Frances Perkins's Legacy

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In September of 1935, her voice filled homes across America as she explained the latest piece of legislation that was passed by Congress: the Social Security Act. In the 1930s and 1940s, she was known as a social reformer and advocate for workers. As time passed on, her name was erased from the memories of the New Deal era, but much of her work, including the Social Security Act and standards for minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor, has survived. Although the average American citizen today cannot recall her place in history, they are affected by her legacy. While serving as secretary of labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Frances Perkins assisted with the drafting of transformative New Deal legislation. She was especially …show more content…
Perkins was hesitant to accept, wanting to keep her husband and her teenage daughter’s mental health conditions out of the media (The Kansas City Library, 2013) and aware that there would be pushback to becoming the first woman to serve as a cabinet member in the United States. Additionally, by becoming secretary of labor the administration would be breaking the tradition of appointing a trade union member to the position, causing anger from the unions that she had attempted to empower (Allitt, 1999). A month before his first inauguration, Perkins approached the president-elect with a deal: she would accept the appointment under the condition that she could pursue her policy priorities (The Kansas City Library). According to the Frances Perkins Center (n.d.), her list included: “a 40-hour work week; a minimum wage; unemployment compensation; worker’s compensation; abolition of child labor; direct federal aid to the states for unemployment relief; Social Security; a revitalized federal employment service; and universal health insurance” (para. 23). Roosevelt approved all of her priorities, and she went on to serve as secretary of labor for the duration of Roosevelt’s presidency

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