Frances Perkins

At 85 years old, Frances Perkins physical status not available right now. We will update Frances Perkins's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Frances Perkins (born Fannie Perkins; May 10, 1880-May 14, 1965) was an American socioologist and workers-rights activist who served as the US Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position, and the first woman to the United States. Cabinet members.

She was a long-serving advocate for her friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who rallied the labor movement into the New Deal coalition.

She and Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes were the only original members of the Roosevelt cabinet to serve for the entire duration of his tenure. Perkins completed many aspects of the New Deal, including the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration, and its successor, the Federal Work Agency, and the National Industrial Recovery Act's labor section.

She introduced unemployment insurance, pensions for the many unveiled elderly Americans, and free assistance to the poorest Americans through the Social Security Act.

She fought to eliminate workplace injuries and assisted in the writing of child labour legislation.

She introduced the first minimum wage and overtime legislation for American employees through the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as the standard 40-hour work week.

She developed a national strategy for working with labour unions and helped to avoid strikes by the United States Conciliation Service.

During World War II, Perkins dealt with many labour issues, when skilled occupation was crucial and women were transitioning to predominantly male roles.

Early life

Fannie Perkins was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Susan Ella Perkins (1849–1927) and Frederick William Perkins (1844-1916), the promoter of a stationer's business (both of her parents' parents were from Maine). Ethel Perkins Harrington (1884–1965), Fannie Perkins' sister. The family could be traced back to colonial America, and education was a part of the profession. She grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she spent a large portion of her childhood. Frederick was a huge fan of Greek literature and now Fannie takes over the family's love.

Perkins attended Worcester's Classical High School. In 1902, she received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Mount Holyoke College. Perkins discovered feminist politics and the suffrage movement when attending Mount Holyoke. She had been named class president when she was first introduced. Annah May Soule, one of her professors, brought students to a factory to investigate working conditions; Perkins recalled Soule's course as a key influence.

Marriage and personal life

Perkins married New York economist Paul Caldwell Wilson in 1913. She retained her maiden name because she did not want her appearances in Albany and New York City to influence her husband's future, then the secretary to mayor of New York City. She defended her right to keep her maiden name in court. Susanna, the couple's daughter, was born in December 1916. Wilson began to exhibit signs of mental disorder less than two years ago. During the remainder of their marriage, he would be hospitalized frequently for mental disorders. Following the birth of her daughter, Perkins had to work late in the evening to care for her family, but her husband recovered after her husband's illness to care for her family. Susanna had "manic-depressive signs" as well, according to biographer Kirstin Downey. Perkins had a long-term love with Mary Harriman Rumsey, who had founded the Junior League in 1901. The women lived in Washington, D.C., until Rumsey's death in 1934, after which Perkins and Caroline O'Day, a Democratic congresswoman from New York, shared their home.

Later life

Perkins was asked by President Truman to serve on the United States Civil Service Commission in 1945, which she accepted. Perkins, a commissioner, spoke out against government regulators' decisions requiring secretaries and stenographers to be physically attractive, blaming the condition for a lack of secretaries and stenographers in the government. When her husband died, Perkins joined the Civil Service Commission in 1952. During this period, she also published The Roosevelt I Knew (1946, ISBN 9780143106418), which chronicled her time in Roosevelt's administration, beginning with their meeting in 1910.

Perkins continued working and returned to teaching positions at colleges and universities after her time in government service. She taught and lectured at Cornell University's New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations until her death in 1965 at the age 85. She has also taught guest lectures at other universities, including two 15-lecture series at the University of Illinois Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations in 1955 and 1958.

She lived at Telluride House, where she was one of the first women to become a member of the renowned academic group at Cornell. Kirstin Downey, author of "The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience," characterized her visit to Telluride House as "probably the best phase of her life."

Perkins is buried in Newcastle, Maine, at the Glidden Cemetery.

Source

Early career and continuing education

Perkins taught chemistry at Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy), an all-girls school in Lake Forest, Illinois, from 1904 to 1906. She worked at Hull House in Chicago, including Hull House, where she worked with Jane Addams. When she joined the Episcopal church in 1905, she changed her name from Fannie to Frances. She went to Philadelphia and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School to learn economics and spent two years in the city as a social worker. She went to Greenwich Village, New York, where she studied Columbia University and became involved in the suffrage movement just a few years ago. Perkins attended marches and meetings in favor of the campaign and campaigned for the cause on street corners. In 1910, she obtained a master's degree in economics and sociology from Columbia.

Perkins, a 1910 pioneer, rose to prominence in New York as the head of the National Consumers League's New York office, and activists lobbied for improved working hours and conditions. She has worked at Adelphi College as a sociology professor. She was a witness in her life for the second year. Hundreds of employees, mainly young women, were employed by the factory, but there were no fire escapes, but there were few on the job. Many employees attempted to escape through the windows when the building caught fire. These same women and girls had fought for and gained the 54-hour work week and other Perkins-sponsored services a year ago. One hundred and forty-six workers were killed. The loss was attributed to lax rules.

Perkins resigned from her position as a result of this fire and became the executive secretary of the City of New York's Committee on Fire Protection, which was created on the recommendation of Theodore Roosevelt. Perkins investigated another significant fire at the Freeman plant in Binghamton, New York, in which 63 people were killed as part of the Committee on Safety. She was instrumental in getting the New York legislature to pass a "54-hour" bill that limited the number of hours women and children could work in 1913. Perkins called for votes for the law, influencing candidates, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, to filibuster, while Perkins called state senators to ensure they were present for the final election.

Cabinet career

Roosevelt summoned Perkins to join his cabinet in 1933. Perkins introduced Roosevelt with a long list of work opportunities for which she would fight, ranging from Social Security to minimum wage. "Nothing like this has ever been done in the United States before," Roosevelt told.

"You know that, don’t you?"

Roosevelt nominated Perkins as the Secretary of Labor, and Aggieeing to support her. The National League of Women Voters and the Women's Party endorsed the nomination. The American Federation of Labour chastised Perkins' appointment due to a perceived lack of links to labor.

Perkins, the Secretary, oversaw the Department of Labor. Perkins served as the President for a year longer than any other Secretary of Labor. She was also the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the United States, making her the first woman to apply for president of the United States. In the four previous administrations, the appointment of a woman to the cabinet had been speculated, with Roosevelt being the first to follow through. During their stay in Albany, Roosevelt had firsthand experience with Perkins' work. With few exceptions, President Roosevelt has generally supported Secretary Perkins' objectives and programs.

Perkins, as the Secretary of Labor, was instrumental in the New Deal by assisting in the writing of legislation. She was active in all aspects of the President's advisory reports, including the Civilian Conservation Corps and She-She-She Camps. Her most notable contribution was to draft the 1935 Social Security Act of 1935.

She was chastised by some members of Congress for refusing to arrest the communist head of the West Coast International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Harry Bridges, in 1939. In the end, the Supreme Court had defended Bridges.

With the death of President Roosevelt, Harry Truman renamed Lewis B. Schwellenbach as the Secretary of Labor, replacing him. Perkins' tenure as secretary came to an end on June 30, 1945, with the swearing in of Schwellenbach.

Source