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Film, Video Frances Perkins, the Woman Behind FDR

Event video

Transcript: TEXT

About this Item

Title

  • Frances Perkins, the Woman Behind FDR

Summary

  • Although she is no longer a household name, Frances Perkins was one of the most influential people of the 20th century. Kirstin Downey discussed her new book, "The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience."Franklin Delano Roosevelt named Frances Perkins secretary of labor in 1933. As the first female Cabinet secretary, she spearheaded the fight to improve the lives of America's working people while juggling her own complex family responsibilities. Perkins' ideas became the cornerstones of the most important social-welfare programs and legislation in the nation's history, including unemployment compensation, child-labor laws and the 40-hour workweek. Arriving in Washington at the height of the Great Depression, Perkins pushed for massive public-works projects that created millions of jobs for unemployed workers. She breathed life back into the nation's labor movement, boosting living standards across the country. As head of the Immigration Service, she fought to bring European refugees to safety in the United States. Her greatest triumph was creating Social Security. Based on eight years of research, extensive archival materials, new documents and exclusive access to Perkins' family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life and a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Library of Congress. Center for the Book, sponsoring body

Created / Published

  • Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 2009-03-23.

Headings

  • -  Biography, History
  • -  Education
  • -  Government, World Affairs
  • -  Government, Law
  • -  Presidents
  • -  Women's History

Notes

  • -  Classification: Education.
  • -  Classification: History: America.
  • -  Classification: Political Science.
  • -  Kirstin Downey.
  • -  Recorded on 2009-03-23.
  • -  Kids, Families.
  • -  Researchers.
  • -  Teachers.

Medium

  • 1 online resource

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021688210

Online Format

  • video
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. Center For The Book. Frances Perkins, the Woman Behind FDR. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -03-23, 2009. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688210/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress & Library Of Congress. Center For The Book, S. B. (2009) Frances Perkins, the Woman Behind FDR. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -03-23. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688210/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. Center For The Book. Frances Perkins, the Woman Behind FDR. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -03-23, 2009. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021688210/>.