Women’s contributions

Women’s contributions • Women built 87,000 warships, 300,000 aircraft, 41 billion rounds of ammo, 107,000 tanks, B-24 built every 63 minutes • 649,000 Jeeps (G.P.= general purpose)1 jeep every 80 seconds • Worked in other arenas; lumberjills, newspapers, radio, stock exchange, cowgirls • “war would create a new amazon who would out drink, out swear, and out swagger the men.”

War Manpower Commission, 1942 • Oversaw labor issues • Lanham Act and establishment of child care centers: by 1945 had served 600,000 children • 1942- National War Labor Board issued a declaration that women should be paid equal to men for same job ( not a law) but Army and Navy munitions factories did so • From 1940-1945 proportion of women in the workforce rose for 25-36% • Gov’t could not force industries to hire women: ER pressured many CEOs but especially used the media to recruit and to get word out about this valuable work force

Men • World War I: 3989 were C.O.; 1300 non-combatant duty; 1,200 farm furloughs;450 court-martialed; 940 remained in camps throughout war (Fort Devens) WWII: Conscientious objectors: could (a) be non-combatant in military (b) confinement in civilian public service corps or in peace churches (c) go to jail • 72,354 were C.O : 25,000 non-combatant; 12,000 performed civilian public service; 6000 in jail • CPS: performed alternative service under guidance of peace churches: Mennonites, Quakers, Brethren • Dr. Keyes of U of Minnesota (K-rations) decided to do an experiment wondering what would happen to starving refugees could be brought back to health- 36 volunteers

Lowell • “Working wives have been the rule rather than the exception in Lowell for a long time. No draft was needed to get them in the factories. So it looks like the feminine contingent is saving the bacon as well as cooking it, whenever it can buy it.” Lowell Sun 3/24/43

The Depression ended when the war began… • Case of Lowell – a hard sell • “There is perhaps more destitution and misery and degradation in the mill towns of New England today..than anywhere else in the United States. Lowell was economically dead. At this time 2/3 of the labor force was idle; every third store was vacant; doctors could not collect bills; charity was the biggest industry in town.” (President McMahon of the Textile Workers- 1930) • Lowell as a wool town- by 1936 woolens and worsted had replaced cotton • Mills:100% engaged in war industry work – E pennant

Lowell • Mills as training school to produce bleached white twill: 1 out of every 2 sailors wore Boott twill • Merrimack produced corduroy for bathrobes and cloth for pilots’ jackets • One-third more production than in 1939 • Atlantic Rayon Co.: Parachute Division – 1000 power stitchers were trained • Breslee Co.: Canvas gear and tents • Ames: Produced serge for army jackets • G.E.: Rocket launchers • John Pilling Shoe factory- Shoes for the army • Commercial printing-Printing for bureaucratic needs of war • Edith, in support of the New England mills, wore cotton dresses and told all Congressmen to wear cotton suits. She was known as the “cotton queen.”

Remington Arms • 5000 employees • R.A. operated plant but gov’t owned it • Produced .50 caliber armor piercing cartridges • Employees mostly women who needed little skill and paid $.55/hour • Company gave bonus overtime and paid holidays and time and a half on Saturdays • Company paid for annual physicals

Women of Lowell • By 1943, presidential decree established a 48 hour work week in munitions factories with overtime on holidays • Women had choice of jobs: munitions factories paid more than mills • Women were mobile- had highest quit rate • 200 women form Lowell worked in DC – Ellis calls this a “civil migration” • Many more commuted to Boston Navy Yard, G.E. in Lynn and Watertown Arsenal • 1942- mills received authorization to put women over 30 on third shift • WLB allowed employers to give pay raises to equalize pay between the sexes

War Propaganda • Gov’t needed to direct economy but its means were limited so needed to depend on the private sector • Gov’t thought that propaganda would help recruit labor shortage • Propaganda gave homefront an ideological framework and led to establishment of Office of War Information (1942): the OWI’s purpose was to sell the war

Dr. Seuss • “ Disconnect between what we really think of Dr. Seuss and the content of his cartoons.” • Yertle the Turtle: dictatorships • The Sneetches: Racial Intolerance • The Butter Battle Book: Cold War and military deterrence • Suportive of FDR: Drew posters for the Treasury Depart. and in 1943, joined army and was commander of the Animation department of the First Motion Picture Unit of the US Army air Forces; wrote the film Our Job in Japan (1947)

Dr. Seuss and Political Cartoons • Created over 400 cartoons for PM, a left-wing daily newspaper in NY from 1940-48 • When drawing Hitler and Mussolini there were obvious likenesses • However when drawing Hirohito not so much: “ Dr. Seuss draws Japanese as piggish nose, coke-bottle eyeglasses, slanted eyes, brush mustache, lips parted (usually in a smile): overtly racist?

