Deborah Hopkinson

At 31, Frances Perkins wit­nessed the Tri­an­gle Waist Fac­to­ry fire in 1911, one of the worst indus­tri­al dis­as­ters in Unit­ed States his­to­ry. The event for­ev­er changed her, and she ded­i­cat­ed her­self to the fight for work­ers’ rights.

When she became Sec­re­tary of Labor in Franklin Delano Roo­sevelt’s admin­is­tra­tion, she had the oppor­tu­ni­ty to make real her bold vision of a coun­try where no one is left out and every­one is pro­tect­ed. Thanks to her efforts, we have the Social Secu­ri­ty pro­gram, a move that changed Amer­i­cans’ lives for gen­er­a­tions to come.

Deb­o­rah Hop­kin­son’s ener­getic text and Kristy Cald­well’s appeal­ing illus­tra­tions unite to tell Perkins’ fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ry as well as intro­duce ear­ly con­cepts of finan­cial lit­er­a­cy, the Social Secu­ri­ty Act, and the New Deal. Back mat­ter fea­tures more infor­ma­tion about Frances Perkins, Social Secu­ri­ty, and resources for eco­nom­ic education.