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Shenna Bellows is Maine’s secretary of state.
The economy had crashed, and millions of Americans were out of work. The Ku Klux Klan were publicly very active, and overseas Adolf Hitler was about to open the first concentration camp. It was 1933.
With a teenage daughter and a husband struggling with mental illness at home, Frances Perkins made a list. A list of what she called “practical possibilities” that she thought could save America — rebuild the economy, protect democracy and lift up the legions of Americans out of work, along with seniors, and people with disabilities. And she brought it to the new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Roosevelt reacted in an unexpected way: He offered her a job as a member of his cabinet as secretary of labor, indeed the first female secretary in his administration or any presidency. What they accomplished together in 12 years was extraordinary: creating Social Security, setting a standard minimum wage, the unemployment benefits system, workers compensation, the 40-hour work week, the rights of workers in unions to organize and collectively bargain through the National Labor Relations Act, and more. A popular magazine said of these ideas conceived by Frances Perkins and implemented over 12 years of service to President Roosevelt and the country, that it was, “not so much the Roosevelt New Deal, as … the Perkins New Deal.”
As we celebrate Labor Day on its 121st anniversary and Social Security on its 90th anniversary, it’s a great opportunity to check out one of our newest national monuments right here in Maine: the Frances Perkins Center. The homestead in Newcastle is where Frances Perkins found refuge and rest while leading some of the most transformational initiatives our country has ever seen — for workers, for unions, for seniors, for women, for people with disabilities — in one of the most difficult eras in our history.
As Maine’s first female secretary of state, I personally find the story of the nation’s first cabinet secretary extraordinarily inspiring. She dedicated her life to service and consistently broke through barriers for women from her early days advocating for the rights for women to vote while always lifting up others along the way, and she shepherded a nation and American workers through the most serious economic crisis in our history.
Today, we’re in another time of deep economic uncertainty and potential crisis — as prices continue to rise, and regular people are finding it difficult to afford housing, utilities and healthcare while I see corporate greed run rampant over our civil liberties. We have to be not only strong enough to confront the challenges before us but also wise enough to make a plan for a better future, even when it seems improbable.
That’s exactly what Frances Perkins did for the country; in the midst of the chaos and despair of the Great Depression she designed audacious and successful programs that were previously unthinkable. Her ideas like Social Security and a fair minimum wage became the bedrock of the American dream for working families and retirees for 90 years.
As chair of Maine’s Semiquincentennial Commission, I’m fascinated by Maine’s tradition of national leadership. The commission is commemorating America’s 250th birthday with the Maine Atlas Project where we promote 250 places, people, and things that have shaped Maine’s role in our nation’s history. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure of Maine history and culture, and the Frances Perkins National Monument is a must-see, providing a wonderful opportunity for Mainers and visitors alike to learn about the remarkable life and accomplishments of someone who changed America for the better.
In these challenging and divisive times, among economic uncertainty and questions about federal power and the states, it might feel hard to envision a more inclusive and prosperous economic future with better healthcare options, safe housing and economic opportunity for the next generation. We can find perspective and guidance in our history to help us meet the current moment.
The lesson of Frances Perkins and her leadership bringing the United States through the Great Depression to the other side with workers enjoying more benefits, freedoms and prosperity than ever before is that we can do this. We just need the courage and persistence to try. And a list of “practical possibilities.” Enjoy Labor Day — and give thanks for Frances Perkins!
