Frances Perkins, Woman Behind the New Deal (1933-1945)
Presented by Caroline McIntyre.
Perkins became the first female cabinet member, FDR’s Secretary of Labor, at the rock bottom of the Great Depression. She came with a “To Do List” – workman’s compensation, unemployment insurance, old age and health insurance; a minimum wage, a maximum work week, and the abolition of child labor. When she left office 12 years later (longest serving Cabinet Member), she had accomplished all but one – health insurance. Who wouldn’t want to ask her how it was done?
