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The New Deal as a Triumph of Social Work

Frances Perkins and the Confluence of Early Twentieth Century Social Work with Mid-Twentieth Century Politics and Government

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introduction: The Social Work of Desire

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 1-4
  3. Bold, Persistent Social Work

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 5-11
  4. A Method of Moral Progress

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 12-17
  5. The Perkins Persona

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 32-37
  6. The New Deal as the Social Work of Desire

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 69-97
  7. The First Charge upon the Government

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 98-118
  8. Social Work through Government

    • Stephen Paul Miller
    Pages 128-145
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 161-162

About this book

The New Deal as a Triumph of Social Work concerns the 'hand' the New Deal plays from the perspective of early American History in which government and business cooperation is assumed and economic rights are addressed collectively whereas political rights are considered individually. The New Deal reconfigures this 'ratio' of rights by folding 'social work' into the aims of government. Miller describes the vital part Frances Perkins and her personal history play in this development.

Reviews

"Stephen Paul Miller has written a brilliant and multifaceted cultural history meditation on the origins of the ideal of economic equality in America. Ranging as freely among the philosophies of America's founding fathers as among the policy initiatives of the New Dealers, Miller gives primacy in modern times to the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the nation's first female cabinet member. Perkins, using her interpersonal skills as a former social worker, pioneered the use of collaborative meetings to solve social and policy conflicts. In Miller's interpretation, her skills and insights furthered not just New Deal corporatism, but above all that era's unprecedented federal commitments to protecting individual rather than group economic rights. This is an important book for our times." - Jeffrey Kinkley, Professor of History, St. John's University, USA

"Miller's work insightfully ties concepts of economic and political rights at the time of the American founding to those espoused during the New Deal era of the 1930s. He provides original and detailed analysis of the transition of Frances Perkins from social reformer to political activist. His book should be of interest to readers in history, political theory, cultural studies, and sociology." - Robert Speel, Associate Professor of Political Science, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, USA

"Stephen Paul Miller has written a groundbreaking analysis of economic equality throughout American history. This book significantly advances upon previous treatments of New Deal economic rights by showing how the New Deal wed human and economic rights, showing how FDR and Perkins consider economic rights as more than the right to mere economic subsistence but rather as the right to full economic and human development. At a moment where the 99 percent is still being held to account for itself, Miller's brilliant book reminds us of how FDR and Perkins addressed an issue that is still very much unresolved." - David Yaffe, Syracuse University, USA "Stephen Paul Miller has written a brilliant and multifaceted cultural history meditation on the origins of the ideal of economic equality in America. Ranging as freely among the philosophies of America's founding fathers as among the policy initiatives of the New Dealers, Miller gives primacy in modern times to the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the nation's first female cabinet member. Perkins, using her interpersonal skills as a former social worker, pioneered the use of collaborative meetings to solve social and policy conflicts. In Miller's interpretation, her skills and insights furthered not just New Deal corporatism, but above all that era's unprecedented federal commitments to protecting individual rather than group economic rights. This is an important book for our times." - Jeffrey Kinkley, Professor of History, St. John's University, USA

"Miller's work insightfully ties concepts of economic and political rights at the time of the American founding to those espoused during the New Deal era of the 1930s. He provides original and detailed analysis of the transition of Frances Perkins from social reformer to political activist. His book should be of interest to readers in history, political theory, cultural studies, and sociology." - Robert Speel, Associate Professor of Political Science, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, USA

"Stephen Paul Miller has written a groundbreaking analysis of economic equality throughout American history. This book significantly advances upon previous treatments of New Deal economic rights by showing how the New Deal wed human and economic rights, showing how FDR and Perkins consider economic rights as more than the right to mere economic subsistence but rather as the right to full economic and human development. At a moment where the 99 percent is still being held to account for itself, Miller's brilliant book reminds us of how FDR and Perkins addressed an issue that is still very much unresolved." - David Yaffe, Syracuse University, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  • St. John’s University, USA

    Stephen Paul Miller

About the author

Stephen Paul Miller is Professor of English at St. John's University, USA. He is author of several books including The Seventies Now: Culture as Surveillance (1999) and several poetry books including There's Only One God and You're Not It (2011) and Being with a Bullet (2007). He is co-editor of Radical Poetics and Secular Jewish Culture (2009), and The Scene of My Selves: New Work on New York School Poets (2001). Miller was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The New Deal as a Triumph of Social Work

  • Book Subtitle: Frances Perkins and the Confluence of Early Twentieth Century Social Work with Mid-Twentieth Century Politics and Government

  • Authors: Stephen Paul Miller

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137527813

  • Publisher: Palgrave Pivot New York

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-52780-6Published: 03 December 2015

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-52781-3Published: 13 April 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VIII, 162

  • Topics: Social History, History of the Americas, Political History, US History, International Political Economy, Politics of the Welfare State

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access