Book review - The Woman Behind the New Deal

The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins

Perkins inspecting fire safety of building in 1911

Trump regime is savagely cutting legacy social programs of America. Trump regime plans to cut Medicaid, SNAP etc to pay for tax cuts to the rich. It’s an exercise of upward redistribution of wealth. There’s DOGE which has spread lies about Social Security by falsely claiming that there’s widespread fraud & abuse in the system (1, 2). Social security is being smothered by intentional sabotage of denial of customer service (1, 2). Then there’re misconception propagated about risk of insolvency of social security in coming years. All these falsehoods are pretexts to destroy Social security which has been a long standing goal of Republican party.

Republican war on women is well known and nothing more needs to be said on that. Republicans are also reviving child labor employment in red states, cutting labor safety standards and dismantling regulatory institutions (1, 2, 3, 4). Attitude of Trump regime towards immigrants is well known. The immigrants are being hounded and deported, sometimes without any due process. All these policies of Trump regime and Republicans are about rolling back decades of progress on social safety net, economic security and labor safety.

In the middle of this savagery and stupidity of Trump regime, i read the book The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins by Kirstin Downey. We know what New Deal was. The self regulated markets, the laissez-faire economy collapsed at the end of 1920s and plunged America (& the world) into great depression. In America, Herbert Hoover thought that markets should be allowed to balance itself - let the depression burn itself out and then there will be economic recovery. Government shouldn’t intervene. But the depression only got worse.

Then came the FDR administration with fresh mindset - Use government policy to fix the economy. Yes, the economy shouldn’t be left for the markets to be fixed. The markets need to be properly regulated by the government and government also exercised big policy initiatives for economic recovery. This was the New Deal. Various programs were launched to address mass unemployment, poverty, bank failures, foreclosures, bankruptcies etc. Frances Perkins was among the key architects and manager of these programs.

I will discuss more about New Deal later. But Downey’s book isn’t just about Perkins’s role in New Deal era, it covers entire landscape of Perkins’s life - social, political and personal - from start till the end. Downey’s book not only tells you what Perkins did but also what made her. Downey starts with the childhood of Perkins, her education, her ambition and her family. Downey tells the story of Perkins, starting with background of epoch when women didn’t have right to vote and US was a Patriarchal society. The reader gets to understand the big picture of those times.

Perkins, from the beginning was interested in social reforms. She witnessed poverty closely, she saw conditions of workers in factories and especially women & child labor, she saw the plight of immigrants. Downey also gives details to stories that shaped Perkins’s life. Perkins witnessed the devastating factory fire in New York which imbued her with great determination to pursue labor & industrial reforms. Downey tells stories on how Perkins as an activist saw the politics of Tammany Hall and how it changed her thinking. That’s when Perkins realized that Politics is the real pathway to social-economic-labor reforms.

Newspaper headline of New York factory fire. The incident triggered government response to workplace and labor safety standards. Frances drafted many regulations in New York on safety standards which were emulated in other States.

After a brief teaching career, Perkins took variety of activism jobs that paid poorly. That was when she intersected with New York Politics. The big break came when she was appointed at committee of safety and later appointed to industrial commission in New York by governor Al Smith (she got acquainted with Smith during her activism days). She drafted industrial and workplace regulations in NY which became a model for other States. Then she went on to work for FDR when he became governor of New York. After gaining the trust of FDR, she got straight into national politics when FDR became the President. It was the depression era and FDR appointed Perkins as Secretary of Labor - the first women to be appointed in cabinet.

Downey details Perkins’s political relationship with FDR and her personal relationship with his wife Eleanor. Many nuanced details are mentioned about Perkins’s personal-political relationships in the book. The life in FDR administration was challenging. Working in the environment of brutal politics at Capital Hill, a Hostile Supreme Court, a hostile Press and internal corruption in her own department was agonizing and thankless task. On top of everything, there were major problems in Perkins’s personal life. Her husband was Bipolar and required frequent hospitalization. Later her only daughter also became erratic and unstable.

Downey mentions many details of personal struggles of Perkins. But that never stopped Perkins in her track. Perkins designed and administered many policies and reforms during the New Deal era. Variety of employment and public works programs were launched. Public works programs built infrastructure like Dams, roads, highways, hospitals, parks, schools etc. First the programs targeted unemployed youth but it expanded to other things as well like employing artists to furnish and decorate public buildings. Perkins’s created Fair Labor Standards act that established a minimum wage, maximum work hours, provisions for overtime, restriction on child labor etc in America.

The great depression gave political Capital to FDR administration to pursue bold policies. The national economy was bad and people desperately wanted solutions. Downey tells interesting stories to describe desperation of the times. Like old women were seen searching dumpster for food. An outrageous episode that created the movement for old age pensions.

