Becoming Madam Secretary

The first chapter returns to the summer of 1909 in New York City. A young Frances moves to Hell’s Kitchen, one of the most notoriously violent tenement neighborhoods in the city. Holding a parasol, Frances walks to the stairway entrance of the brick settlement house on West 46th Street. The supervisor, a severe woman named Miss Mathews, opens the door and beckons Frances into the Hartley House. Frances informs Miss Mathews that she’s been offered the chance to pursue a master’s degree in economics, during which she plans to study childhood malnutrition.

Miss Mathews asks whether Frances is wealthy since only wealthy women pursued graduate educations at the time. Miss Mathews doesn’t take Frances seriously and wonders how long it will be until Frances leaves her work and begins a family, which Frances finds irritating. Frances then learns the reason behind Miss Mathews’s chilly reception: She has learned that Frances previously “fell afoul of the criminal element” (14). Frances laughs off the worry, telling Miss Mathews that she defended a sex worker and was attacked by the sex worker’s employer.

As Frances rises to head to her quarters, Miss Mathews asks why a woman would ever want to study economics. Frances gamely tells Miss Mathews her central thesis as a scholar, that “many people in America believe poverty is a moral problem having to do with sloth or some other sin we can blame on individuals. But [she] believe[s] poverty in America is an economic problem that can be solved…and [she] intend[s] to solve it” (16).

As Frances gets settled into her new home, she reminisces on her childhood at her family homestead in Maine, where she helped her grandmother around the house and played in the meadows and streams. Frances considers her grandmother to be a great influence on her life, as she encouraged her to pursue her education and independence.

In the morning, Miss Mathews takes Frances on a tour of the Hartley House, which had been founded as a housekeeping school to teach poor girls how to keep a neat home. Frances feels annoyed by the school’s patronizing attitude: She believes that if some poor people do not keep tidy homes, it is because they lack the means, not the knowledge. However, she keeps her thoughts to herself. Miss Mathews goes on to tell Frances about the amenities that Hartley House has brought to the neighborhood, including a kindergarten, a playground, a gymnasium, and a bank so that “child factory workers have somewhere safe to deposit their funds before they’re robbed by gang members” (19). Frances twitches at the phrase, as she is deeply bothered by child labor practices, but keeps herself in check due to Miss Mathews’s judgment. As the tour wraps up, Miss Mathews tells her a final rule, which is to never give money directly to the poor.

Miss Mathews leads Frances to the nurse’s office, where she’ll be employed weighing the children and taking their measurements for her research. A couple hours later, Frances meets an appealing woman named Mary Harriman, a famous debutante with a railroad baron for a father. Mary is happy to meet Frances: She’s heard about the attack that Frances endured in which she stabbed the pimp with her umbrella, and she is impressed with the story,

As they speak, Mary calls out to a thin woman on the street, whom she calls Eleanor. Mary introduces Eleanor Roosevelt, who is also a famous debutante in the city. Frances feels awkward meeting her, as she is the niece of former President Theodore Roosevelt. Later in her life, Frances feels as if this meeting was preordained. In the moment, however, she is just happy to make friends in the big city.

Now working with impoverished children, Frances speaks to the mother of a sick infant, a poor immigrant from Ireland. The woman confesses about her struggles to Frances, including a dead husband and an imprisoned son. Frances promises not to let the woman starve.

A few weeks later, Miss Mathews confronts Frances over breaking the rules of Hartley House, namely giving money directly to the poor. Frances tries to defend herself, but Miss Mathews asks what she’ll do with all the beggars who are now sure to come to their doorstep. Frances isn’t sure, as she’s run out of personal funds.

Miss Mathews insists that all charitable donations need to go through the Charity Organization Society of New York City. Despite Miss Mathews’s warnings, Frances heads to meet an old classmate of hers who works at the organization in order to speed things along. However, the classmate, Mr. Devine, tells her that they can’t contribute funds to the family, as the youngest child was born “illegitimately”—meaning outside of marriage. Frances storms out of the office in anger.

Frances heads for the headquarters of the New York City political machine, headquartered at Tammany Hall on Ninth Street. A group of gangsters smoking cigars loiter outside the hall. Frances walks into the hall without permission, hoping that her confidence will keep her safe. Thomas McManus, the boss of Tammany Hall, emerges from the smoke to talk to Frances. Frances explains the family’s situation to Thomas, who gets the boy released from jail within a few days.

