Review of "Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare," a PBS video

 Review of

Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare, a PBS video

Five out of five stars

The first woman in the cabinet most significant

One of the best decisions that President Franklin Roosevelt made was to appoint Frances Perkins the US Secretary of Labor. She was the first woman appointed to the presidential Cabinet and is arguably one of the top ten best cabinet appointments in history. She was a driving force in the creation of the Social Security program, the 40-hour week, the eight-hour day, the federal minimum wage and unemployment compensation.

 Given the deep conservative currents in the American political establishment and the judiciary, the legislative battles to enact these programs were intense and uncertain until they were passed by the Congress, signed by President Roosevelt and passed the judicial review of the Supreme Court. While both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt provided Perkins with some political cover, she was unquestionably the primary force in making it happen.

 This video is the history of movements that were a fundamental change in the social contracts between the Federal government and the citizenry. Perkins was an extremely skilled political operative as well as a writer of legislation. It seems unlikely that President Roosevelt would have been able to achieve anywhere near the social legislation that he was able to enact without her.

 Frances Perkins is very much an underappreciated person in the history of the United States. So much of what she was able to steward into law is now considered a fundamental component of the American political and economic system. Her story and significant accomplishments are explained very well in this video. All high school students should be required to view it.