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Posts Tagged ‘Kirstin Downey’
The Triangle Fire Centennial: Commemorating Frances Perkins
It was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. On March 25th, 1911, one hundred years ago today, a deadly fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York’s Greenwich Village, killing 146 workers. Frances Perkins, the subject of Kirstin Downey’s riveting biography The Woman Behind the New Deal, witnessed the Triangle tragedy firsthand and was forever changed by that sight. By the time she was 33 years old — and still did not have the right to vote — she had drafted and enacted dozens of pieces of legislation about workplace conditions, and made it one of the key issues that she brought to the attention of Franklin Roosevelt when she became his Secretary of Labor in 1933. Downey discusses Perkins’s amazing and overlooked legacy on the PBS special “Triangle Fire.” Watch the video or read the transcript here.
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Nancy Pelosi Reading The Woman Behind the New Deal
When asked how she unwinds, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told Capitol File magazine, “Right now I’m reading a book about Frances Perkins, The Woman Behind The New Deal. The first female Cabinet member. It’s just fascinating.” We couldn’t agree more! The paperback edition of the book just went on sale and it’s a compelling read, even for those who aren’t the first female in their position! Find a reading group guide at the Reading Group Center, and visit author Kirstin Downey’s website for news, reviews, photos, and more.
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Frances Perkins Biography a Finalist for LA Times Book Prize
Kirstin Downey’s riveting biography of Frances Perkins has been named a finalist for the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize! Titled The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience, the book traces the life of the first female cabinet secretary, one of the most influential women of the twentieth century whose ideas became the cornerstones of the most important social welfare and legislation in the nation’s history, including unemployment compensation, child labor laws, and the forty-hour work week.
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The Woman Behind the New Deal
Social Security…the minimum wage…unemployment insurance. Can any American imagine life without them? These programs and many others are all the legacy of one of the most significant and influential women in American history, yet until now she has remained largely unknown.
Read on to delve into The Woman Behind the New Deal and learn about the life of Frances Perkins.
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NPR’s Best of 2009: The Woman Behind the New Deal
In NPR’s Best of 2009 round-up, Maureen Corrigan writes, “This was a major year for looking back to the Great Depression for guidance, as well as for a buck-up dose of that era’s shining-through, Shirley Temple spirit. Out of all of the ’30s-themed books I read this year, my pick for the best nonfiction book is Kirsten Downey’s biography of Frances Perkins, The Woman Behind the New Deal. Here’s how Franklin Roosevelt’s controversial choice for secretary of labor recalled the first meeting of FDR’s Cabinet in 1933:
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Why Obama Needs a Frances Perkins
In an op-ed that ran in this weekend’s Washington Post, The Woman Behind the New Deal author Kirstin Downey argues that FDR’s secretary of labor Frances Perkins is just the kind of person who the Obama administration needs. Read why here.
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Interview with Frances Perkins’ Biographer Kirstin Downey
In this video clip, award-winning journalist Kirstin Downey discusses her biography of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Labor Secretary. Downey was the first female Cabinet member in American history, and her ideas became the cornerstones of the most important social welfare and legislation in the nation’s history, including unemployment compensation, child labor laws, and the forty-hour work week.
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