World War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society

1496 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roles of Women during WWI

World War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society

World War II is an event that has marked history like no other. Originating from a European struggle, war broke out in 1939 and continued for six years. From the years 1939 through 1945 more than half the earth's surface was battling in war. American society was greatly affected. People of every age, race and class were deeply affected. Women's place in society took a leap forward like it never had before. As an effect of the second world war women's traditional roles in society were drastically altered.

The 1940's brought innovative opportunities along with hardships to American society. After the Depression it looked as though there was no hope for the traditional role of women to be changing. Women had very few job opportunities, especially married women. In William Henry Chafe's book The American Woman, he explains:

Legislative bodies enacted laws restricting the employment of married women. Labor, government, and the mass media all joined in a campaign urging females to refrain from taking jobs. And the overwhelming majority of average citizens--including women--showed little interest in modifying the existing distribution of sexual roles. (Chafe 135)

The role of women in society was unchanging. It was quite remarkable how stable their role remained for so long (135). While still recovering from the Depression, Europe managed to mark the beginning of the biggest war in history. They first took over Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. And after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, the United States entered the war. The main transformation World War II made for women in American society was there were man...

... middle of paper ...

...o work, keeping the economy going while the men were fighting the war. Other women joined the army and navy out in combat. Organizations that are still present to this day were founded, such as the American Red Cross Association, the Women's Army Corps (WAC), the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and the Army Nurse Corps. Overall, World War II changed the role of American women for the better. It marked the beginning of an ongoing advancement of women's economic position in American society.

Works Cited

Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. New York: Random House, 2004. Print.

Chafe, William H. The American Woman; Her Changing Social, Economic, and Political Roles, 1920-

1970. New York: Oxford UP, 1972. Print.

Daniel, Robert L. American Women in the 20th Century. The Festival of Life. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.

Show More
Related

  • The Evolving Role of Women in American History

    2170 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rappaport, Doreen. American Women, Their Lives in Their Words: Thomas Y. Crowell, New York 1990

    Read More

  • Norman Rockwell, Rosie The Riveer

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the time of 1940-1945 a big whole opened up in the industrial labor force because of the men enlisting. World War II was a hard time for the United States and knowing that it would be hard on their work force, they realized they needed the woman to do their part and help in any way they can. Whether it is in the armed forces or at home the women showed they could help out. In the United States armed forces about 350,000 women served at home and abroad. The woman’s work force in the United States increased from 27 percent to nearly 37percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married woman worked outside the home. This paper will show the way the United States got the woman into these positions was through propaganda from

    Read More

  • Women in World War Two

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    American women in World War II brought significant changes which although people expectation that life would go back to normal they modify their lifestyle making women free of society pressure and norms, because the war changed the traditional way to see a woman and their roles leading to a new society where women were allowed to study and work in the same way than men. Creating a legacy with the principles of today’s society.

    Read More

  • American Homefront During World War II

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American home front during World War II is recalled warmly in popular memory and cultural myth as a time of unprecedented national unity, years in which Americans stuck together in common cause. World War II brought many new ideas and changes to American life. Even though World War II brought no physical destruction to the United States mainland, it did affect American society. Every aspect of American life was altered by U.S. involvement in the war including demographics, the labor force, economics and cultural trends.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Domesticity In The 1950's

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some historians have argued that 1950s America marked a step back for the advancement that women made during WWII. What contributed to this “return to domesticity” and do you believe that the the decade was good or bad for women? The end of World War II was the main contributing factor to the “return to domesticity”. During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and leave their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for wartime measures.

    Read More

  • Flappers

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new liberation. When the men returned from the war they found competition from the newly liberated woman who did not want to settle for making a home (Melman 17). This new class of women exercised a freedom that shocked society.

    Read More

  • British Women In Ww2 Essay

    1780 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plan of Investigation This investigation will evaluate the question, to what extent did the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force assist the Allies’ war efforts during the Second World War? This question is important because in World War 1 British women were active in the war effort but to a limited extent, acting as nurses on the battle field and working in munitions factories, but resumed their traditional roles in society after the war. In World War 2 women were more active in the military through auxiliary groups, such as Women’s Auxiliary Force (WAAF) and it is important to understand how much of an impact their work made on the Allies war effort.

    Read More

  • Women's Employment in the 1940s

    6013 Words  | 13 Pages

    The 1940s provided a drastic change in women’s employment rates and society’s view of women. With the end of the Depression and the United States’ entrance into World War II, the number of jobs available to women significantly increased. As men were being drafted into military service, the United States needed more workers to fill the jobs left vacant by men going to war. Women entered the workforce during World War II due to the economic need of the country. The use of Patriotic rhetoric in government propaganda initiated and encouraged women to change their role in society.

    Read More

  • Hairspray Gender Roles

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is fundamental to define “old” and “new” roles of women to make a comparison between them. The “old” role of women in the workplace involved menial jobs, and before World War II, women were expected to remain at home and raise kids. Roughly thirty states enacted laws to prohibit married women from working

    Read More

  • World War II

    1611 Words  | 4 Pages

    World War II was one of the deadliest wars we know of in history, with as many as sixty million casualties, most of whom were civilians. It impacted a lot of countries, almost all over the world, which is why the name is given. This war impacted many countries in the world, and damaged almost all of the countries involved greatly. It also led to the downfall of Western European countries as world powers, leaving it to the Soviet Union, and the United States. The war started in 1939 and ended in 1945, with the invasion of Poland and the Axis surrender, respectively.

    Read More

  • Women's Fight to Reform their World in the Early 1900s

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moran, Mickey. “1930s, America- Feminist Void?” Loyno. Department of History, 1988. Web. 11 May. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their duties were fulfilling the patriotic and feminine role. After the war the government and media had changed their message as women were to resume the role of the housewife, maid and mother to stay out of the way of returning soldiers. Thus the patriotic and feminine role was nothing but a mystified tactic the government used to maintain the American economic structure during the world war period. It is the contention of this paper to explore how several groups of women were treated as mindless individuals that could be controlled and disposed of through the government arranging social institutions, media manipulation and propaganda, and assumptions behind women’s tendencies which forced “Rosie the Riveter” to become a male dominated concept.

    Read More

  • Essay: How World War II Changed America

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War II changed the world as a whole, but in this essay I am going to talk about how it changed America. After the war, many groups and organizations were created. The United Nations was born on October 24, 1945. This was a group meant to keep peace between nations. Tensions were still high between the United States and the Soviet Union after the war. Nevertheless, things were booming like never before here in our home country. With equal rights for women and African Americans, economic growth, and anti- war organizations became pro- war after Pearl Harbor. These are the ways I am going to discuss to you how World War Two changed our great country.

    Read More

  • The Lack of Women's role in society in the 1950s

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, when the war was over, and the men returned to their lives, society reverted back to as it had been not before the 1940s, but well before the 1900s. Women were expected to do nothing but please their husband. Women were not meant to have jobs or worry about anything that was occurring outside of their own household.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • Women's Roles In The 1920s Essay

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working raised by fifty percent.” They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant.” Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's

    Read More

More about World War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society

Open Document