In November, Frances returns to her childhood home in Worcester, Massachusetts, for her sister’s wedding. At the reception, Frances’s mother makes a number of insulting comments toward Frances regarding her lack of children and her clothing, upsetting her. Frances tries to impress her mother with the connections she has made in New York City, but her mother dismisses her.

Returning to New York City, Frances faces the anger of Miss Mathews as she continues to study childhood poverty throughout the winter. Frances faces continued hunger as she struggles to afford food. In order to get a hot meal, she volunteers to represent the Hartley House at the fourth annual Present Problems dinner. She finds herself sitting next to a personal hero, the reformer Florence Kelly. After a spirited conversation, Florence offers Frances a job at the Consumers’ League to aid in the fight against child labor in New York City.

For the job, Florence instructs Frances “to lobby the state legislature to pass a bill limiting the workweek for women to fifty-four hours” (39). Frances protests that she doesn’t have any experience in lobbying, but Florence believes in her and tells her that what she needs to do is “investigate, agitate, and legislate” (39). Frances accepts the offer at a $1,000-per-year salary.

Frances’ new office is located on 22nd Street near Gramercy Park. Now that she’s moved on from the Hartley House, she also moves to a house in Greenwich. In the spring of 1910, she’s visited in her office by Mary Harriman. After a short and pleasant conversation, Mary offers to set Frances up with some writers and editors she knows in Greenwich Village.

Florence Kelly shows herself to be an intense person, frequently erupting in fits of anger when events don’t go her way. However, Frances still loves working with her, as Florence is her idol. Florence assigns Frances to work as an investigator of bakeries, finding out whether they’re following health regulations. Frances spends her days working and her nights attending suffragette parties and hobnobbing with bohemians, artists, and rich and powerful social reformers.

In June 1910, Frances meets the future President Franklin D. Roosevelt at a party in New York City. On first introduction, Franklin comes off as friendly, though arrogant and obsessed with status, which doesn’t endear him to Frances in the slightest. In the conversation, Franklin frequently teases Frances, which she responds to with indignity, talking about the rights of female workers in the city. Franklin doesn’t seem to take particularly kindly to Frances either, clearly thinking of her as a killjoy.

When Franklin leaves, Mary explains to Frances that not even his own family members take him seriously, referring to him as Feather Duster Roosevelt behind his back.

By August 1910, Frances has met the reporter and writer Sinclair Lewis at a coffeehouse writers’ group hosted by the editor of Collier’s magazine, Will Irwin. Frances admires Sinclair for his writing but is put off by his constant romantic advances toward her. At the writing group, Irwin criticizes one of Frances’s short stories, calling it puerile, as she often writes love stories instead of stories about the misery they see around them in the streets.

After the writing group, Sinclair manages to convince Frances to go for a picnic with him. After frolicking in the water, Sinclair tries to convince Frances to marry him, but she rebuffs him. On the ferry ride home, the two friends make up stories about the other passengers that they see. They see a young man approach a woman and convince her to leave with him, which Frances views as suspicious, worrying that the man might be a trafficker forcing the woman into sex work.

Sinclair and Frances follow them to see what might be happening, and when they reach the door of their apartment building, Frances convinces Sinclair to confront the man over his intentions with the woman. However, the man reacts with indignation, claiming that he is married to the woman. This is soon confirmed by the building’s superintendent and their neighbors, causing Frances to sputter in embarrassment.

One night in December 1910, Florence sticks her head into Frances’s office and finds her working late, past the hours in which her housing settlement will be open. Instead, she invites Frances to spend the night at her place. In the morning, Frances heads to Albany for a lobbying effort. Her friend Mary sets her up with a chaperone by the name of Paul Caldwell Wilson, who Frances knows by reputation, as he’s a famed investigator. She also figures out that Mary is trying to match her and Paul together as a couple.

When Frances arrives at the state capitol in Albany, she meets Paul, who comes off as a well-dressed and charming man. Frances and Paul discover that they have similar political opinions, as both consider themselves progressive Republicans opposed to the conservative Democrats who run Tammany Hall, the political machine of New York.

As they converse, they’re approached by a man named Al Smith, who works in the legislature. He informs Frances that her bill to limit working hours for women to 54 hours per week has stalled in Congress thanks to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who is currently a state senator.

Frances approaches Franklin in the hall to convince him to let the bill go to the floor for debate. However, Franklin dismisses her with the single word “unconstitutional.” He heads into a male-only lunchroom, dismissing Frances’s concerns as he walks away from her. Frances leaves, furious at Franklin for being a “pompous peacock” (72).