Walt Disney and the War Effort • With WWII- revenues from European audiences declined • Government approached him to do propaganda films: Walt received a call from John Sullivan, assistant secretary of the Treasury, hoping that Disney could make films to encourage people to pay their taxes: “What John Barrymore can’t do, maybe Mickey Mouse could.” • Film produced: The New Spirit (The Spirit of 43): 36 million saw it and 37% said in had an effect on their willingness to pay taxes: gov’t asked for a 5% victory tax on income

Disney and the war effort • Disney also produced films for the armed services • These included: der Fueher’s face, Commando Duck, Education for Death – The Making of a Nazi, Victory through Air Power

Coca Cola Posters • 55 years old at beginning of WWII and bottled in 41 countries=first overseas plant in France in 1926 • Robert Woodruff, chairman, in 1941 said he would make it available to any serviceperson for 5 cents • Technicians followed troops to every continent and set up bottling plants: 5 billions of bottles were consumed by armed services

Other posters and magazines • Ad houses needed new clients due to reduction by 29% of consumer goods: defense industry accounted for 80% business • Magazines: 1942 established a magazine war guide to induce women to stay in jobs in civilian economy like waitressing, work in laundries • Writer’s War Board: to recruit talented writers that would support the war effort • Created Pulp fiction: books to attract blue collar audience and were easy to read, sensational, portrayed exotic locales and characters

Pulp fiction • Collection of detective stories, science fiction, westerns written on cheap pulp and then thrown out: authors Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Carver, Ellery Queen • Women became sensual, partook in orgies, self-motivating and even frightening

Wonder Woman • “ Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force,strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don’t want be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.” Wm. Marston

Hollywood • Since1898 silent movie of the atrocities of war in Spanish American war, Hollywood had been making war movies: was Hollywood trying to get us into war? (Great Dictator- 1940) • After Pearl Harbor, Hollywood was 100% into the war cause and portrayed WWII as a “people’s war”. Greatest contribution- morale • Vargas girls-by 1945 ¼ of industry’s male population enlist • 90 million a week went to movies! • War Bond drives • Bureau of censorship; prohibited the export of films that showed racial discrimination, depicted Americans as single-handedly winning the war, or painted allies as imperialists. • Bing Crosby’s presence in rallies brought in $14 million of bonds and Carole Lombard -$2 million

African Americans • ER more concerned with homefront than the war and especially the African American experience; “The nation cannot expect colored people to feel that the US is worth defending if they continue to be treated as they are treated now.” • The case of Dorie Miller and West Pointer Colin Jelly • Triple Nickels: Fu-Go project: only US civilian casualties

Women as an economic army: Jane Crow • Black women (12,000) did benefit financially by working in defense industries, but after the war 80% were employed in domestic work • First time A.A. women had access to high paying industrial jobs and entered “white” jobs as nurses and clerical: 6 to 18% growth

Baseball • Benefit games to support war effort: Ruth and Walter Johnson came out of retirement to play in NY 1942 and raised $80,000 • Babe bought $100,000 of war bonds • Yoggi Berra- volunteered and served in Normandy. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to volunteer!”

Baseball • Baseball saved many lives by ferreting out spies” What position did Di Maggio play?” • When in 1943 Yankees beat the St. Louis Cardinals, Goebbels said, “There are fresh atrocities in the US. The Yankees most content with their pious intervention all over the world, are beating up their own cardinals.”

