Current:Home > reviewsMaine leaders seek national monument for home of Frances Perkins, 1st woman Cabinet member -Quantum Capital Pro
Maine leaders seek national monument for home of Frances Perkins, 1st woman Cabinet member
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 14:40:19
NEWCASTLE, Maine (AP) — Maine leaders want to honor Frances Perkins — the first woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet-level position and a driving force behind the New Deal — by encouraging the president to make her home a national monument.
Perkins served as labor secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and played a key role in shaping his programs that helped Americans recover from the Great Depression, including advocating for Social Security, a 40-hour work week and the minimum wage. She died in 1965.
“She was a trailblazer, the first female presidential Cabinet member, the mother of the modern labor movement, and a pioneering advocate for social justice, economic security, and workers’ rights,” Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree said.
The initiative announced by a group of leaders on Thursday came months after President Joe Biden signed an executive order bolstering the National Park Service’s recognition of women’s history. The order directed the Department of the Interior to do more to recognize and honor the contributions of women in the U.S.
The home where Perkins lived in Newcastle, Maine, is already designated as the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark and the 57-acre (23-hectare) property along the Damariscotta River is run by a nonprofit.
The proposal asks the president to use his executive authority to elevate the property to a national monument, meaning it would be operated and staffed by the National Park Service. The nonprofit Frances Perkins Center would donate the 1887 brick house, barn and adjacent property, while retaining the surrounding woods and fields as the site of a privately constructed education center.
“President Biden has an extraordinary opportunity to create a national park site that will honor her life, and will help carry her work forward so future generations can better appreciate how this remarkable woman helped shape our nation,” said Kristen Brengel, from the National Parks Conservation Association.
Other supporters of the proposal include Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, independent Sen. Angus King and Republican former Sen. Olympia Snowe, along with Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman, UMaine President Jacqueline Edmondson and University of Maine System Chair Trish Riley.
veryGood! (42)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Is the stock market open on Veterans Day? What to know ahead of the federal holiday
- 'Climate change is real': New York parks employee killed as historic drought fuels blazes
- Republican David Schweikert wins reelection in affluent Arizona congressional district
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Republican David Schweikert wins reelection in affluent Arizona congressional district
- Colts' Kenny Moore II ridicules team's effort in loss to Bills
- Taking stock of bonds: Does the 60/40 rule still have a role in retirement savings?
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Brian Kelly asks question we're all wondering after Alabama whips LSU, but how to answer?
Ranking
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- COINIXIAI Introduce
- ONA Community Introduce
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul stirs debate: Is this a legitimate fight?
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of 2 workers at Chicago’s Navy Pier
- Why Amanda Seyfried Traded Living in Hollywood for Life on a Farm in Upstate New York
- Hill House Home’s Once-A-Year Sale Is Here: Get 30% off Everything & up to 75% off Luxury Dresses
Recommendation
Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
Get Your Home Holiday-Ready & Decluttered With These Storage Solutions Starting at $14
NFL playoff picture Week 10: Lions stay out in front of loaded NFC field
Maine dams face an uncertain future
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse
Bo the police K-9, who located child taken at knifepoint, wins Hero Dog Awards 2024
Cruise ship rescues 4 from disabled catamaran hundreds of miles off Bermuda, officials say