Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Social effects of World War II
Role of women in wwii essay free
Gender inequality then and now
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
During World War II, many men were absorbed into the army leaving women and children at home. As the war was getting worse, the number o men in the military was not enough, and the women had to be employed n the job previously done by men. Some of the women at home were required to abandon their full time job as homemakers and decided to join the men in the workforce. Michael C.C Adams in his book The Best War Ever explained the social and economic impacts that result due to women joining the work force during World War II. This essay will analyze the similarities and differences between Michael Adam’s argument and the two oral histories on social and economic impact resulted due to women joining the army. This paper will argue that the oral …show more content…
For the first time in 1944, married female workers exceeded single women workers by 72 percent. Many people including private institution such as American home and Catholic Commonwealth did not support women as war workers and they constantly asked women doing the workforce to stay at home as homemakers. According to Adams, many thought that women joining the workforce were a way of introducing immorality to the family, and consequently the results will be adultery during the night shift. Similarly, male colleagues did not like the idea of women joining the workforce. Some men felt angry that women performed the same job they did. According to Michael Adams, women felt too much pressure trying to combine the two responsibilities. Women were the foundation of many of the families at home because their husbands were in military. The responsibilities were too much on women that led them to work extra time with less sleep. This resulted to the absenteeism of women at workforce. Moreover, women faced hard times trying to keep the family strong as sometimes their housemaid got angry wit them due to late arrival from work. At the end of the war, women were urged to leave their jobs, which were then available for the veterans. Though the women were applauded for the job they did during the war, a number of them were frustrated by the action and they felt betrayed. Many women had gained experience …show more content…
Similarly to Adams argument, Lola Weixel says that at the end of the war, they thought that they were learning a skill that would last them and be useful all over their lives. Women were shocked and hot angry when they found that their job was temporary and they would lose it soon as the war ended. Lola Wexiel also supports Adams point on how people looked at who joined the job during the war. Many people thought that women were only there to meet men and make them happy. In real sense, women were taking it as a serious business and their target was to learn and to contribute to the war effort. Michael Adams differs with Tara Melish’s oral history on areas where women were employed during the war. According to Adam, women were employed as nurses, teachers and bank tellers, which is absolutely different with Lola Weixel where women worked as welders in a machine
Is it true Americans are rightfully notorious for creating inaccurate paradigms of what really happened in historical events Americans are tied to? Has America ever censored historical events in order to protect Americans innocent democratic reputation? After reading, “The Best War Ever” by Michael C.C Adams, I have found the answers to these questions to be yes. Some of the myths that Adams addresses in his book include: 1. America was innocent in world war two and was an ever acting protagonist in the war; 2. World war two or any war for that matter can be, or is a “good war” and bring prosperity to America; 3. War world two brought unity to Americans.
“There was much more to women’s work during World War Two than make, do, and mend. Women built tanks, worked with rescue teams, and operated behind enemy lines” (Carol Harris). Have you ever thought that women could have such an important role during a war? In 1939 to 1945 for many women, World War II brought not only sacrifices, but also a new style of life including more jobs, opportunities and the development of new skills. They were considered as America’s “secret weapon” by the government. Women allowed getting over every challenge that was imposed by a devastating war. It is necessary to recognize that women during this period brought a legacy that produced major changes in social norms and work in America.
Many people say that the metal of a man is found in his ability to keep his ideals in spite of anything that life can through at you. If a man is found to have done these things he can be called a hero. Through a lifelong need to accept responsibility for all living things, Robert Ross defines his heroism by keeping faith with his ideals despite the betrayal, despair and tragedy he suffers throughout the course of The Wars by Timothy Findley.
World War I and industrialization both brought greater economic autonomy to American women. With immigration curtailed and hundreds of thousands of men needed for the armed forces, women’s labor became a wartime necessity. About 1.5 million women worked in paying jobs during the war, with many more employed as volunteers or secretaries and yeomen for the Army, Navy, and Marines (James and Wells, 66). Women retained few of those 1.5 million jobs after men returned from war, but the United States’ industrialized postwar economy soon provided enough work for men and women alike. Once confined to nursing, social work, teaching, or secretarial jobs, women began to find employment in new fields. According to Allen, “They ...
