In 1933, Roosevelt made history when he appointed Frances Perkins to his cabinet. She was selected as a secretary of labor and became the first woman to hold a cabinet post in a U.S. presidential administration. Perkins was useful in helping Roosevelt with many of his programs, including Social Security. As governor of New York, FDR picked her to be the state’s labor commissioner. This was the second time he had tapped Perkins for a government post.
