Quote

We'd never had any opportunity to do that kind of work. Do you think that if you did domestic work all of your life where you cleaned somebody's toilets and did all the cooking for some lazy characters who were sitting on top, and you finally got a chance where you can get a dignified job, you wouldn't fly through the door? '




Source Unknown The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter 1980


Credit: http://www.great-quotes.com/cgi-bin/viewquotes.cgi?action=search&Movie=The+Life+and+Times+of+Rosie+the+Riveter

Woman Steel Worker

 

Time/ Life Cover by Margaret Bourke White.

Margaret Bourke White

Life magazine's first female photojournalist, Margaret Bourke White. She was also the first western photographer allowed into the Soviet Union.

The camera is a remarkable instrument. Saturate yourself with your subject, and the camera will all but take you by the hand and point the way. - Margaret Bourke White

"

The Kansas combat modifcation center

 

Two momen working inside a B-17 at Seattle production plant
Colorized version of a monochrome photograph showing women war plant
workers in the bomb bay area of a B-17.

Reason why I chose this topic

My reason for choosing this topic was because this chapter highlights how powerful the press really is. With the positive articles, photographs, campaigns and constant encouragement from the media.. women in the 1940s made their way out of the kitchens and joined the workforce. Working enforced their sense of pride towards their country that was at war with millions of men away in the military. The media made it a patriotic responsibility for women to work. Women started working in factories and plants not only working at desks jobs, but did manual labor work such as welding, operating cranes, building guns,ships and planes. Jobs that women back then never thought were possible occupations for themselves became their livelihood.   I can imagine that initially alot of women were probably reluctant to join the workforce because they were still living in conservative times. And it was a completely new idea to work outside of home and like all new ideas, it had to be explained. However when the leading voices in the media and journalism glamorized the image of a working woman by making the everyday working woman welding in a factory the 1942 "it" girl, it slowly removed the stigma of a working women and made it desirable for women to work.  "Rosie the Riveter" was praised in countless magazines and newspapers and was put on pedestal by the media. The media also created fictional characters in the image of perfection to highlight how fulfilling it was for a woman to work and be a perfect wife and mother.  With the help of the media, African American women also found their place in the working world and were described as equally capable as white women. The simple use of powerful words, languages and photographs pulled the heartstrings of many patriotic Americans, it also created a huge change in social order in the country that would last even after the war ended. And that was the acceptance of women in the working world.  Eventually the country made it through a crucial, tough and unforgettable time in history through the help of the fourth estate and millions of Rosie's working hands.  The advocacy propaganda created by the fourth estate not only  helped the United States win the war but it indirectly created a new era for women changing the workplace forever, it shows us how everything is possible with the media and it is not something to be underestimated. The image of "Rosie The Riveter" remains a classic until today and is one of the best known propaganda posters created by the media.

Powers of Persuasion

                    

Longing Won`t Bring Him Back Sooner . . .
Get a War Job!

by Lawrence Wilbur, 1944

Printed by the
Government Printing Office for the War
Manpower Commission
NARA Still Picture Branch
(NWDNS-44-PA-389)

Rosie The Riveter by The Four Vagabonds

                                                           Credit: DurerDrew from www.youtube.com

"Rosie the Riveter" Song lyrics 1942

While other girls attend their fav’rite
cocktail bar
Sipping Martinis, munching caviar
There’s a girl who’s really putting
them to shame
Rosie is her name

All the day long whether rain or shine
She’s a part of the assembly line
She’s making history,
working for victory
Rosie the Riveter
Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage
Sitting up there on the fuselage
That little frail can do more than a
male will do
Rosie the Riveter

Rosie’s got a boyfriend, Charlie
Charlie, he’s a Marine
Rosie is protecting Charlie
Working overtime on the
riveting machine
When they gave her a production “E”
She was as proud as a girl could be
There’s something true about
Red, white, and blue about
Rosie the Riveter

Everyone stops to admire the scene
Rosie at work on the B-Nineteen
She’s never twittery, nervous or jittery
Rosie the Riveter
What if she’s smeared full of
oil and grease
Doing her bit for the old Lendlease
She keeps the gang around
They love to hang around
Rosie the Riveter

Rosie buys a lot of war bonds
That girl really has sense
Wishes she could purchase
more bonds
Putting all her cash into national
defense
Senator Jones who is “in the know”
Shouted these words on the radio
Berlin will hear about
Moscow will cheer about
Rosie the Riveter!