Life for women was expanding because the men were at war and some one had to step up and be both the man and woman in their household. Both men and women were going into World War II because the war was so big that in 1942, The Women's Army Corps (WAC) and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES) were created. After two these organizations were accepted, The United States government then allowed women to serve in the U.S. Navy. Women back in the United States worked in factories, hardcore jobs and became the main focus of society when it came down to the entertainment industry. Through out the 1940's, the number of women in the working rose by 35 percent. Harvard University found that from 1930 to 1950 participation rate for married women 35 to 44 years old in the work force increased by 15.5 percent. Only 8 percent of workers were married in 1890. Plus, the number of married woman workers in 1930 rose from 26 percent to 37 percent in 1950. The average married woman that was working was more educated than the average married
When all the men were across the ocean fighting a war for world peace, the home front soon found itself in a shortage for workers. Before the war, women mostly depended on men for financial support. But with so many gone to battle, women had to go to work to support themselves. With patriotic spirit, women one by one stepped up to do a man's work with little pay, respect or recognition. Labor shortages provided a variety of jobs for women, who became street car conductors, railroad workers, and shipbuilders. Some women took over the farms, monitoring the crops and harvesting and taking care of livestock. Women, who had young children with nobody to help them, did what they could do to help too. They made such things for the soldiers overseas, such as flannel shirts, socks and scarves.
Many factors affected the changes in women’s employment. The change that occurred went through three major phases: the prewar period in the early 1940s, the war years from 1942-1944, and the post war years from around 1945-1949. The labor shortage that occurred as men entered the military propelled a large increase in women’s entrance into employment during the war. Men's return to the civilian workforce at the end of the war caused the sudden drop to prewar levels. The cause of the sudden decline during post war years of women in the paid workforce is unclear. Many questions are left unanswered: What brought women into the war industry, ...
The women during the war felt an obligation to assist in one form or another. Many stayed at home to watch over the children, while others felt a more direct or indirect approach was necessary. Amongst the most common path women took to support the war, many "served as clerks...filled the ammunition cartridges and artillery shells with powder at armories, laboring at this dangerous and exacting task for low wages. Both sides utilized women in these capacities (Volo 170)." Women that stayed away from battlefields supported their respected armies by taking the jobs that men left behind. They were the grease in the gears of war, the individuals working behind the scenes so that the men would be prepared, ready to fight with functioning weapons and operational gear.
“The War led to a dramatic rise in the number of women working in the United States; from 10.8 million in March, 1941, to more than 18 million in August, 1944…” (Miller). Although the United States couldn’t have been as successful in the war without their efforts, most of
War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sadly, some resort to suicide to escape their insecurities. Soldiers, however, are not the only ones affected by wars; family members also experience mental hardships when their loved ones are sent to war. Timothy Findley accurately portrays the detrimental effects wars have on individuals in his masterpiece The Wars.
When American officially entered World War II in 1941 changes occurred for many people. The draft was enacted forcing men to do their duty and fight for their country. Women were asked to hold down the home front in many ways, ranging from rationing, volunteering, saving bacon grease and making the most of their commodities they currently had. There was also a hard push for women to take war production jobs outside the home. Before the depression, just a few years before the war, it was not uncommon for a woman to work for wages, but as the depression set in, married women were at risk of losing their jobs. Numerous women were fired or asked to resign in order to make room for a man who had lost his job. Many citizens felt it was unfair for a family to have two wage earners when some families had none. (Kessler-Harris) Previously, the average workforce of women was young and single. However, when the war started, couples were married at a younger age, putting the typical worker in short supply. This led to a rapid increase in older married women going to work outside the home. “During the depression, 80 percent of Americans objected to wives working outside the home, by 1942, only 13 percent still objected.” (May) By the end of the war, 25 percent of married women were employed. (May) Although women had worked outside the home prior to World War II, their entrance into the war production labor force created change in the typical gender roles and provided an exciting and yet difficult time for many women who were gaining their independence.
The Struggles in life is something everyone is faced with whether it is physical, emotional mental or personal struggles. These struggles are capable of shaping an individual’s personality and outlook on life. Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars, shows that struggles lead to the character’s ultimate inner struggles, outer struggles and self-discovery. War exists in a person’s physical and psychological aspects. In The Wars, Robert Ross goes to war and fights a personal and physical battle.
During America’s involvement in World War Two, which spanned from 1941 until 1945, many men went off to fight overseas. This left a gap in the defense plants that built wartime materials, such as tanks and other machines for battle. As a result, women began to enter the workforce at astonishing rates, filling the roles left behind by the men. As stated by Cynthia Harrison, “By March of [1944], almost one-third of all women over the age of fourteen were in the labor force, and the numbers of women in industry had increased almost 500 percent. For the first time in history, women were in the exact same place as their male counterparts had been, even working the same jobs. The women were not dependent upon men, as the men were overseas and far from influence upon their wives.
Women were not only separated by class, but also by their gender. No woman was equal to a man and didn’t matter how rich or poor they were. They were not equal to men. Women couldn’t vote own business or property and were not allowed to have custody of their children unless they had permission from their husband first. Women’s roles changed instantly because of the war. They had to pick up all the jobs that the men had no choice but to leave behind. They were expected to work and take care of their homes and children as well. Working outside the home was a challenge for these women even though the women probably appreciated being able to provide for their families. “They faced shortages of basic goods, lack of childcare and medical care, little training, and resistance from men who felt they should stay home.” (p 434)
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