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frances Perkins Program |url=https://www.mtholyoke.edu/fp/ |access-date=July 6, 2012 |publisher=[[Mount Holyoke College]]}}</ref>

====Maine Department of Labor mural====
A [[mural]] depicting Perkins was displayed in the Maine Department of Labor headquarters,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judy Taylor Fine Art Studio and Gallery, featuring Portraits, Landscape Art, Figurative Art, Still Life Art, and Great Master's Reproductions |url=http://www.judytaylorstudio.com/mural789.html |access-date=December 30, 2011 |publisher=Judytaylorstudio.com |archive-date=December 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219052839/http://www.judytaylorstudio.com/mural789.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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".<ref name="mural">{{Cite news |last=Greenhouse |first=Steven |date=March 23, 2011 |title=Gov. Paul LePage Takes Aim at Mural to Maine's Workers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/us/24lepage.html}}</ref> LePage also ordered that the names of seven conference rooms in the state department of labor be changed, including one named after Perkins.<ref name="mural" /> 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, Maine|Augusta]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-04-11 |title=Fed. lawsuit filed over Maine labor mural removal |work=The Boston Globe |agency=AP |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2011/04/01/maine_gov_says_bad_timing_in_labor_mural_removal_1301663416}}</ref>

{{As of|January 2013}}, the mural resides in the [[Maine State Museum]], at the entrance to the [[Maine State Library]] and Maine State Archives.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-01-19 |title=Labor mural flap cost state more than $6,000 |work=Portland Press Herald |agency=AP |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2013/01/19/labor-mural-flap-cost-state-more-than-6000-dollars_2013-01-20/}}</ref>

===Veneration===
In 2022, Frances Perkins was officially added to the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church liturgical calendar]] with a feast day on 13 May.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Convention Virtual Binder |url=https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=www.vbinder.net |archive-date=September 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913143652/https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===In popular culture===
Perkins is a minor character in the 1977 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] [[Musical theatre|musical]] ''[[Annie (musical)|Annie]]'', in which she, alongside Harold Ickes, is ordered by Roosevelt to sing along to the song ''[[Tomorrow (Annie)|Tomorrow]]'' with the title character.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Law |first=Learning the |date=2013-08-03 |title=Historical figures mentioned in the musical Annie |url=https://burtsdrama.com/2013/08/03/historical-figures-mentioned-in-annie/ |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=BURT'S DRAMA |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Brenna |title=#TBT: Frances Perkins, the first woman in the Cabinet |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/tbt-frances-perkins-womens-history-month/index.html |website=CNN |date=March 2, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref>

[[David Brooks (commentator)|David Brooks]]'s 2015 book ''[[The Road to Character]]'' includes an extensive chapter biography of Perkins.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=David |date=2015-04-14 |title=How the First Woman in the U.S. Cabinet Found Her Vocation |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/frances-perkins/390003/ |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

''Becoming Madam Secretary''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ottersberg |first=Janice |date=2024 |title=Historical Novel Society |url=https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/becoming-madam-secretary/ |access-date=14 October 2024 |website=Historical Novel Society Review of Becoming Madam Secretary}}</ref> 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. <ref>https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/88610376-becoming-madam-secretary. Retrieved April 5, 2025.</ref>
 

