Written by Bev Caruso
Today as I watched the news I swelled with pride, lately an unheard-of event, as an MSNBC commentator sang the praises of Frances Perkins, the social worker who created and established the Social Security Act., the law which profoundly changed the economic well-being of our nation. They even played a clip of Franklin Roosevelt signing the bill, with Frances Perkins standing behind him. He lauded the years of work necessitated by the industrialization of America, which made, “life more insecure.” As he stated that social security afforded “some protection for 50 million citizens” Roosevelt lamented we cannot protect all people from the “vicissitudes of life” but we can offer some measure of protection. His final words were “this security bill, this Social Security bill will be a historic bill for all time.”
With the passing of this law 90 years ago on August 14th, Frances Perkins, with the support of Franklin Delano Roosevelt established a safety net for Americans that had been unthinkable prior to her trusted relationship with a forward-thinking President. The news commentator surprised me by not only mentioning her but by crediting her with this mammoth change in history. Frances Perkins was the first woman to hold a position in the U. S. Cabinet.
After an eye-opening college assignment to tour a factory, Ms. Perkins dedicated herself to social work and worked to further better working conditions and wages for factory workers. Working conditions, accidents and deaths among the working class proved to Perkins that the factory owners and volunteer organizations could not and would not work to improve the lives of the workers. Remember policy class! We learned that.
Frances Perkins, ushered in the concept of giving a helping hand versus the individualism of the prior era. The Great Depression proved to many that aid was needed and that the government alone could and should take up this task. So a very spunky social worker told a president that the country needed health insurance, old age insurance and unemployment insurance. More and more she acquired followers in her effort to improve the lot for all Americans.
She fought tirelessly and stopped at nothing, including locking a committee in a room until they drafted a bill characterized by charity, generosity and concern for others. That bill turned out to be a monumental success, although it never made Roosevelt popular with Republicans.
Later in a speech Perkins said of the law, “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.”
We hope she is right.
Perhaps some of our politicians need a history lesson. The current protests in our nation seem to indicate the people of our nation care more about their community of retired folks, children, BIPOC individuals, the disabled and any challenged citizen. Thank you Frances.
Do we need to adopt Francis Perkins’ words, “You just can’t be afraid.”?
References:
Heather Cox Richardson from letters from an American, August 14th 2025
Downey, Kirstin, “The Woman Behind the New Deal, Vintage, 2/23/2010
