Rediscovering Frances Perkins.

• Author: Greenwald, Richard
• Position: The Woman behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience - Book review

The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience

By Kirstin Downey

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. 480 pages.

$35.

F rances Perkins, a woman who was never elected to public office, wielded tremendous influence in the first half of the twentieth century. She was the longest-serving modern cabinet member, and the first woman cabinet member. As Secretary of Labor during the 1930s and 1940s, Perkins was on the front lines in the creation of the New Deal.

Perkins belonged to what historian Robyn Muncy calls the "Female Dominion," the network of women social workers and policy wonks that staffed critical social and governmental agencies in the Progressive Era.

As a social worker and industrial investigator, she rose quickly from the world of voluntary associations to the rough and tumble world of politics. Hers was not an easy ride. As the first women to hold most of the positions she came to have, she was harshly judged. Her politics, often to the left of the men she served, made her a target of business and conservative interests. To survive, she developed a thick skin and a hard demeanor as well as superb political skills.

Perkins became one of the most influential Americans, regardless of gender, in 1930s America. She played the central role in most, if not all, of the New Deal's signature programs. She mediated between cabinet members and leading politicians and headed numerous presidential committees.

Why is this vital woman so neglected? Downey's book seeks to rescue her from history.

With Barack Obama and the current Administration being compared almost daily to FDR and the New Deal, Downey provides much-needed historical perspective. For one thing, she paints a more complicated picture of FDR, who may have had good instincts but who also hedged and trimmed. For another, she shows how invaluable it was for FDR to have an unabashed progressive in his cabinet. She places Perkins as the moral conscience of the New Deal, the force that advocated for those less fortunate and helped steer the New Deal ship through rough waters. For Downey, Perkins was all that was good and kind about the New Deal; she was the heart and soul of liberalism.

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P erkins was to the manner born, descended from New England elites and educated at the best private schools. But her family was always on shaky financial footing and as her relationship with her mother soured, Perkins had to fend for...