When Frances Perkins first met Franklin D. Roosevelt at a dance in 1910, she was a young social worker and he was an attractive young man making a modest debut in state politics. Over the next thirty-five years, she watched his career unfold, becoming both a close family friend and a trusted political associate whose tenure as secretary of labor spanned his entire administration. This book offers a unique window onto the man whose courage and pioneering...

"Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she's not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell's Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite...

In the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Frances Perkins as US Secretary of Labor, the first woman to sit on a presidential cabinet. Against overwhelming odds, she became a driving force behind the New Deal social safety net, including Social Security, the 40-hour workweek, the 8-hour day, minimum wage, and unemployment compensation. Featuring compelling interviews with David Brooks, Nancy Pelosi, Amy Klobuchar, Lawrence...

"Biography of Frances Perkins, the first female member of the presidential cabinet, and architect of much of the New Deal legislation as Secretary of Labor."--Provided by publisher.

"Drawing on new materials, Unlikely Heroes constructs an entirely fresh understanding of FDR and his presidency by spotlighting the powerful, equally wounded figures whom he raised up to confront the Depression, then to beat the Axis. Only four people served at the top echelon of President Franklin Roosevelt's Administration from the frightening early months of spring 1933 until he died in April 1945, on the cusp of wartime victory. These lieutenants...

1934: the bank panics are over, unemployment is down to twenty-one percent, and the Oklahoma dirt deposited by the latest Dust Bowl storm has been washed from the windows. From her office in Washington, DC, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve in a president's cabinet, fights to enact Social Security. She is demonized by Republicans, communists, businessmen, and union organizers alike. FDR supports her one minute and leaves...