Credit: http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=women-factory-workers

Saturday Evening Post

Norman Rockwell’s portrayal of American ‘liberty girl’ in her ‘jack-of-all-trades’ mode, capable of doing many kinds of civilian jobs to help the War effort – September 4, 1943, Saturday Evening Post.

Credit: http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=women-factory-workers

Outline

Chapter 9: Creating "Rosie The Riveter" Propelling the American woman into the Workforce.

This is the timeline to when the media used advocacy propaganda by calling for female workers with positive coverages and praise in their articles and images during the World War II era. This enabled women to work in jobs that were once restricted to them and also helped the United States win the war. It also gave women a sense of worth and fulfillment and a new era of working women emerged in the years to come even after the end of the war.


World War II and the severe labor shortage when the men in the country were away at war. Womanpower was used instead.

          1940 12 million American women worked outside their home.
          1942 The Number increased to 19 million. A 58 percent increase.
           The Fourth Estate, newspapers, news magazines and radio started giving women positive coverage to persuade them to join the workforce.


    2.  Calling all women
       
        Business week quoted the importance of womanpower in the production of war weapons.
        Independent Radio station KJR creates program titled "Jobs for Women." It aired the importance of women and the specific jobs available.
        2200 women joined the Seattle workforce, the program "Jobs for Women." was an instant success.
        New York Times headline "Needed: 50,000 Nurses."
        Christian Science Monitor headline "Calling All Woman" and "It's Woman's Day Right Now."
        1942 The Nation's cover story wanted compulsory employment for all healthy women.
        1941 New York Times fall article talks about how American women were making a difference
        The Times had articles pleading women to join the workforce by creating a recruitment brochure.


  3. Glamorizing the "Girls"

     Christian Science Monitor published a photo spread of beautiful young women walking to work in slacks and overalls. Overalls and slacks was made the new black and was described as "glamorous."
      The Monitor describes assembly line female workers like they were Hollywood Stars.
      The Time and New York Times describes work uniforms and work stations by using designer names and fashion terms.
      1942 Life magazine publishes a photo essay gushing about the glamor of a working girl. American magazine did the same.

  4. Praising Working women

   1942 Newsweek boasts about women working in every area of defense production.
    New York Times agreed that women were equal to men when it came to working skills.
    Business Week Magazine praised women for their attention to detail and longer attention spans.
    Radio stations joined the propaganda too.

5. Balancing Two Worlds.

    New York Times writes a story about fictional character named Alma balancing her work life and duties as a wife and mother perfectly.

6. Redefining "Women's Work."

    American Magazine publishes an article about how women can do anything when she is mad or threatened.
    1941 American Magazine publishes article titled "Amazons of Aberdeen" the increase of women working in grounds and fields they were once not allowed to work at.
     Newsweek argued that black women were just as capable as white women.
    1930 Margaret Bourke-White publishes breathtaking photos with Life Magazine.

7. Capturing the Moment in Pictures.

 Margaret Bourke-White and Life Magazine publishes photos and her personal account of her rescue at sea.
 Bourke-White captures female workers in a rugged masculine way in her photography.
  Another life photographer uses beautiful Hollywood Stars modeling as factory girls completed with glamorous hobbies outside of their work life.
Time publishes medical story disagreeing that riveting is the cause of breast cancer.
  New York Times publishes photographs of women hard at work.

