World War II, in which the United States was involved from 1941 to 1945, was a welcome distraction from the widespread financial ruin of the Great Depression, despite the death and destruction that it caused. Many Americans, though initially reluctant to join the war for fear of becoming embroiled in an exclusively foreign conflict, became passionate supporters of the war effort after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. United through patriotism, millions of men and women of all races volunteered to serve in the military. Americans on the home front rallied around the war effort as well, contributing in a variety of ways, including taking jobs in defense industries, conserving food and resources, and recycling items for use in war production. …show more content…
The war effort brought unity to a nation divided by widespread economic distress. More than 16 million Americans from all segments of the population enlisted in the military during the war, connected by a common thread of patriotism. Jerry Vooris, a Representative from California, noted that nearly one-third of the soldiers from his state were Latin-American (Document 2), while Minnie Maffett, the president of the National Federation of Business and Profession Women’s Clubs, observed that women were enlisting by the thousands in the Women’s Army Corps and related organizations (Document 8). Minorities proved to be especially vital to the war: the Tuskegee Airmen became the first African-American flying unit in the military, and Navajo “code talkers” transmitted secure radio messages in their native language for the Marines (Document 11). On the home front, Americans likewise rallied around the war effort, encouraged by government propaganda. Many took jobs in industries that fueled the war effort. Women, in particular, were encouraged to work in defense industries, with posters describing “Rosie the Riveter,” a fictional character representing the quintessential woman worker, and …show more content…
Increased spending by the federal government, totaling about $321 billion, was used to ramp up war production. Escalating war production, in turn, virtually eliminated the massive unemployment that had plagued the nation during the Great Depression, as previously unemployed workers could either enlist in the military or take jobs in defense industries. In fact, unemployment decreased from nearly 15% in 1940 to an all-time low of 1% in 1944. At the same time, wages increased; adjusted for inflation, weekly wages in manufacturing rose by more than 50% from 1940 to 1945. As a result, many Americans were afforded the opportunity to save money and engage in leisure activities, and, indeed, many bought books and magazines, purchased recordings of popular songs, and made weekly trips to the movies, further increasing overall spending and the health of the economy. Moreover, these economic effects were especially encouraging to minorities: Maffett reported that women were earning as much as $10,000 a year, and called the increasing demand for women, particularly those with specialized skills, “most impressive” (Document 8), while William Townsend, an African-American labor leader, noted that unemployment among African Americans had reached record lows, “accelerat[ing] our pace toward economic democracy” (Document
Historiography Individual Books This source, Creating Rosie the Riveter, is a monograph written by Maureen Honey, which describes how during the 1940s, due to the need to fill jobs normally held by men, who were mostly enlisted overseas, the US government turned to its women and tried to persuade them to apply for jobs in factories, production, and management through propaganda, such as advertisements, pulp fiction, and magazines. It also examines how the image of Rosie the riveter was formed through propaganda and why, as well as why the propaganda turned back towards traditional images of women, such as the housewife and mother image, when the war came to an end. In terms of the argument, the author argues that propaganda was used
The second World War resulted in a demand for workers after men began leaving for the war. Due to a lot of the working men in America going overseas as well as the demand for war products, women became a major source of labor. Propaganda began to address women, persuading them that it was their duty to start working for the men. The film The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter gives personal accounts of some of the hardships women faced in the era surrounding WWII, and how the media was used to create a desire for women to work.
In 1929 the stock market crashed, banks failed, and many jobs were lost hitting america with a great depression. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in he decided to create The New Deal. His plan was to use The New Deal to help the problems that created the depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully ended the bank crisis and provided jobs to the people this means that The New Deal was in fact successful.
Women during the war became nurses, cost guards, sold war bonds, telephone operators, anything that needed to be done. When the men left for war the women stepped into to every role. Women's hard work showed that they were not as fragile as men believed and they were capable of everything a man could do. A large part of America's success in the war is attributed to the work of women. The work of women also helped convince President Wilson to support women's rights.
There was opposition in the United State against intervention in World War II. The war was too far removed from America’s national interests to justify intervention. There was little popular domestic support for intervention in a war in Europe that involved its most powerful industrialized nations. There were many first generation immigrants in the U.S. who were from most of the nations involved, particularly Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. American entry into World War II would cause a major conflict of national loyalties for those immigrants coming from nations with whom the US would be at war, specifically Germans and Italians.