==See also==
* [[List of female United States Cabinet members]]
*[[List of United States Cabinet members who have served more than eight years]]
* [[Silicosis]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Colman, Penny. ''A Woman Unafraid: The Achievements of Frances Perkins'' (1993) [https://archive.org/details/womanunafraidach00colm online]
* Downey, Kirstin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WTbeNKYzg1EC ''The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience''], (New York: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2009). {{ISBN|0-385-51365-8}}.
* Keller, Emily. ''Frances Perkins: First Woman Cabinet Member''. (Greensboro: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 2006). {{ISBN|9781931798914}}.
* Leebaert,  Derek. ''Unlikely Heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made''  (2023); on Perkins, Ickes, Wallace and Hopkins.
* Levitt, Tom. ''The Courage to Meddle: the Belief of Frances Perkins''. (London, KDP, 2020). {{ISBN|9798611873335}}.
* Martin, George Whitney. ''Madam Secretary: Frances Perkins''. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1976. {{ISBN|0-395-24293-2}}. [https://archive.org/details/madamesecretaryf00mart online].
* Myers, Elisabeth P. ''Madam Secretary: Frances Perkins'' (1972) [https://archive.org/details/madamsecretaryfr0000myer_p8a0 online]
* Pasachoff, Naomi. ''Frances Perkins: Champion of the New Deal''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0-19-512222-4}}.
* Pirro, Jeanine Ferris. "Reforming the urban workplace: the legacy of Frances Perkins." ''Fordham Urban Law Journal'' (1998): 1423+ [https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1765&context=ulj online].
* Prieto, L. C., Phipps, S. T. A., Thompson, L. R. and Smith, X. A. “Schneiderman, Perkins, and the early labor movement”, ''Journal of Management History'' (2016), 22#1 pp.&nbsp;50–72.
* Severn, Bill. ''Frances Perkins: A Member of the Cabinet''. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1976. {{ISBN|0-8015-2816-X}}. [https://archive.org/details/francesperkinsme00seve_1 online]
* Williams, Kristin S., and Albert J. Mills. "Frances Perkins: gender, context and history in the neglect of a management theorist". ''Journal of Management History'' (2017). 23#1: 23–50. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JMH-09-2016-0055 Frances Perkins: gender, context and history in the neglect of a management theorist]

===Primary sources===
* Perkins, Frances. ''The Roosevelt I Knew'' (Viking Press, 1947). [https://archive.org/details/rooseveltiknew0000unse_e2f1 online]

==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|viaf=8311454}}
{{commons category|Frances Perkins}}
*[https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/12/17/frances-perkins-center-national-monument-maine President Biden designates new national monument at Frances Perkins Center in Maine]
*[http://www.FrancesPerkinsCenter.org Frances Perkins Center]
*[http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/primary/lectures/FrancesPerkinsLecture.html?CFID=32089813&CFTOKEN=87545756&jsessionid=f0303f8dc2238566af60247d1a173f85b692 Audio recording of Perkins lecture at Cornell]
*{{Internet Archive film clip|id=org.vineyardvideo.madamsecretary|description="You May Call Her Madam Secretary (1987)"}}
*[http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm139_main.html Frances Perkins Collection at Mount Holyoke College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004539/http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm139_main.html |date=December 3, 2013 }}
*[http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm089_main.html Perkins Papers at Mount Holyoke College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234855/http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm089_main.html |date=December 2, 2013 }}
*[https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_4079571 Frances Perkins Collection. Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University]
*[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/nny/perkinsf/index.html Notable New Yorkers – Frances Perkins]{{snd}}Biography, photographs, and interviews of Frances Perkins from the Notable New Yorkers collection of the Oral History Research Office at Columbia University
*[http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/your_columbians/frances_perkins.html Columbians Ahead of Their Time, Frances Perkins biography]
*[http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/KCL05017.html Frances Perkins. Correspondence and Memorabilia. 5017. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.]
*[http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL03047.html Frances Perkins Lectures at the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.]
*[http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/perkins-frances.cfm Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project: Frances Perkins]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140830133522/http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/perkins.htm U.S. Department of Labor Biography]
*[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102473182 "Biographer Chronicles Perkins, 'New Deal' Pioneer"], ''[[All Things Considered]]'', March 28, 2009. An interview with Kirstin Downey about her biography of Frances Perkins.
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4795737 "Remembering Social Security's Forgotten Shepherd"], ''[[Morning Edition]]'', August 12, 2005.  [[Penny Colman]] and Linda Wertheimer Discuss Frances Perkins
*[http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/pfop-remarkable-frances-perkins-in-twin-cities-in/article_93e0529a-7175-561b-b14d-d050166566ac.html Remarkable Frances Perkins in Twin Cities in 1935 – Pantagraph] (Bloomington, Illinois newspaper)
* {{PM20|FID=pe/013429}}

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{{s-bef|before=[[William N. Doak|William Doak]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Secretary of Labor]]|years=1933–1945}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lewis B. Schwellenbach|Lewis Schwellenbach]]}}
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{{USSecLabor}}
{{FD Roosevelt cabinet}}
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{{New Deal}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Frances}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century New York (state) politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations faculty]]
[[Category:Mount Holyoke College alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Boston]]
[[Category:Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Franklin D. Roosevelt administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:State cabinet secretaries of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Truman administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of labor]]
[[Category:Women members of the Cabinet of the United States]]
[[Category:First women government ministers]]
[[Category:Workers' education]]