Female baseball leagues • Out of 26 minor leagues (male), only 9 had full roster • 50% of big leaguers went to war • Phil Wrigley and Branch Rickey created All American Girls Baseball League: 4 teams initially especially in factory towns (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana): formed in 1943 • There were already existing softball leagues- why the name- however, the girls played by baseball’s rules – end of 1943, named All-American Girls Professional Ball League ( because shorter in-field distances and underhand pitching) • $45-80$ week for 4 months

Female Baseball League • Combined women’s softball rules and men’s: from men’s baseball they allowed runners to lead off and steal bases: women’s softball had 10 players- reduced to 9 and extended length of pitching distance • Women recruited and out of 280 finalists, 60 chosen • Some femininity rules: had to wear skirts (hurt sliding into bases); formed V at the beginning of each match; Helen Rubinstein beauty kit beginning of playing Star Spangles Banner; image of All-American girl who learned the art of speaking, walking, speaking and applying makeup; always accompanied by chaperones

Female Baseball League • Managers were ex-male players: season mid-May to September equaled 108 games • Very successful: Women in defense industry were already examples of non-traditional roles and because of rationing, people needed to spend leisure time close to home • By 1944 played in major league fields: problems • Continued after the war until 1954 with over 600 women who played

Japanese American Internment • 10 camps built by the War Relocation Authority for 100,000 evacuees • Bitter and threatening letters received by W.H. : feared popular revolt • Unexpected consequences was the Americanization of many Nisei: girls allowed to go to dances, intro. to American food • Split between generations when in 1943 Nisei could enlist in a special army unit.

Women in the Armed Services • “ The American women of today are awake to the danger threatening our country. They want an active part in winning the war. They are just eager, just as loyal and patriotic as their ancestors in colonial days, who withstood the peril and dangers of Indian warfare.” (E.N.R.3/41) • “The women of America must share the responsibility for the security of their country in a future emergency as the women of England did in WWII.” (Gen. Eisenhower)

Women Army Auxiliary Corps • Different from Army Nursing Corps • Equity for those women who helped overseas in WWI and received no legal protection, benefits or recognized status • Purpose to work with the Army by “making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation.” • 150,000 auxiliaries provided with food, uniforms, living quarters, pay and medical care. • Director of WAAC was assigned rank of Major

WAACS • Applicants had to be 21-45 years old, no dependents, and at least 5 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds or more. • Segregation of African-American WAACs • Jobs included: radio operators, cryptographers, weather observers, sheet metal workers, control tower operators, parachute riggers, statistical control tabulating machines, draftsmen, mechanics, ordnance department workers (velocity of bullets etc..).dental and X-ray technicians, Manhattan Project (worked on cyclotron) • Only 50% were clerical. • Women served in North Africa, Europe, Pacific, China, India, Burma and the Middle East: only highly qualified

WAACS=WACS • Many men questioned the moral values of women who were attracted to military. Opposition especially by Southern Congressmen: “Who will then do the cooking, the washing, the mending , the humble homey tasks to which every woman has devoted herself and who will nurture the children?” • WAAC converted into Women’s Army Corps in order to get benefits- with possibility of Allied invasion in Europe, manpower issue was critical. 1978- complete assimilation into Army

Conclusion • “ The figures are so astronomical that they cease to mean very much. Say that we performed the equivalent of building 2 Panama Canals every month with a fat surplus to boot; that’s an understatement…the total is simply beyond the compass of one’s understanding. Here we displayed a strength even than cocky Americans in the old days of unlimited self-confidence had supposed ; strength to which nothing –literally nothing, in the physical strength- was any longer impossible.” Bruce Catton

Conclusion • GNP jumped form $100 billion to $215 b. • In 1940 only 7.8 million (132 m) paid taxes; by 1945- 50 million( out of $140 m.) • First time a redistribution of income downward: 50% of Americans had doubled their salaries • Blacks by the end of the war had obtained ranks of soldier: Ranks of blacks in the military increased in 5 years form 5000-920,000; Black officers 5 to 70,000- more happened in the field of race relations in 5 years than in all years between C.War and 1940

Conclusion • FDR was the true leader in mobilizing the Nation ..by understanding public opinion and “leading people one step at a time.” • By 1947 women would return to workplace to reach war levels • Problems: “ my husband did not like my independence. He had left a shrinking violet and came home to a very strong oak tree.”

Conclusion • War as a unifier and as a disrupter of home life; 15 million had moved from their small towns, 12 million in armed services; 20% total took part in the great migration • Sense of being and becoming an American: 2 million after war became citizens; record numbers of buying flags; fewer foreign language radio shows

Women’s contributions