Start Your Visit WithHistorical TimelinesChronological Eras Information Tables General Interest Maps Glossary History Quizzes |
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Secretaries of Labor |
Start Your Visit WithHistorical TimelinesChronological Eras Information Tables General Interest Maps Glossary History Quizzes |
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A separate Department of Labor was created in 1913 when the previously existing Department of Commerce and Labor was divided. This change reflected the realization that the aims of the business community and those of workers were often different and needed separate representation.
The secretary is appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate. He or she sets the Department's policies. The secretary functions as the president's main liaison with organized labor, and is a member of several presidential and Cabinet-level committees.
The undersecretary is the secretary's main aide and directs the department in the latter's absence. Other principal assistants are assistant secretaries, a commissioner, and chief law officer.
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Term of Service
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Secretary
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Home State
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Administration
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1913 - 1921
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William B. Wilson | Pennsylvania | Wilson |
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1921 - 1923
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James J. Davis | Pennsylvania | Harding |
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1923 - 1929
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Coolidge | ||
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1929 - 1930
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Hoover | ||
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1930 - 1933
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William N. Doak | Virginia | Hoover |
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1933 - 1945
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Frances Perkins | New York | F.D. Roosevelt |
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1945 - 1949
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L.B. Schwellenbach | Washington | Truman |
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1949 - 1953
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Maurice J. Tobin | Massachusetts | Truman |
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1953
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Martin P. Durkin | Illinois | Eisenhower |
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1953 - 1961
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James P. Mitchell | New Jersey | Eisenhower |
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1961 - 1962
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Arthur J. Goldberg | Illinois | Kennedy |
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1962 - 1963
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W. Willard Wirtz | Illinois | Kennedy |
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1963 - 1969
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L.B. Johnson | ||
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1969 - 1970
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George P. Shultz | Illinois | Nixon |
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1970 - 1973
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James D. Hodgson | California | Nixon |
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1973 - 1974
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Peter J. Brennan | New York | Nixon |
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1974 - 1975
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Ford | ||
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1975 - 1976
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John T. Dunlop | California | Ford |
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1976 - 1977
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W.J. Usery Jr. | Georgia | Ford |
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1977 - 1981
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F. Ray Marshall | Texas | Carter |
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1981 - 1985
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Raymond J. Donovan | New Jersey | Reagan |
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1985 - 1987
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William E. Brock | Tennessee | Reagan |
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1987 - 1989
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Ann D. McLaughlin | Washington, D.C. | Reagan |
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1989 - 1991
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Elizabeth H. Dole | North Carolina | G.H.W. Bush |
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1991 - 1993
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Lynn Martin | Illinois | G.H.W. Bush |
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1993 - 1997
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Robert B. Reich | Massachusetts | Clinton |
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1997 - 2001
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Alexis Herman | Alabama | Clinton |
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2001 -
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Elaine L. Chao | Kentucky | G.W. Bush |
| See cabinet officers sorted by administration. | ||
- - - Books You May Like Include: ----
The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kirstin Downey.
Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. Based on eight years of researc...
