Original photo by Glasshouse Images/ Alamy Stock Photo
George Washington held the country’s first full Cabinet meeting on November 26, 1791. That meeting, and every subsequent Cabinet meeting over the next 142 years, consisted exclusively of men. But all that changed on March 4, 1933, when Frances Perkins became the secretary of labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt — and the first woman to hold any position in a presidential Cabinet. The occasion was marked several months later by Time, which put Perkins on the cover of its August 14, 1933, edition. Perkins had previously served under FDR in a similar capacity, having been appointed commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor after Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1929.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a fibThough it took another 42 years, Ann Dore McLaughlin became the second woman to serve as secretary of labor, on December 14, 1987, under President Ronald Reagan. Seven others have served as secretary or acting secretary of labor since.
Perkins’ tenure lasted for the entirety of Roosevelt’s 12-year administration, making her the longest-serving secretary of labor in U.S. history. Described by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as “brisk and articulate” and “intent on beating sense into the heads of those foolish people who resisted progress,” Perkins is best known for her role as chairwoman of the President's Committee on Economic Security, which led to the 1935 act that created Social Security. She was also active in issues around child labor, safety, minimum-wage laws, worker’s compensation, and more. She resigned in 1945, after Roosevelt’s death, and then served on the United States Civil Service Commission under President Truman until 1952.
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The second female member of a Cabinet was ______, secretary of health, education, and welfare.
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The second female member of a Cabinet was Oveta Culp Hobby, secretary of health, education, and welfare.
“Cabinet” comes from an Italian word.
Cabinetto means “a small, private room” in Italian, which makes sense — the head of state wouldn’t exactly want to discuss matters of national importance out in the open. (Back in the 1500s, the word “cabinet” also referred to a treasure chamber or case for storing valuables, which gradually grew to mean the piece of furniture we recognize as a “cabinet” today.) James Madison is believed to have coined the term in the political context, referring to “the president’s Cabinet” before anyone else. George Washington’s Cabinet consisted of just four members — Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph — with whom he initially met on an individual basis. The U.S. president’s Cabinet now consists of the vice president, the heads of the 15 executive departments, and Cabinet-level officials added at the president’s discretion. These members are not in the line of succession, however.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
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