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Frances Perkins: New Deal Stateswoman and Labor Reformer
"I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and
the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen."
These were the words of the reserved
Frances Perkins (1882 - 1965), speaking in the
quiet, genteel accent of the proper New Englander
that she was. When Franklin D. Roosevelt named
her secretary of labor in 1933, Perkins was not a
newcomer to labor relations. As New York State's
industrial commissioner under two governors
and a seasoned lobbyist on labor-reform issues,
she was well versed in the field. FDR's support of
the first woman cabinet member lasted through
the four terms of his presidency. Perkins helped
draft and implement important New Deal legislation,
including the Social Security Act, to establish publicly
financed old-age pensions, and the Civilian Conservation Corps,
a program to employ the jobless in public works projects. Her
pragmatic, rather than ideological, approach to
worker disputes won the respect of both labor
and management during some of the nation's
worst strikes and related violence. The development
of the Department of Labor into an effective
and vital arm of the government was her most
important contribution. One of her personally
satisfying triumphs was the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938, which mandated a number of
reforms for which she had long fought, including
a ban on child labor and the establishment of a
minimum wage.
Taking a Closer Look
Artist William Sharp has employed a stylized
form of caricature -- the distortion of the face or
figure for satiric purposes -- to create the public
persona of Frances Perkins in this circa 1935
pen-and-ink portrait. She has been described by
historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as "brisk and
articulate, with vivid dark eyes, a broad
forehead and a pointed chin...and intent on beating
sense into the heads of those foolish people who
resisted progress. She had...an instinct for practicality
...and a compulsion to instruct." How
does this caricature convey the sense that she is
quite capable of handling her demanding job as
secretary of labor?
Learn
more about Frances Perkins during her twelve
years as secretary of labor under President Franklin D.
Roosevelt at the following Web sites:
Spotlight Biography: Labor Reformers
Social Security Pioneers: Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins: New Deal Stateswoman and Labor Reformer
Above
Frances Perkins by William Sharp
India ink over pencil with opaque white on paper, circa 1935.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
NPG.87.232
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