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Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition. She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency (the other being Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes). Perkins' most important role came in developing a policy for social security in 1935. She also helped form government policy for working with labor unions, although the union leaders distrusted her. Perkins' Labor Department helped to mediate strikes by way of the United States Conciliation Service. Perkins dealt with many labor questions during World War II, when skilled labor was vital to the economy and women were moving into jobs formerly held by men. Early life Fannie Coralie Perkins was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Susan Ella Perkins (née Bean; 1849–1927) and Frederick William Perkins (1844–1916), the owner of a stationer's business (both of her parents originally were from Maine). Fannie Perkins had one sister, Ethel Perkins Harrington (1884–1965). The family could trace their roots to colonial America, and the women had a tradition of work in education. She spent much of her childhood in Worcester, Massachusetts. Frederick loved Greek literature and passed that love on to Fannie. Perkins attended the Classical High School in Worcester. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Mount Holyoke College in 1902. While attending Mount Holyoke, Perkins discovered progressive politics and the suffrage movement. She was named class president. One of her professors was Annah May Soule, who assigned students to tour a factory to study working conditions; Perkins recalled Soule's course as an important influence. Early career and continuing education After college, Perkins held a variety of teaching positions, including one from 1904 to 1906 where she taught chemistry at Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy), an all-girls school in Lake Forest, Illinois. In Chicago, she volunteered at settlement houses, including Hull House, where she worked with Jane Addams. She changed her name from Fannie to Frances when she joined the Episcopal church in 1905. In 1907, she moved to Philadelphia and enrolled at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School to learn economics, and spent two years in the city working as a social worker. Shortly after, she moved to Greenwich Village, New York, where she attended Columbia University and became active in the suffrage movement. In support of the movement, Perkins attended protests and meetings, and advocated for the cause on street corners. She earned a master's degree in economics and sociology from Columbia in 1910. In 1910 Perkins achieved statewide prominence as head of the New York office of the National Consumers League and lobbied with vigor for better working hours and conditions. She also taught as a professor of sociology at Adelphi College. The next year, she witnessed the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a pivotal event in her life. The factory employed hundreds of workers, mostly young women, but lacked fire escapes. When the building caught fire, many workers tried unsuccessfully to escape through the windows. Just a year before, these same women and girls had fought for the 54-hour work week and other benefits that Perkins had championed. One hundred and forty-six workers died. Perkins blamed lax legislation for the loss. As a consequence of this fire, Perkins left her position at the New York office of the National Consumers League and, on the recommendation of Theodore Roosevelt, became the executive secretary for the Committee on Safety of the City of New York, formed to improve fire safety. As part of the Committee on Safety, Perkins investigated another significant fire at the Freeman plant in Binghamton, New York, in which 63 people died. In 1912, she was instrumental in getting the New York legislature to pass a "54-hour" bill that capped the number of hours women and children could work. Perkins pressed for votes for the legislation, encouraging proponents including Franklin D. Roosevelt to filibuster, while Perkins called state senators to make sure they could be present for the final vote. Marriage and personal life In 1913, Perkins married New York economist Paul Caldwell Wilson. She kept her maiden name because she did not want her activities in Albany and New York City to affect the career of her husband, then the secretary to the New York City mayor. She defended her right to keep her maiden name in court. The couple had a daughter, Susanna, born in December 1916. Less than two years later, Wilson began to show signs of mental illness. He would be institutionalized frequently for mental illness throughout the remainder of their marriage. Perkins had cut back slightly on her public life following the birth of her daughter, but returned after her husband's illness to provide for her family. According to biographer Kirstin Downey, Susanna displayed "manic-depressive symptoms", as well. Perkins shared the Georgetown, D.C. home of an old friend, Mary Harriman Rumsey, who had founded the Junior League in 1901, for less than a year, until Rumsey's death in 1934. Rumsey and Perkins' arrangement was for practical reasons, as a December, 1933 Washington Post columnist had criticized Perkins for not meeting social obligations, due to her apartment accommodations. Later Perkins shared a home with Caroline O’Day, a Democratic congresswoman from New York. Return to work in New York Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Perkins held various positions in the New York state government. She had gained respect from the political leaders in the state. In 1919, she was added to the Industrial Commission of the State of New York by Governor Al Smith. Her nomination was met with protests from both manufacturers and labor, neither of whom felt Perkins represented their interests. Smith stood by Perkins as someone who could be a voice for women and girls in the workforce and for her work on the Wagner Factory Investigating Committee. Although claiming the delay in Perkins's confirmation was not due to her gender, some state senators pointed to Perkins's not taking her husband's name as a sign that she was a radical. Perkins was confirmed on February 18, 1919, becoming one of the first female commissioners in New York, and began working out of New York City. The state senate-confirmed position made Perkins one of three commissioners overseeing the industrial code, and the supervisor of both the bureau of information and statistics and the bureau of mediation and arbitration.... Discover the Coralie Moss popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Coralie Moss books.