Frances Perkins

Frances Perkins – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the inspiring life of Frances Perkins, America’s first woman Cabinet secretary. Learn about her early years, her transformative role as U.S. Secretary of Labor, her key achievements (like Social Security and labor reforms), and her most memorable quotes.

Introduction

Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 / sometimes cited as 1882 — died May 14, 1965) was a pioneering American politician, social reformer, and labor advocate. She holds the distinction of being the first woman ever to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet, as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945 — a record 12 years in office.

Perkins is widely regarded as one of the architects of the New Deal era. She helped design and implement landmark legislation such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, minimum wage laws, and stronger protections for workers. Her legacy lives on in the American social safety net and labor standards that millions rely upon today.

In this article, we delve deep into her life, career, philosophy, lasting influence, and memorable quotes. We also draw out lessons from her journey — for leaders, reformers, and ordinary citizens alike.

Early Life and Family

Frances Perkins was born Fannie Coralie Perkins on April 10, 1880 (some sources give 1882) in Boston, Massachusetts.

Though born in Massachusetts, Perkins always cherished her family’s homestead in Newcastle, Maine, spending summers there and later regarding it as a personal “home base.”

Her parents, Susan Ella Bean and Frederick William Perkins, encouraged a love of learning and culture. Her father enjoyed Greek literature, which he passed on to his daughter.

Perkins had one younger sister, Ethel. She attended Classical High School in Worcester and showed early academic promise.

From childhood, she was exposed to social ideals: her professors at Mount Holyoke College would send students into industrial settings to study working conditions, an experience that deeply affected her worldview.

Youth and Education

In 1902, Perkins graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics.

After college, she taught at girls’ schools and volunteered with settlement houses, including Hull House in Chicago, where she worked alongside Jane Addams.

Around 1907 she studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and worked as a social worker in Philadelphia.

By 1909–1910 she moved to New York to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University, earning a master’s degree in economics and sociology.

A pivotal turning point was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, in which 146 workers (mostly young women) died in a locked factory. The tragedy galvanized Perkins’ resolve to work for safer industrial conditions and better legislation.

Career and Achievements

Early Reform Work in New York

After the Triangle tragedy, Perkins became executive secretary of the New York office of the National Consumers’ League, pressing for improved working hours and conditions, especially for women and children.Committee on Safety, investigating industrial disasters and pushing for fire safety reforms.

By 1919, Governor Al Smith appointed her to the New York State Industrial Commission, making her one of the first female commissioners in state government.

U.S. Secretary of Labor: New Deal Architect

In 1933, Roosevelt asked Perkins to join his cabinet, and she accepted on condition that he would back her labor agenda.first woman to serve in a U.S. Cabinet.

As Secretary of Labor (1933–1945), she oversaw many transformative policies:

• Social Security Act (1935): Perkins chaired the Committee on Economic Security, which crafted the legislation establishing old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and survivor benefits.

• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): She helped push through the establishment of a federal minimum wage, maximum work hours, and child labor restrictions.

• National Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining: Under her watch the government strengthened labor’s right to organize and bargain collectively.

• Industrial Safety & Worker Health: She promoted research, accident prevention, and enforcement of safer work conditions.

• Labor during World War II: She mediated strikes, oversaw mobilization of labor, and managed issues arising from large-scale industrial production.

• Immigration & Refugee Relief: Perkins quietly but persistently intervened to admit Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, working against restrictive immigration policies.

She was one of just two Roosevelt cabinet members to serve his full presidency (alongside Interior Secretary Harold Ickes).

Later Life and Legacy Roles

After 1945, President Truman appointed her to the United States Civil Service Commission, where she continued to push for fairness in government employment, including opposing demands that secretaries and assistants be “attractive.”

In 1946 she published a memoir, The Roosevelt I Knew, recounting her close, decades-long collaboration with FDR.

Following her service, she taught and lectured at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations until her death in 1965.

Historical Milestones & Context

• Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911): The tragic loss of 146 factory workers sharpened public awareness about industrial safety and motivated Perkins’ activism.

• Great Depression (1929 onward): As economic collapse deepened, Perkins’ experience in New York reform positioned her for national leadership in the Roosevelt administration.

• New Deal Legislation: The 1930s saw sweeping reforms in American governance and welfare. Perkins served as a trusted architect in that transformation.