Changing the Social Order.

Between 1940 and 1944, women in the workforce increased to more than half
1946 one million more women were working in factories compared to 1940.
Two million women returned to their workdesks after peace was restored after the war.
Twenty Percent of American families had both husband and wife working compared to the eleven percent before the war.

Did you know?

 

Did you know that before becoming a Hollywood star, Marilyn Monroe was a "Rosie" during the World War II years.  She appeared on the cover of 'Yank' Magazine, the August 2nd, 1945 issue.It contained an article about women contributing to the war effort at home.  Marilyn was working at the Radio plane plant, where she was "discovered".  

Credit: http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=women-factory-workers

Real life Rosies.

 Like Rosie, this woman is a true riveter. She drives rivets into an aircraft while her co-worker sits in the cockpit.
Credit : Harold M. Lambert/Lambert/Getty Images

http://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/rosie-riveter1.htm

 

Original caption: ‘Dora Miles and Dorothy Johnson are employed in the Long Beach Plant of the Douglas Aircraft Company.’

Credit:  http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2008/10/rosie_the_rivet

African American Riveters. Women welders in New Britain, Connecticut, 1943.

Credit: http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=women-factory-workers 

 

Female trainees at Middletown, PA, 1944. The Middletown Air Service Command stockpiled parts and overhauled military airplanes. During WWII, Middletown’s workforce grew from 500 to more than 18,000, nearly half of them women.

Credit: http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=women-factory-workers 

Life Magazine

http://www.life.com/image/50458365

here is an image of An English girl modeling the uniform of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force on the cover of Life magazine of 01-26-1942.

Rosie the Riveter.

 

Saturday Evening Post cover artist, Norman Rockwell, is generally credited with creating one of the popular “Rosie the Riveter” images used to encourage women to become wartime workers.  Rockwell’s “Rosie,” shown at right, appeared on the cover of the May 29th,1943 edition of The Saturday Evening Post.   

Credit:  http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=women-factory-workers

Margaret Bourke-White

 

Margaret Bourke White a pioneer photojournalist and photographer.  She is wearing a United States Army Air force uniform in this picture.  She was the first female photojournalist for Life magazine and she had the ability to capture emotional moments in American History through her photography.

Summary. Propelling the American woman into the workforce.

Unlike the previous chapter, chapter nine of Streitmatter illustrates how the Fourth Estate contributed to the advancement of women and helped propel American women into the workforce. And also shows how powerful the media really is.  During World War two when ten million healthy working men were away at war, the United States faced a severe shortage of manpower. It was a very critical time for the country which was already facing a huge shortage of military weapons compared to the Japanese and Germans. Faced with such a desperate situation, the country turned to women. Using the media as a propaganda machine, the country/government encouraged women to work . Most women were quick to join the workforce and the media started to give women  very positive coverage  by showing the public positive images of working women to encourage non working women the benefits of being in the workforce. No longer were women expected to be confined to the four walls of the kitchen or ironing clothes to feel complete as an individual. In contrast, it was now perfectly acceptable to be carrying machine guns and operating a fifteen ton crane. In order to aid the government efforts the media started to work on spreading the message and propaganda Radio, well established newspapers and magazines had massive coverages, proposals, articles and headlines specifically addressing women to become female worker by showing them how working women were making a difference. Photos of women working at their tasks and even pictures of student nurses were used.  The next task that the media was faced with was to erase the perception that a working woman only signified a weak husband who was unable to support his family. Glamorizing the working women was their next strategy. Images of beautiful feminine women were used in magazines and slacks and overalls were described as the new black and chic. Despite that, the media made sure to reassure their male audience that a woman's capabilities was not all about her looks but also her ability to perform at her job as well as a male. The news media praised her strengths which included dexterity, longer attention spans and eye for details. The media also continued to reassure the public that her duties as a wife and mother was not neglected due to working and wrote stories of fictional characters fulfilling her responsibilities as a mother, wife and working woman. It was patriotic to work and the drive for victory was fueled through the media.  Margaret Bourke-White was the epitome of the new American woman who used stunning photos and told exciting stories of wartime in Life Magazine. The media became aware that a picture was able to tell a thousand words . Editors started filling their magazines and papers with high quality photos.  Despite many different images of the working women, whether she was depicted as rugged or resembling a Hollywood starlet, it was the picture of a woman at her work station welding, drilling and operating engines that were the most powerful ones. Between 1940 to 1944, working women were doubled in the workforce and it showed the country that females were capable of succeeding and through the help of news the media, public opinion about a female's role in society was forever changed and the idea of a working woman slowly became acceptable in the years to come. Rosie the Riveter became a national heroine to the public.

