How Did Frances Perkins Influence Social Work

Frances Perkins was born in Boston in the year 1880. She grew up on her family farm in Newcastle where her grandmother gave her many words of wisdom. Perkins has stated, “I am extraordinarily the product of my grandmother.” Being inspired from her grandmother, Perkins had wanted to help her surrounding community. Quoting Leah W. Sprague, a Founding Frances Perkins Board Member, “Frances was raised with a deep appreciation of history and pride in her patriot ancestry. She came of age understanding her New England heritage and adopting the Yankee values that were the core of that heritage – frugality, ingenuity, tenacity and self-reliance – as well as a belief that the new nation, only a century old at her birth, held opportunities for all who sought and were …show more content…
She graduated from Worcester’s Classical High School and enrolled in Mount Holyoke College to study chemistry and physics. In her senior year at she took a course on American economic history. This class impacted her life and her decision to do social work. Perkins learned of the poor working conditions women and children had in factories and wanted to make a change. She went on to get her masters in political science from Columbia University. Perkins received a teaching job in Chicago and this move is when her dedication to social work really began. While in Chicago, she spent all of her free time working at two settlement houses, Chicago Commons and Hull House. Through this experience, Perkins knew that social work was her calling. Perkins has said “I had to do something about unnecessary