Rosie the Riveter Research Essay Throughout history we’ve had many people who have influenced, Americans by changing its look such as inventing tools, being an advocate for something, or being a peace leader, from a group or religion. Many American from now and back then have shaped the history and helped change the way it looks now compared to then. One person who is a famous woman, who was used as advertisement for women's job equality, was Rosie the Riveter. “Rosie the Riveter is the female icon of World War II….She represents any women defense worker. And for many women, she’s an example of a strong, competent foremother” (“Rosie the Riveter: real Women Workers in World War II”). Rosie the Riveter is a name given …show more content…
Rosie the Riveters’ were a big part for ladies during the time when men were out fighting in World War II and ladies were working at home and trying to help the men on making them weapons, clothes and other necessary needs and materials while during the war. There were many people who were called and got the name Rosie the Riveter, but the person who is in the picture that is very well known is a woman named Geraldine Hoff Doyle. Waskin 2 “Geraldine Hoff Doyle …worked at an Ann Arbor, Michigan plant that manufactured metal” (“Rosie the Riveter”). She worked as one of the riveter, but one day a man came in to take a picture and she was the one whose picture got transformed into something very significant. Geraldine Doyle was known for that much except for being known for the famous picture that was taken of her and being another Rosie the Riveter. “After she married a dentist, Geraldine Doyle became Geraldine Keefe. Born in 1924, she lived in lansing, Michigan with her family. She was 86 when she passed away. Hse had five children and many grandchildren” (“Rosie the Riveter”) The name Rosie the Riveter, was given to ladies during World War II who worked …show more content…
“In movies, newspapers, posters, photographs and articles, the Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the workforce” (“History Rosie the Riveter”). Usually though if they were named or called Rosie the Riveter it is also because their name was called Rosie, “the composite of Rosie was based on a group of women, most were named Rose, who varied in class, ethnicity, geography, and background” (“American national Biography Online”) How ever not every lady who was called Rosie the Riveter had the name Rose because the lady whose picture became popular worldwide was named Geraldine . But every year the war went on, there were more Waskin 3 names that added into the Rosie the Riveter list because so many women decided to work and become more patriotic during that time because it was very popular. For any women it was a goal, to known and called the name Rosie the Riveter because it had such pride, strength and honorability anytime some said it, and so many women wanted to be a patriotic idol that was known during the time of war and sadness. “The riveter used a gun
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States whom represented the women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom produced military equipment and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The symbol of feminism and women's economic power was often amplified through Rosie the Riveter. "Rosie the Riveter" was a popular phrase first used in 1942 in a song of the same name written by Redd Evans. Auto factories were converted to build airplanes, shipyards were expanded, and new factories were built, and all these facilities needed workers. While the men were busy fighting in war, women were dominant in assistance. Companies took 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. The various elements or figures of Rosie was based on a group of women, most of whom were named Rose. Many of these women named "Rose" varied in class, ethnicity, geography, and background diversity. One specially, who's had the biggest impact of all Rosie's was Rose Will Monroe. Rose Will Monroe, the most influential "Rosie" at the time, represented women during World War II by working most of her time in a Michigan factory.
The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women.
Women have historically been pushed out of the labor market, regardless of their low cost to employers. As Ruth Milkman cites in her work “How Women Were Purged from the War Plants,” the reconstruction of the pre-World War II workforce after the war was the most severe instance of sexual division of labor. According to Milkman, women workers were excluded from heavy industries because there was minimal resistance from the union or women workers and because the Fordist revolution changed the way management appropriated labor. The narrators of “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter,” however, would more likely agree with Ngai’s ideas about labor policy in Impossible Subjects. According to Ngai and “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter,”
At the start of World War II, most nations were experiencing a shortage of resources. In the United States, food, gasoline, and other scarce goods were being heavily rationed, and many government controls were initiated to lessen the economic burden of the war. At the same time, unemployment was at a record low. Wartime production created a huge labor market, eclipsing the available workforce. Due to the military conscription, most able-bodied men were led overseas to fight in the war, so the country turned to civilian workers, including women. Soon, “Rosie the Riveter” had become a national heroine, representing women laborers, who began replacing men in every facet of industry and performing with excellence (Carl, 34).
