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The United States society changed because of World War II
Womens role in WWII
Womens role in WWII
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War not only impacts those taking part in the battle, but also those at home; everyday citizens. Societies experience lots of changes from wars like WWII. World War II had a large impact on Japanese American citizens, food production, and women’s rights. During World War II, food was scarce and needed for the military, so the government came up with ration stamps. Ration stamps were stamps that every family was issued, and people could turn them in to get food. Food was limited by the number of stamps people obtained. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many people were scared and more accepting of the rations. Even after the ration stamps, the government still needed more food, and so the victory garden was born. People often created victory gardens in their front yards, and they were strongly encouraged by the government, because victory gardens produced more food for people and the army. Many people created their own victory gardens, and by 1945, about 20 million gardens were built, and they produced about 40% of all vegetables consumed in the U.S. (!!) Food experienced many changes during WW2, but it gradually returned to normal after the war. …show more content…
While the men were fighting, women took over their jobs. Women responded to this responsibility with a varying range of emotions. Many were excited for the opportunity, but some were scared of the change; so as a result, the government took action. The government created propaganda to encourage women to help the war efforts. One of the more famous propaganda posters showed, “Rosie the riveter.” She initially was created as an advertisement to encourage women to help out in the war, and she quickly became an important figure in women's rights. During the last two years of World War II, women were allowed to join the military. World War II greatly helped advance women’s
Even though the real-life munitions worker was one of the basis of the Rosie campaign it took on a persona of its own. This persona was a fictitious character that was strong and bandanna-clad (“American Women in World War II”). Rosie was one of the most success recruitment tools in American history, and one of the most iconic images of working women during World War II. The most prominent image of Rosie the Riveter popularized in American culture was the version featured on the “We Can Do It!” posters created by the United States government (Hawkes). The Rosie the government made has a resemblance to Rockwell’s Rosie, but she is less masculine. This propaganda poster of Rosie the Riveter employed by the United States government was popular because she appealed to the sense of patriotism and common goal of the Second World War. Upgraded Rosie also showed that women could retain their femininity and womanhood in their service. Every Rosie the Riveter image played to this prevailing sense of patriotism that abounded in America during World War II. Patriotism was used as a primary motivator to recruit women for war work. Most American women had husbands, brothers, sons, and fiancés fighting on the frontlines of the war, so the women felt compelled to provide to make a contribution as citizens at home. Most of the time woman had to take care of their children and household while
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
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.
Many women during WWII experienced things that they had never done before. Before the war began women were supposed to be “perfect”. The house always had to be clean, dinner ready on the table, laundry done, and have themselves as well as their children ready for every event of the day. Once the war began and men were drafted, women had to take on the men’s role as well as their own. Women now fixed cars, worked in factories, played baseball, handled the finances, and so forth. So, what challenges and opportunities did women face on the home front during WWII? Women had many opportunities like playing baseball and working, they also faced many hardships, such as not having enough food, money, and clothing.
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.
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States whom represented the women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom produced military equipment and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The symbol of feminism and women's economic power was often amplified through Rosie the Riveter. "Rosie the Riveter" was a popular phrase first used in 1942 in a song of the same name written by Redd Evans. Auto factories were converted to build airplanes, shipyards were expanded, and new factories were built, and all these facilities needed workers. While the men were busy fighting in war, women were dominant in assistance. Companies took the idea of hiring women seriously. Eventually, women were needed because companies were signing large, lucrative contracts with the government just as all the men were leaving for the service. The various elements or figures of Rosie was based on a group of women, most of whom were named Rose. Many of these women named "Rose" varied in class, ethnicity, geography, and background diversity. One specially, who's had the biggest impact of all Rosie's was Rose Will Monroe. Rose Will Monroe, the most influential "Rosie" at the time, represented women during World War II by working most of her time in a Michigan factory.
WWII evolved the entire globe, putting the world's largest economic and military powers against each other: the AXIS powers Germany, Japan and Italy against the ALLIED powers Russia, Britain and the U.S. There were some 27,372,900 civilians and 20,858,800 military personnel killed in the war. http://warchronicle.com/numbers/WWII/deaths.htm
Nothing can impact society like war. War can be viewed as noble and just, or cruel and inhuman, as well as everything in between. War affects everyone in society whether they are fighting in a foreign country or waiting at home for a loved one to return. War is an indispensable part of civilization; found at every chapter of human history. It is the culmination of the basic survival instinct when provoked. As has the technique of battle; society's view on war has changed as well. Today the act of war has become almost shameful, whereas in earlier eras war was glorified and heroic. American society's view on war has changed also. Our history, even as a young country has seen a great deal of conflict.
During the war, men were off fighting for America, and the women were left behind to take over their jobs in the factories. Women proved that they can do almost all of the same jobs as men. Rosie the Riveter, a picture of a woman flexing with a caption of “We Can Do It,” became the symbol for women all across the nation. After the war, years later, women began to receive equal pay for the same jobs that the men were doing. Many other minority groups, such as African Americans, played a huge
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.
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.
This extra push of persuasion proved to be extremely successful. The U.S. government’s most influential propaganda speech was “Rosie the Riveter.” Rosie the Riveter was “Based in small part on a real-life munitions worker, but primarily a fictitious character, the strong, bandanna-clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history, and the most iconic image of working women during World War II.” The Rosie the Riveter campaign was very high on the necessity for women to enter the work force for the patriotic benefit of America. Media campaigns were so successful due to the call for actions that were promoted and how well received these campaigns were to the audience of thousands of women. Rosie the Riveter was a prime example of how influential propaganda was to encouraging women to join the war
The United States formally joins World War II in December 1941 in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Because of the shortage of men, women were highly encouraged to go into the workforce for the duration of war. According to Lecture 8, women’s roles where on the “home front industrial front, and military” (Bufalino 4/26/18). Rosie the Riveter was one of the most famous figures for working women. She was a campaign directed at recruiting female workers for protection industries in World War II. The message the government attempted to convey was that by joining the work force, you would could acquire a living in the meantime and help your country, like Rosie the Riveter. The magazine advertisements, posters, and pamphlets of Rosie the Riveter
to help that they would protest against there friends and families for women's rights in
would bring Nazi doctrine “home” to every family in the Reich.” (Koonz 1987, 6). Although that may be the case, Koonz also argued that within this shell of domesticity, women, in fact, active in the nature of the politics of the Third Reich. She states that Aryan women were accomplices and therefore also responsible for the genocide of the millions of Jews that were deemed sub-human. Koonz states, ―Far from being helpless or even innocent, women made possible a murderous state in the name of concerns they defined as motherly. The fact that women bore no responsibility for issuing the orders from Berlin does not obviate their complicity in carrying them out.” (Koonz 1987, 5).