From the Bookshelf of Our Shared Shelf…

The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Mora...

Kirstin Downey

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Jun 08, 2009 Denise Cormaney rated it really liked it

Shelves: arlington-55plus-book-group

I read this one a few years ago for my neighborhood book club, and I read it again this month for the senior book discussion group I lead at the library. I gave it 5 stars the first time, and I’m keeping the rating the same. This is a fascinating look at a woman who gave us many of the labor standards we take for granted today, as well as many of the hallmark policies from the FDR Administration. It is a true shame that most Americans do not know Frances Perkins as a great leader in our history. I read this one a few years ago for my neighborhood book club, and I read it again this month for the senior book discussion group I lead at the library. I gave it 5 stars the first time, and I’m keeping the rating the same. This is a fascinating look at a woman who gave us many of the labor standards we take for granted today, as well as many of the hallmark policies from the FDR Administration. It is a true shame that most Americans do not know Frances Perkins as a great leader in our history.

She was a woman who saw problems around her, rolled up her sleeves and worked to foster change. Her career started in local politics in New York after being truly appalled by the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911, leading to the fire safety codes that we still employ today. Due to her own traumatic birth experience, she started a public health program, reducing the maternal death rate by 60% (this was before the use of antibiotics.) It’s all the more admirable to note that many of the early policies she was able to push through were enacted before she herself had the right to vote!

She was the first female Cabinet member, appointed by FDR to be his Secretary of Labor. The minimum wage, social security, the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, child labor laws, fire safety codes: these are all policies Americans enjoy because of Frances Perkins. The one remaining issue she worked hard to enact never made it through: health care. The country was drawn out of the Depression and into World War II, and Congress and the American people lost their focus on social programs as they turned their attention to fighting the war. We are also still feeling the ramifications of this today.

I like to think that if the internet and social media were around in her day, she’d be on par with The Notorious RBG for being a brilliant and tireless feminist icon who accomplished great things in the name of bettering the shared life of her fellow citizens.
on't know if that's due to sexism or just how history was written, but this is worth reading. ...more

1 like · Like · see review