American patriotism, American Presidential leadership, and civil liberties all were similar during World War I and World War II. Limits were placed on the people’s civil liberties, patriotism was shown, and Presidential leadership was evident through many events. For example, during WW1 Civil liberties were being suppressed. Americans could not show freedom of speech (such as protesting and voicing one’s opinion) without having negative consequences. Citizens were being forced to support the war and the draft, if they opposed it jail was the result: “During World War I, the government prosecuted more than 2,000 dissenters for opposing the war or the draft...most judges were quick to mete out severe punishment — often 10 to 20 years in prison — to those deemed disloyal” (Civil Liberties in Wartime p14).
The United States mobilized resources and opinion for the war effort by distributing Progressive value across the world and by promoting national unity, self-sacrifice and “social justice.” Men were required to register for the military under the Selective Service Act of May 1917, making Roosevelt and other Progressive’s desires come to life. War Industries Board agency was established for purchases of war supplies.
After learning about a brief history of the World War in my high school, I have been fascinated with the events in World War II, and its significant impacts on world progress in technology, culture, and politic. For the short introduction about Rosie, she appeared in many of the media and propaganda poster around the time of World War II (WW2 from Space, 2015). Although she was thought to be an actual woman named Rose Will Monroe in Michigan who worked as a riveter on B-24 and B-49 bomber airplanes in the war factory as portrayed by media at the time (World War II History Videos, 2017), the actual Rosie the Riveter was nothing but an iconic figure for the empowerment of women and replacement for the lack of labor force in America. Not only
Rosie the Riveter had people talking in the 1940’s and continues to do so in the 21st century. “Rosie the Riveter marked a revolution for women across the nation. Over the years, ‘Rosies’ became the typical working woman in American society… ‘Rosie the Riveter’ will always be an influential American icon.” Rosie the Riveter is timeless and will always be referred to or used to inspire women’s rights movements, whether it be just wearing a costume to look like her, or spreading the message of “We Can Do It!”. Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “Rosie the Riveter” as both “media icon associated with female defense workers during World War II” and “a symbol for women in the workforce and for women’s independence.”
People were afraid of that happening again and since there were so many spots to fill in factories after most men went to fight, most women who were already working went to work in the factories. That left a lot of “civilian jobs” without people to do them. So, Rockwell was encouraged to draw another recruitment girl, this one however was depicted several times in several different uniforms (“Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War Two”). For example, she was most commonly dressed as a nurse or a mechanic (“Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War Two”). Sadly, this recruitment girl lived in Rosie’s shadow and did not do nearly as well as Rosie did.
When the stock market crashed in 1929, millions of Americans lost their jobs and were dumped into deep poverty. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president by the biggest landslide in history as he was seen as a "new hope" after millions blamed the previous president, Hoover, for the economic downturn. In Roosevelt 's first one hundred days in office, he initiated The New Deal in order to relive, recover and reform the nation. Despite facing criticism from businesses, division among political parties and creating a deficit for the nation the workings of the New Deal were exponentially beneficial short-term and long-term. The constructive effects included providing jobs with better conditions for numerous people, the addition of
After WWII, society took a drastic change for the better in America. America had just gone through the Great Depression, which was the deepest decline in America’s whole history and everyone was affected. Numerous people lost their jobs and were no longer able to afford basic necessities like a house, food, and water. Many could no longer support their families and had nothing. This was all in result of the market crashing, sending the economy into a downward spiral.
America treaded the path towards World War II with trepidation, until its people were convinced that action must be taken when the incident of Pearl Harbor occurred. From that point on, American citizens began mobilizing to aid their nation in hopes for victory against the Axis Powers. In order to keep up morale certain measures, such as the use of false advertising, were imposed. The influence of American propaganda during World War II led to an exploration of government authority through the use of censorship, exploitation of women, and incentive to contribute to the war effort.
Imagine that America is still in its eighties stage. As far as the eye can see, “[g]uyliner” (From Bowie to Adam Lambert, 20 Rock Stars Who Made Guyliner Cool) and grunge clothes take over the scene. Flaming outfits practically drenched in plumage, boas, sequins, glitter, and even sashes with hyper-realistic eyeballs. Artists and bands such as The Cure, Queen, David Bowie, Pete Burns, Culture Club, and the Eurythmics started festering into the radio stations of every home. Within just a few years, America was alive with this sweeping ‘new wave’ of androgyny.
It is defined as “the oldest professions in the world”, with an overall world population of 42 million people working as prostitutes. Of these a shocking eighty percent of women work “in the field” compared to only 20 percent of men. This highlights the huge gender disparity between the two sexes. Why is this?