It's a cool, September evening and a crowd had gathered in Newcastle to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Social Security, the landmark federal program that has offered a critical safety net to generations of Americans.

But the event, held beneath the post-and-beam timbers of a historic barn located on one of the country's newest national monuments, was as much a celebration of the woman behind Social Security: Frances Perkins.

“You'll hear it said that FDR was the author, and like every elected official, he gets the credit, “ Jim Roosevelt, the grandson of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR. "But she was the author who pushed for it, for the strong components of Social Security. Pushed him, pushed the Congress.”

Perkins served as FDR’s secretary of labor through 12 tumu

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