On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor, killing thousands at the base and prompting the United States to declare war against Japan. The United States joined the Allied Powers in World War II and their presence helped to turn the tides against Germany and the Axis Powers. Upwards of 16 million American men left their homes and joined the military to fight for their country. To fill their places, women took on a multitude of new responsibilities in order to keep the homefront stable and prosperous while the war waged abroad. Encouraged by the likes of “Rosie the Riveter”, women took jobs in industries that were previously exclusive to men, including factories that created weapons and aircrafts used by the military. As needs for soldiers abroad increased, product availability at home was scarce, especially in the aftermath of the Great Depression, meaning that families were forced to ration their food and use …show more content…
Aircrafts, warships, and ammunition were in high demand, meaning that all available resources went to supporting the troops. At the same time, the economic trauma of the Great Depression was still lingering, further increasing resource scarcity. To make matters worse, many countries that had exported goods to the United States were under attack and unable to trade. Families were forced to ration everyday items such as sugar, butter, and crude oil (Beyond Rosie the Riveter: Women’s Contributions during World War II). Mothers were forced to work with whatever rations they could get to provide for their families. Tires and gas were prioritized for the armed forces, making travel much more strenuous and less frequent (Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II). These restrictions made life on the homefront much more difficult, but women were not going to complain. They understood that making sacrifices was imperative towards helping the soldiers
Women’s roles during World War II impacted the war, and greatly changed how women were perceived from then on. Before the war, women were only seen as stay at home mothers whose job was taking care of their children. During that time period, women did have other jobs that they worked at outside of the house, but they weren’t recognized as much for it. (“A Change in Gender Roles”). In the past, women’s rights weren’t nearly as fair as they are now. Most women were only known as caretakers and could not pursue the same careers as men. According to “A Change in Gender Roles”, “During WWII all of this changed and a revolution in the work force was eventually seen. Numbers of women working outside the home rose exponentially and they thought they were there to stay. Women also played a large role in the military, which had never been seen before. Gender roles had changed in the modern world; women throughout the nation made a huge impact on the Second World War efforts.” Eventually, women’s rights started to advance as more women started working outside of their homes. The number of women in the military increased, which helped out the soldiers and gave women more rights. A considerable amount of women also played a big role in the Red Cross. “They distributed 29 million food parcels for prisoners of war and refugees 13 million units of blood, and packaged kit bags for soldiers. (“Women in World War II,” 1410) Women who did not directly serve in the war still contributed by gathering supplies for the people
On September 3rd 1939 World War II started in Europe. During World War II, more than 16 million American men served in the military. While this large portion of the population was overseas fighting for the United States, women had to do many of the jobs in America normally held by men. Women were considered vital assets to the war effort, and the American government made sure to use their skills and labor in many different areas to win the war. Women contributed to the successful war effort by working society, documenting the war effort, and supporting the soldiers.
During World War II the United States began to manufacture war materials to support its allies through lucrative government defense contracts as automobile factories like Ford and General Motors put aside their usual business operations and began to produce tanks and airplanes, shipyards too expanded their operations . The demand for war equipment naturally increased the demand for labor and as a result helped pull the American economy out of the grips of the Great Depression. Then as the unthinkable happened, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, which drew many young American men into the battlefield.
Society on both sides varied in terms of race, social class, and gender. This included both for African Americans and the general women population. Though women played an important role in the war as spies or nurses women were mostly discouraged in medical administration and military service. They had to prove whether they were worthy for the job by being able to withstand grisly conditions especially full of male strangers. Some women craved fighting which led to some incidences where women disguised as men to fight in the war; these were the “woman in battle”. Women did many other things other than medical work which included serving meals, sending letters to soldiers, and laundry. Nevertheless, women were mostly restricted from military service. They had to be highly skilled otherwise would be of no
American women during World War 2 played an extremely large and important role when it came to the United States and their victory over our enemies in the war. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. finally entered the war. Before this event, only a handful of women had actually been in the American workforce. But World War 2 left an excess of these workforce positions open when their brothers, fathers, sons, and husbands left to fight. Because of this shortage, the U.S. government used propaganda, most notably Rosie the Riveter, and spread their different adds throughout different types of media. All the different propaganda was meant to encourage the women left at home to join the war effort. Their way of doing this involved them filling
America’s involvement in World War II created significant opportunities for American women on the home front. At the same time, it stirred conflict in the gender roles of Women during wartime. One of the main issues that dominated women’s lives during the war was balancing the role at home, with the new pressures placed on them due to the war economy. In most cases, the strides made regarding women’s rights during World War II were misleading, as policy makers used the female workforce for short-term assistance only. American Women faced varying experiences of life during World War II due to factors such as ethnicity and class largely affected the social implications of war. Nevertheless, the advances made by women during this time frame began a movement that would soon give empowerment to women throughout the country, inspiring independence and personal growth through the ways of unions, employment, and a change in traditional gender roles.
