He joined the 87th Division, and shortly after it arrived in France he was commissioned as a first lieutenant and sent to Chaumont, where the American Expeditionary Force had its headquarters.
[3] Upon his return to civilian life in July 1919, Perkins resumed his appointment at the University of Rochester, where he remained on the faculty until 1953.
As president of the American Historical Association in 1956, he delivered an address that emphasized the importance of teaching alongside scholarly research at universities.
Perkins was the author of A History of the Monroe Doctrine, America and Two Wars, and The Evolution of American Foreign Policy.
Perkins co-authored with Glyndon G. Van Deusen (also of the University of Rochester) The United States of America: A History.