Perkins designed the Social security Act - originally called economic security - for old age pensions, child care aid, unemployment insurance and National healthcare. Yes, Perkins envisioned universal health insurance long ago but did not muster enough political support for passage at that time. It was dropped out. In later years, programs like medicare and Medicaid were created to expand healthcare outreach to senior citizens and poor people, however a universal healthcare system could never be established. (these programs have long been vilified by Republicans and are now on the chopping block of Trump regime.)

Downey explains the dirty politics at Capital Hill. FDR was opposed by Republicans and also faced resistance from Southern democrats. The problem was not just formulating right economic policies. The real problem was creating political consensus to pass legislation. Even after that, a hostile Supreme Court can just declare a legislation as unconstitutional (like NRA). Frances worked across the spectrum, talking to all stakeholders and even taking advice of certain Supreme court justices privately to draft suitable legislation to stand constitutional validity. Perkins also worked on international stage first by joining ILO, then preserving ILO (after breakout of World War 2) and relaunching it after the end of war.

Under Perkins, department of Labor was also busy tackling Strikes and negotiating between businesses and unions. Back in the day, the Strikes were bitter feuds between bosses and employee unions over wages and working conditions. Perkins spent much time & energy to find amicable solutions. Then there was political pressure to deport certain immigrant union leaders. This was a time when ‘Communism’ was a despised word. Perkins got in the line of fire when she faced impeachment over failure to deport an immigrant union leader suspected to be communist.

Perkins survived impeachment attempt but it showed her how pettier politics can get and how allies & friends can turn away. Perkins also became more religious and stoic, and tried to seek solace in religion in these times. This became a feature of her life. She kept silent on her personal problems and carried on with professional life.

Most of Perkins New Deal work was done from 1933 till 1940. FDR was a critical pillar of support to Perkins and he showed great interest in her ideas - Downey elaborates their interesting meetings over the years. After 1940, FDR was too busy with World War 2. Winning the war became top priority. Perkins was sidelined. Many functions of Department of Labor were also taken away (like immigration was given over to Justice department). FDR also created a bipartisan government to create political consensus. FDR won reelections but his health started to decline.

By 1945, FDR was in poor health but he still went to Yalta conference. Charting a post war world order was critical to ensure a lasting peace. But he didn’t live long after that. Death of FDR was devastating to Perkins - personally & politically. By the end of War, a different kind of Democratic party emerged. The era of New Deal reforms was considered to be over. There wasn’t much enthusiasm for New Dealers. By 1940, Perkins was already tired of Washington politics and tried to resign but FDR always rejected her. Now Perkins submitted her resignation to newly elected Truman, he accepted.

Keeping politics aside, Perkins was still interested in public service. She requested to be on Social Security board. Truman politely declined. Instead he offered her job of Commissioner at civil services commission which Perkins accepted. Perkins was getting old by this time but she had to work to support her ailing husband as well as dependent daughter. After retirement from Truman administration, Perkins continues to work. She wrote book on FDR (a bestseller) and then she went to teach at Cornell university. While Eleanor Roosevelt got all the fanfare as well financial endowments after death of FDR, Perkins who did the bullwork in FDR administration did not get the similar fame and money.

Perkins at Cornell university

Recall that Republicans like Eisenhower acknowledged that Social Security is a done deal. No political party can repeal it because it was so successful and so popular. Perkins also believed this strongly. This is what Perkins said at 25th anniversary of Social security -

“One thing I know: Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political party, no political group could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system …. It is safe. It is safe forever, and for the everlasting benefit of the people of the United States.”

In late stage of life, Perkins was alone but as always determined to work hard in spite of illnesses. She continued teaching at university till her final days. She died on May 14, 1965.

Conclusion

The legacy social programs had bipartisan support in golden period after world war 2. But that attitude started to change in the 1970s and 80s. Republicans revived the individualist economic doctrine and Reaganomics paved the way for Neoliberalism. The Democrats never seriously challenged the doctrine. Democrats succumbed to austerity doctrine due to debt and deficit fear mongering that plagued both parties.

The government came to be seen as a private business that must balance its books. In fact, this is the foundational basis for establishment of DOGE - government should run like a business. The legacy social programs were created after experiencing the devastating effects of economic downturns. In fact, these social welfare programs are a stabilizing force for a capitalist economy. Today, the politicians and the Oligarchs are too incompetent to understand all this. All they see is opportunity for profits and rent seeking in privatization & deregulation of government.

Can government afford these social welfare programs? It can. America is a modern nation with tremendous productive capacity and resources. In fact, American economy is greatly conducive to expand & administer these programs. Dismantling these programs is not just incompetent policy - it is stupid.

A healthy economy is taken for granted, dangers of economic failure are not contemplated. And there are serious dangers with senseless policies of Trump regime (mass deregulation & dismantling institutions, tariffs & trade wars, deportations etc). Dismantling of legacy social programs along with senseless economic policies will revive the social suffering in America that was long thought to be defeated.