Women's roles changed in World War II for the better. Whether they were in the military, in which they enrolled in large numbers for the first time in American history, manufacturing tanks, or even just making money to buy war bonds, the U.S. might be under Nazi or Japanese control today without them. The same goes for minorities in World War II. The African American Tuskegee Airmen shot down over 250 enemy planes, and African American leader A. Philip Randolph's demand to outlaw job discrimination, which was brought into action by Franklin D. Roosevelt, paid off in the war production. Native Americans used the Navajo language as code talkers, 13 Latinos won the Medal of Honor, and even Japanese Americans won glory on the battlefield.
The expansion of the Second World War across Europe convinced the United States (U.S.) to mobilize the nation’s entire population in an effort to aid the Allies. Widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force. The government alerted women to the nation’s need for them to work outside the home. Women felt the patriotic need to enter the workforce and made U.S. government and industry possible to expand dramatically to meet the wartime needs. Therefore, the Allies would not have defeated the Axis without the contribution of women to World War II, for women served in the military, expanded wartime production, and supported organizations that benefited their nation.
Men were leaving, people were fighting, and many were dying. World War II was one of the hardest times, and during that difficult time, women stepped up their roles and had a huge impact during the war. The women during World II in the United States and in Europe impacted the war by taking different jobs and becoming employed in the workforce, working in the home with normal household responsibilities while supporting the men oversees, and entering into the military with sacrifice.
The women in World War 2 (1935-1945) were given a much more active role than the women in World War 1. They were significantly beneficial to the success of the allied forces fighting not only in Australia but all over the world. Their contribution not only to the military but to the continued growth of the country was outstanding in so many ways. They had to quickly learn skills which traditionally were male dominated and this included jobs which involved heavy labour and long hours for very little or no pay whilst trying to maintain in many cases a stable family life. (Australia.gov, 2015) If not for these women’s contribution during the Second World War Australia could have very well have been in a different situation than it is currently.
I feel that World War II had a dramatic and positive impact on women, and their role in United States society. During World War II, male military enlistment left a huge gap in the industrial labor force, and so by 1945, thirty seven percent of the workforce were women. Over six million women started working, and for the first time in history, married working women outnumbered single working women. Nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home.
Historically, wartime has always brought upon big changes for the lives of citizens in warring nations. Wars are often major points in a country’s history, catalyzing progression toward societal changes. In World War II, this was true for every nation involved. Specifically, America underwent many major changes in tradition after World War II ravaged the world. Although Americans did not experience firsthand the destruction of their homeland like their European counterparts, the events of World War II did drastically transform America. One of the most major changes brought to the U.S. by World War II was the change to women’s role in society. Traditionally, women in America were not seen as a group of people who were supposed to be working;
The Second World War changed the United States for women, and women in turn transformed their nation. Over three hundred fifty thousand women volunteered for military service, while twenty times as many stepped into civilian jobs, including positions previously closed to them. More than seven million women who had not been wage earners before the war joined eleven million women already in the American work force. Between 1941 and 1945, an untold number moved away from their hometowns to take advantage of wartime opportunities, but many more remained in place, organizing home front initiatives to conserve resources, to build morale, to raise funds, and to fill jobs left by men who entered military service.
When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, the lives of the men and women in America were forever changed. After the attack, the United States got involved in World War II. Because millions of men were drafted or volunteered to help fight in the war, it left the women to take care of the home front; as they were now the main providers of their families. With the men’s vacated, employment opportunities opened up for the women left and 6.5 million women entered the workforce (145). Women who traditionally held household roles, such as mothers and wives were now sustaining the economy, by fulfilling the industrial and agricultural labor demands that the war created. In addition to becoming the main providers, women were also dealing with America’s struggling economy. Regular luxuries such as gas, food, and
In 1943, World War II had already been raging for four years. The majority of the United States male population was drafted to participate in the war effort, leaving their jobs in factories vacant. With many men gone oversees to fight, women had to take on the role of both male and female duties at home. They had to work hard not only to produce assets for the war, but to also provide for their children and households (“Women”). Some women even served in the military themselves. Although women were unable to serve in combat zones, they contributed in many other ways (Lewis). There were roughly 350,000 women who assisted in the military (“Women”). They utilized their skills to contribute to the war. Many women served as nurses, while