• World War II Mobilization: Managing labor in wartime was crucial to U.S. success; Perkins played a central role in maintaining industrial peace and productivity.

• Post-war Transition & Cold War: In her later roles, Perkins remained a defender of workers’ welfare amid shifting political winds and emerging anticommunist pressures.

• Modern Recognition: In December 2024, President Biden designated her family homestead in Maine as a national monument, cementing her legacy.

Legacy and Influence

Frances Perkins left an indelible mark on American society and governance:

• Institutional Legacy: The Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C.—home of the U.S. Department of Labor—is named for her.

• Social Safety Net: Her leadership helped embed Social Security and unemployment insurance into U.S. public policy—pillars of the modern welfare state.

• Labor Rights & Standards: The 40-hour workweek, minimum wage, and stronger rights to unionize trace back to her efforts.

• Women in Government: As the first woman Cabinet officer, she broke barriers and paved the way for future generations of female leaders.

• Moral Authority in Governance: Frances Perkins is often remembered as the “moral conscience” of the New Deal era, infusing social purpose into policy.

• Enduring Education and Fellowship: Her legacy continues through fellowships, educational programs, and the Frances Perkins Center at her Maine home.

• Historic Landmark & Monument: Her homestead became a National Historic Landmark, and is now designated a national monument, ensuring public remembrance.

Personality and Talents

Frances Perkins combined intellectual rigor with deep empathy and moral courage. She was known for:

• Quiet but firm leadership: Unlike bombastic politicians, Perkins worked methodically, persuading allies and opponents alike through logic and compassion.

• Moral integrity: She understood government as service to people, famously saying: “The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.”

• Persistence: She stayed in office across challenging years, navigating economic collapse, political opposition, and war.

• Bridge-building: She often balanced the interests of labor, business, and government—e.g. through conferences rather than coercion.

• Unostentatious personal life: She kept a low personal profile, worked diligently behind the scenes, and focused more on results than popularity. Her marriage was troubled by her husband’s mental illness, and she prioritized her public mission.

Famous Quotes of Frances Perkins

Here are some powerful and illustrative quotes attributed to her:

“The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.”

“One of the great necessities of our time is leadership based on conscience and competence.”

“The door might not be opened to a woman again for a long, long time, and I had a kind of duty to other women to walk in and sit down on the chair that was offered, and so establish the right of others long hence and far distant in geography to sit in the high seats.”

“To one who believes that really good industrial conditions are the hope for a machine civilization, nothing is more heartening than to watch conference methods and education replacing police methods.”

“Most of man’s problems upon this planet, in the long history of the race, have been met and solved either partially or as a whole by experiment based on common sense and carried out with courage.”

“In America, public opinion is the leader.”

“I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.”

“But with the slow menace of a glacier, depression came on. No one had any measure of its progress; no one had any plan for stopping it. Everyone tried to get out of its way.”

These quotes reflect her belief in combining moral purpose with pragmatic policy, her sense of duty to expand opportunity (especially for women), and her conviction that public opinion and human dignity are central to democratic governance.

Lessons from Frances Perkins

1. Governance rooted in human dignity: Perkins taught that government must prioritize people’s lives, not abstract theories or rigid doctrines.

2. Quiet courage can be transformative: She led without spectacle, persistently building consensus and effecting change over time.

3. Bridge rather than divide: She sought balance between labor and capital, believing progress required collaboration, not confrontation.

4. Duty to those who follow: By accepting a historic first, she consciously made space for future women leaders.

5. Resilience in adversity: Personal challenges (family, loss, skepticism) didn’t deter her commitment.

6. Policy grounded in empirical realism: She embraced experimentation, research, and evidence to shape reform — “experiment based on common sense.” Always, she tempered bold vision with practical constraints.

Conclusion

Frances Perkins stands as one of the towering figures in 20th-century American public life. As the first woman Cabinet secretary, a strategist and moral force behind the New Deal, and a lifelong advocate for labor and social justice, her influence continues to ripple across American institutions and social policy.

She showed us that leadership need not be loud, that conviction with integrity can shift landscapes, and that expanding the possibility of dignity for all must remain central to public service.

Explore more of her enduring wisdom, study her decisions, and live by the principle she so eloquently voiced: “The people are what matter to government.”