In frustration, Frances complains to Paul, who recommends that she contact a different Roosevelt—Theodore, the former president, rather than Franklin. Although Frances doesn’t believe that she’ll get a response, Paul convinces her to reach out anyway.

In January 1911, Frances receives a letter from former President Theodore Roosevelt expressing regret that he can’t attend the meeting of the Consumers’ League and to support Frances’s legislation. Despite her disappointment that he won’t attend, Frances is delighted by his support.

Frances meets with Paul, who expresses happiness about Theodore’s support. She tells him about her past in Worcester and how she came to work as a social reformer. Frances worked as a teacher in Chicago, and one day, one of her students was severely injured while working at a candy factory, to which the factory owner responded with cruelty. Frances wanted to bring a suit against the factory owner but was chastised by her parents, as the owner was an important citizen in Worcester. Frances still has nightmares about the injured student in the present day.

On Valentine’s Day, Sinclair shows up at Frances’s office with a box of chocolates for her. Though she’s flattered, Frances doesn’t want her colleagues to think that she and Sinclair are courting, as she is currently interested in Paul. Though she believes that Paul won’t be interested in her, she returns home from the office to find a card from him inviting her to be his valentine.

While Mary encourages Frances to accept the invitation, Frances is nervous about the possibility. Mary takes Frances out dress shopping so that she’ll have something nice to wear for Paul and for her lobbying efforts in Albany.

On the day of the legislative hearing, Frances organizes a number of women to testify about the difficult working conditions they face in the factories. The hearing is chaired by Thomas McManus, who’d previously helped Frances during her time at the Hartley House. Frances listens in annoyance as various industrialists testify in opposition to the proposed law. However, when it comes time for Frances to testify, the whole committee leaves except for Thomas, infuriating Frances and the assembled women. Frances makes her case to him, but she knows that the whole hearing was a sham. Afterward, Frances meets with Paul, who tells her that without bribes, she won’t get the support of legislators from either major party.

By March, Frances is feeling disillusioned by her movement, as all her initiatives have died before they could really make a difference. During a meeting with Mary and her hostesses, a fire breaks out in a shirtwaist factory down the street. Frances rushes to the scene and is horrified to see working girls in the windows with the fire behind them. As she arrives, one girl jumps from the window, dying on impact with the ground. More bodies continue to fall as the firemen struggle to put out the flames. After a half hour, numerous girls have died.

In shock, Frances wanders home to encounter Sinclair on her stoop. They drink together, and then Frances heads to bed to have a very disturbed sleep. In later weeks, Frances discovers that the owner of the factory had illegally locked the doors to prevent theft, thus preventing the workers from escaping the flames. The only politician who seems to care is Al Smith, who works for Tammany Hall. Frances now burns with a hot passion for justice, feeling embarrassment at her previous disillusionment. She recommits to continue fighting for the rights of working women.

In April, Frances marches with 100,000 people up Fifth Avenue to protest the conditions of workers, inspired by the tragedy of the fire. Frances has taken the lead in the investigation, publicly castigating the factory owners, who sputter in protest. The officials in charge of public safety call for Frances to lose her job, as her public comments have embarrassed them. Florence Kelley promises to stand behind Frances but tells her to make sure that the facts support her narrative.

Paul introduces Frances to Mr. Porter, an expert on fire safety from Chicago. He soon begins to instruct her on the intricacies of fire prevention. The three of them travel to a Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago, which had recently implemented a number of reforms to increase the building’s fire safety, including fireproof windows and fire walls. On the way home, Paul confesses his feelings to Frances. However, Frances turns him down, as she’s still consumed with the aftermath of the shirtwaist factory fire.

By November, Al Smith has organized a committee to investigate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. However, to Frances’s dismay, Al decides to investigate bakeries first, instead of factories. Al explains that the general public cares more about their own stomachs than conditions at factories and asks Frances to be an expert witness for the investigation.

During the hearing, a man barges down the aisle, shouting that Frances is not qualified to be an expert witness since she is “[a] mere girl” with no particular expertise in baking (105). Al, however, questions Frances further, revealing the extent of her expertise and embarrassing the man. Later, Al praises Frances for her detailed and impressive testimony. He invites Frances over for dinner with him and his wife that night.

