Megan Flahive

1. Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. The American Nation: A History of the United States.11th ed. United States: Pearson Longman, 2003.

“These male attitudes [of discrimination toward women] lost force in the fact of the escalating demand for labor. That employers usually did not have to pay women as much as men made them attractive, as did the fact that they were not subject to the draft” (743).
Women unaccepted at first, but then found out good workers
Mostly mindless jobs, but some were worthwhile

2. Hughes, Kaylene. “Redstone’s WWII Female ‘Production Soldiers.’” 1992: 1-11. 16 Apr. 2006 http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women/welcome.html.

“During WWII Redstone Arsenal produced such items as burster charges, medium- and major-caliber chemical artillery ammunition, rifle grenades, demolition blocks, and bombs of varying weights and sizes. Between March 1942 and September 1945, over 45.2 million units of ammunition were loaded and assembled for shipment. The Army's impact on Huntsville was immediate and profound. But few, if any, of the town's citizens could have imagined what a change these installations and the war they were built to support would generate in the lives of the women living in Huntsville and the surrounding counties” (S-1/6).

“Officials also selected several carefully chosen applicants and sent them to Edgewood Arsenal for training in methods of munitions and gas manufacture. This group became the nucleus for the training of other production personnel” (S-1/3)
Educational and employment opportunities = more women show up

3. “The Image and Reality of Women who Worked During World War II.” Rosie the Riveter: Women Working During World War II. 2006: 1-3. 16 Apr. 2006 http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm.

“At first companies did not think that there would be a labor shortage so they did not take 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” (S-top).
“Rosie the Riveter” = strong and patriotic yet still pretty which appeals
“When the United States entered the war, 12 million women (one quarter of the workforce) were already working and by the end of the war, the number was up to 18 million (one third of the workforce). While ultimately 3 million women worked in war plants, the majority of women who worked during World War II worked in traditionally female occupations, like the service sector. The number of women in skilled jobs was actually few. Most women worked in tedious and poorly paid jobs in order to free men to take better paying jobs or to join the service. The only area that there was a true mixing of the sexes was in semiskilled and unskilled blue-collar work in factories” (S-2/3).

4. “Japanese American Internment.” Wikipedia. 30 Apr. 2006. 30 Apr. 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_american_internment.

“Tule Lake was reserved for those of Japanese descent who were specifically suspected of espionage, treason, or other such disloyalty, and their families, as well as individuals who were community leaders, such as teachers or priests. Other families were held at Tule Lake because they requested to be repatriated to Japan. A number of pro-Japan demonstrations were held there throughout the war” (S-1/4).

“Over 112,000 residents of Japanese ancestry were subject to this mass exclusion program. Of those, approximately two-thirds were U.S. citizens by birth. The remaining one-third were non-citizens who were legally subject to internment under the Alien Enemies Act . . . Almost 120,000 Japanese Americans and resident Japanese aliens would eventually be removed from their homes in California, western Oregon, western Washington, and southern Arizona as part of the single largest forced relocation in U.S. history” (S-1/2).

Support for women working in factories
“Undoubtedly there are some women who are leading the same sort of life today that they have always led; but I think they must be having a difficult time finding companionship. For the vast majority of women in this country, life has changed. Their thoughts and their hearts are concerned with what is happening in North Africa, Italy, the Southwest Pacific and countless other places in the world. They are only content as they feel they are contributing something toward the speedier ending of the war and a better chance for their particular men in the world of the future” (S-bottom).
“The many thousands of women who are not doing any unusual work, but are simply running their houses quietly and efficiently, are contributing more to the war effort than they themselves realize. The woman who meets war difficulties with a smile, who does her best with rationing and other curtailments, who writes her man overseas the kind of letters he must have to carry him through successfully, is making a great contribution to this difficult period. If, in addition to this work at home, a woman is giving her services to any of the volunteer organizations, our hats must be off to her” (S-bottom).

6. Usher, Alice. Personal Interview. 15 Apr. 2006.

Husband in Navy on destroyer in the Pacific
Worked in the Kodak factory inspecting, unknowingly, parts for the first guided missile
Worked as nurse’s aid in New England as well
Rationing, ‘A-cards’
Won the war “in spite of women”

7. Williams, Rudi. “Civilian Women Played Major Role in World War II Victory.” 30 May 2004: 1-3. 16 Apr. 2006 http://www.vnis.com/story.cfm?textnewsid=1015.

Over 18 million women worked on the home front
“The ‘Rosie the Riveter’ poster was the most famous image of working women during World War II. ‘Rosie’ represented women who were working as welders, machinists, mechanics, pipe fitters, electricians and boilermakers” (S-1/3).

“It wasn't easy on the home front because of rationing” (S-bottom).

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