Chapter Nine: Creating Rosie the Riveter. Propelling the American Woman into the workforce.

An introduction....

The Iconic image of Rosie the Riverter which I am sure everyone is familiar with. A picture of her showing off her bicep which is also a symbol of America's strength. Why so?  During a time when America was facing a severe draining workforce when most of the men were away fighting in the war, women were used as a replacement instead working in industrial and manufacturing jobs.

The Revolution

Even though The Revolution's circulation never exceeded 3000 and eventually ceased to exist over time, it was a good starting point and instrument in attracting female workers specifically addressing the issues regarding female discrimination at their workplace and divorce, reproductive rights, prostitution and a wide range of social issues.  The Revolution had a known policy that no advertisement for alternative medicine were allowed in the paper. Despite it's "failure", it was an enormous influence for their movement.

Equal Say

Woman's Journal and Suffrage News, a weekly newspaper founded by Lucy Stone in 1870, reported on the parade and the "disgraceful scenes" that surrounded it. One hundred marchers had to be taken to the hospital.

Credit: National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection / Library of Congress

Anti Suffrage

Womens Suffrage Movement

Created by Gmoney20 on www.youtube.com

Reason why I chose this topic.

My reason for choosing this topic was because I was inspired by how Elizabeth Cady Staton, Susan B Anthony and many other great ones that came after them who fought hard for their rights despite the lack of help and constant mocking and abuse from the media. In the early days of the 18th century, women had their husband dictate their whole lives, daily routine and marriage. With the help of journalism, bold and courageous Staton and Anthony created their own voice which was admirable because no one else before them did something like that,which included the Seneca Falls convention started by Staton. What was the most inspiring was that despite the lack of technology,phones and convenient transportation and the "failure" of their first publication, they persisted still managed to reach out to women across the country with the help of journalism and that somehow united the women in the country. Even with massive verbal attacks from the media and failure of the women suffrage press, that did not discourage them, in fact it fueled their movement and the National American Woman Suffrage Association was founded by them . It took seventy two long years before women had the right to vote in this country but their efforts were well worth it.  This also showed me how damaging the media can be showing biased and one sided news to the public in attempts to discourage others from supporting the women suffrage. And unfortunately their constant attacks worked. If the media had supported their movement, instead of abusing their power it would not have taken that long for women to finally be seen as equals in this country. This is a good example to remind us that a biased media can cause great setbacks to specific groups of people they choose to ostracize and make their victims. And this is still very relevant today with the media still being biased in alot of ways and creating false images of other countries,religion and the real living conditions of minorities,women in 3rd world country and such.

Life

Life magazine cover. Taken from Shields Library Special Collection Exhibit held in celebration for the women right to vote in America.

Carrie Chapman Catt

Here are some of her notable quotes:

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/carrie_catt.htm

Nineteenth Amendment

August 18, 1920 The 19th Amendment is ratified, Women's Suffrage

Credit : http://americanpicturelinks.com/28ww.htm

National American Women Suffrage Association.