Witnessing the affection between Al and his wife, Frances realizes that she wishes to have a child and a family as well as a career in public service—a privilege typically only reserved for men.

By January 1912, Frances is back in Albany, lobbying for the passage of her labor bill. One day, she chases down Franklin D. Roosevelt, who is now a state senator. However, he laughs her off, causing Frances to become angry. She chastises him for dismissing her, and he claims to support her bill, though he is focusing on other causes at the moment. Frances tells him, to his chagrin, that his re-election campaign will turn on the success of her bill.

Eventually, Frances manages to get the votes she requires, and she convinces Thomas McManus to bring the bill to the floor before the end of the legislative session. After a spirited debate, the bill passes the upper chamber with a vote of 32-15. However, Al Smith approaches Frances to tell her that an amendment exempting the canneries from the new law has been introduced in the lower chamber, an amendment that she cannot support. Since there is no time to reconcile the two bills, Frances realizes that she must have been betrayed by one of her previous supporters.

Speaking to a legislator named “Big Tim” Sullivan, Frances discovers that many legislators had pretended to support her bill publicly while also undermining it in private, as it’s currently an election year. In sadness, Frances calls Paul “to pour her woes into his sympathetic ear” (112). Speaking to him, Frances realizes that she’d rather have a small victory rather than no victory at all, and she heads back to the chamber to try to get the legislators to vote on the bill.

After some scary rounds of voting in which it seems as if the bill might be defeated, the bill ends up passing, to the delight of Frances, Al, and Big Tim. However, Frances knows she has to face the consequences of supporting the bill excluding the canneries. As she leaves Albany, Frances is warned that she might be fired.

Back at the New York City office, Florence Kelley comes bursting in. Frances braces for her anger, but instead, she wraps her in a hug. Frances is shocked because she thought that Florence would be upset about the compromise. However, Florence tells her that they should celebrate the victories and pursue the canneries as an election issue. From this, Frances learns that she should ignore the pressure to be “lady-like” and instead pursue her goals at all costs.

With her new attitude, Frances begins to use tactics such as calling the rabbis of local business owners to complain about the working conditions in their department stores, with the intention of getting the rabbis to support her cause. Despite her progress, the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory are acquitted of manslaughter charges, as the jury wasn’t convinced that the owners had known that the door was locked when they’d fled the building. In fact, it turns out that the owners stand to make a profit from the fire due to the insurance payout.

However, later that spring, Florence tells Frances that she’ll need to let her go, as she’s made an impression on Theodore Roosevelt, who’s decided to run for president again. The Committee on Safety, which had been created following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, was courting Theodore’s support, which he’d promised to give if, and only if, they made Frances their executive director. Florence encourages Frances to accept the new position, as it allows her to position herself as the chief investigator for the state legislature in Albany and therefore influence the direction of legislation.

As a part of her new role, Frances takes the legislators on tours of the factories to show them the deficiencies in fire safety firsthand. Next, she shows them a state-of-the-art factory with excellent fire safety, demonstrating the alternatives to the current system.

In the summer of 1912, Frances attends a bacchanalia ball, featuring the anarchist Emma Goldman. She and her friends discuss recent political developments, which have resulted in Theodore Roosevelt leaving the Republican Party in order to start his own Bull Moose Party. Sinclair Lewis is also in attendance, though the rest of Frances’s friends find him annoying.

That night, Frances is awakened by Sinclair standing in the street, screaming up at her closed window that he loves her and that he’s proposing marriage. Humiliated by this display, Frances demands that he leave her alone. Sinclair complains about this, and Frances, feeling sympathetic, is just about to invite him upstairs when he tells her that he deserves to be with her because he saw her first. Frances slams the window closed, and in the morning, she calls Paul to tell him that she’ll accompany him to the Democratic Convention in Baltimore.

At the station in Baltimore, Frances and Paul run into Franklin D. Roosevelt. Frances is angry with Franklin, as he didn’t support the bill she passed in Albany. He’s in Baltimore for the convention because he’s supporting Woodrow Wilson for president. To Frances’s fury, he smugly claims that he was present in Albany and helped to whip the vote for the bill.

After the convention, Frances feels resentful, as Franklin managed to gather enough support for Woodrow to secure his candidacy. In the park, Paul asks Frances about Sinclair Lewis, wondering whether she might secretly harbor feelings for him. Frances tells him that she doesn’t, and then Paul confesses his own. Frances tells him that she returns his feelings, and the two kiss.