President Joe Biden moved to establish the Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle, Maine, to “honor the historic contributions of America’s first woman Cabinet Secretary and the longest-serving Secretary of Labor,” a White House fact sheet says.
Perkins was affiliated with the Socialist Party and a key figure in creating the New Deal.
Chris Cash, who works in educational outreach at the Frances Perkins Center, said, “It was no secret she was a democratic socialist. It was her camp.”
The White House fact sheet described Perkins as the “leading architect behind the New Deal and led many labor and economic reforms that continue to benefit Americans today.”
“During her 12 years as Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she envisioned and helped create Social Security; helped millions of Americans get back to work during the Great Depression; fought for the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively; and established the minimum wage, overtime pay, prohibitions on child labor, and unemployment insurance,” the fact sheet says.
The national monument stems from Biden’s March 2024 executive order to recognize women in history.
This order directs actions that will strengthen the Federal Government’s recognition of women’s history and the achievements of women and girls from all backgrounds,” the order says, adding, “By honoring the women leaders of the past, we tell a more complete story of America and help build a more equal and equitable present and future.”
The national monument will encompass 57 acres of the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark site in Newcastle, Maine.