The National American Women Suffrage Association also known as the NAWSA was founded in 1890 by two rival suffrage forces. Founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Staton VS Lucy Stone. In the beginning despite the establishment of the association, it had poor leadership who was conservative in many of her views. As it was formed during a very conservative era and managed by someone with extremely conservative social views, the NAWSA was frequently associated with anti immigrants,slavery and southern members who had racist views. However between 1870 and 1910, they carried out as many as 500 campaigns all across the country to motivate their voters, however it was hugely unsuccessful with less than 20 percent of success to bringing their issues to a vote.

Despite their slow and bumpy ride to success, it was the change of a new era that was so focused on other changes that it made their demands much less controversial compared to the past. Also, younger and more resourceful leaders started to emerge, and one of them was Harriot Staton Blatch who was Elizabeth Cady Staton's daughter.  She was aggressive with her campaigns which included rallies, parades and aggressive lobbying.  It was a huge success and by 1924, women were able to vote in ten states. The organization remained consistent with their work for women suffrage over the years and it was the introduction of Carrie Chapman Catt's "winning plan" that brought on the biggest change.  She used force and pressure to increase the number of states that had women's suffrage and made congressman to support the suffrage. It worked and in 1918 the Nineteenth Amendment was passed by congress.

Lucy Stone

Lucy Stone, 1847

Quote: “If a woman earned a dollar by scrubbing, her husband had a right to take the dollar and go and get drunk with it and beat her afterwards. It was his dollar.”


“But I do believe that a woman's truest place is in a home, with a husband and with children, and with large freedom, pecuniary freedom, personal freedom, and the right to vote.”

women's rights PAST VS PRESENT

Created by : JustcallherEden on www.youtube.com

Seneca Falls Convention Declaration Sentiments (1848)

Declaration of Sentiments was written by Elizabeth Cady Staton and presented to the participants at the convention in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19-20, 1848. She sought to address the wrongs against women and to redress them. It basically summed up the non existent women's rights in the United States and that women could no longer stand to be treated unequally.

Women's suffrage poster

Poster warns: "Danger! Woman's Suffrage Would Double the Irresponsible Vote"

Outline

Slowing the momentum for women's rights 1777-1920

This is the timeline to when women made use of Journalism to let their voices be heard and highlights how the media slowed the momentum for women to secure their rights in this country through the abuse of power.




     1. Women being confined to her place

• 1777 Mary Katherine Goddard and the printing of the Declaration of Independence
• 1792 Ladies magazine was created. First generation of women's magazine

     2.  Birth of the Women's rights movement

• 1848 Elizabeth Staton initiates the Seneca Falls Convention. 
• Declaration Of Sentiments
• Bio of Susan B Anthony
• 1852 Syracuse Star calls a meeting in the city as the "Tomfoolery Convention."
• 1855 Women's rights advocate Lucretia Mott acknowledges that newspapers ridiculed them. 

3.  Creating a voice of their own

• 1868 Staton and Anthony founded The Revolution.
• 1870 The Revolution ceased publication
• 1869 Staton and Anthony founded The National Women Suffrage
• 1870 Lucy Stone founded American Women Suffrage Association
• Lucy Stone creates The Women Journal

    
4.  The Attacks

• 1866 New York World degrades Anthony
• 1870 Utica Herald attacks Anthony's looks
• 1879 Richmond Herald takes a stab at Anthony's physical appearance
• 1869 Life magazines publishes a memorable image of Staton and Anthony as masculine and grim.

    

 5. Victory despite Fourth Estate.

• 1890 National American Suffrage Association created.
• 1870-1910 500 campaigns started  by feminists
• 1907 Harriot Staton Blatch creates the Women's political union.
• 1913 National Women party formed.
• 1918 Nineteenth Amendment passed with Carrie Chapman Catt winning plan and persistence.
• 1920 Women Suffrage became the law of the land

6. Conclusion on how the press had delayed and hindered women from securing their rights in the United States.