Rupp, Leila J.. “From Rosie the Riveter to the Global Assembly Line: American Women on the
Some new responsibilities that were taken over were becoming telephone operators, drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other jobs in the factories or shipyards. This is the birth of the widely known icon, Rosie the Riveter. Rosie was first introduced in a song in 1942 by Redd Evans and John Jacob Leob. The most familiar line from the song was "that little frail girl can do more than a man can do" (u-s-history.com). The real life version of the icon was Rose Will Monroe who was discovered by Walter pigeon, Hollywood star, while visiting the ford motor company assembly plant. Upon his discovery of Rose, she was lead in a government film that promotes war. Following that, a teen aged telephone operator, Geraldine Hoff, then posed for a painting that was going to be created an artist by the name of Norman Rockwell. On May 29, 1943, Geraldine saw herself in the Saturday evening post as propaganda. The picture featured a woman with a red polka dotted bandana tied in her head, pulling the sleeves of her jean jacket. With a stern face, she appears to be tough saying "we can do it". A little time after, articles
According to an article on Encyclopedia, it is stated, “‘Rosie’ represented the superb skill, ability, and patriotism of all U.S women working on behalf of the domestic , industrial efforts on the “home front” during World War II. This reflects Rosie the Riveter’s self-confidence about women’s power and capability since she had proved to the world that women can do and do well what the men can do. Additionally, in the article, “Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II,” on the website The Library of Congress, it states, “She and her partner drove a record number of rivets into the wing of a TBM Avenger at Tarrytown, New York, plant.” Through this textual evidence, the audience can learn that with her self-confidence, Rosie the Riveter did not hesitate to step in the male-dominated fields and did many jobs that were previously done by men to support the war. By reflecting on the textual evidences that were mentioned above, readers can learn that self-confidence is part of leadership and it is one of the steps that leads a person to success because a one cannot do anything if one does not believe that they are capable of doing
Women became the main workforce while almost all the men went off to fight in World War II. As men began shipping off to battle, they left their wives, sisters, and mothers behind. They also left behind millions of jobs, the ones they vacated and the new ones needed to help with the war. As a result, hundreds of thousands of women entered the workforce. In factories, women built weapons, planes, and tanks to help the boys overseas. They took control of stores and farms, and organized fundraisers to keep spirits high. Rosie the Homemaker became known as Rosie the Riveter, a symbol of the evolving role of women during this era. The economic boom created by the wartime industry pulled the nation out of the Great Depression, paving the way for postwar prosperity. And the dedicated effort of working Rosies’ across the country propelled the nation toward victory. Women helped keep our country together during the war. Our lives, our country, our entire world would be extremely different if women were not encouraged to enter the
Rose uses very detailed description of what his mother did on a regular basis to get a point across to his readers. He wants us to see that working a blue collar job requires a tremendous amount of brain power. And the reason he is so successful, is because of the detail he uses. When I read this specific paragraph I honestly can imagine what Rosie used to do while at her job. How she adapted to new situations. How she was able to remember what each person ordered out the nine tables she was in charge of. To being able to know if something was taking too long to cook and check-in with the chef to see if there was a problem. These are just some of the problems Rosie would face each day while working as a waitress. I believe that even today waitresses are looked down upon by most people. But they are hard working people and deserve respect for what they
During the World War II women's role were focused on one thing, taking over what used to be the roles of men. Although jobs such as being a nurse, a teacher or working in the textile department swing and making clothes were still essentially classified as the typical “woman's job”, the war provided them not so much a gateway but a wider job opportunity to work in different fields. Such as in munitions factories, earning the name Munitionettes and working in the Armed Forces. In the munitions factories the women worked in all manner of production ranging from making ammunition to uniforms to aircrafts. They counted bullets which were sent to the soldiers at war, they mended aircrafts used by pilots during the war to shoot down enemies like birds in the sky.
Warner Brothers released the film in 1945, a year many American soldiers returned from World War II. It left millions dead, but the calamitous event also boosted women's place in society. During the WWII period, women became the main providers for their families while American men were at war, a situation that lead to increased independence for American women. Popular slogans and icons of the time, like Rosie the Riveter, encourage women to work and take charge of their lives. However, when men returned and re-entered the workforce, society expected women to step aside and rejoin the cult of domesticity. This background knowledge adds many layers of meaning to the movie and is vital to understanding the message of the movie.
The article was published on February 6, 1943 in the midst of World War II. Women had become an asset to the war effort and were then considered "At Home Soldiers" or "Riveters". They worked in the factories constructing submarines for the Navy, planes for the Air Force, and became medics.
The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their duties were fulfilling the patriotic and feminine role. After the war the government and media had changed their message as women were to resume the role of the housewife, maid and mother to stay out of the way of returning soldiers. Thus the patriotic and feminine role was nothing but a mystified tactic the government used to maintain the American economic structure during the world war period. It is the contention of this paper to explore how several groups of women were treated as mindless individuals that could be controlled and disposed of through the government arranging social institutions, media manipulation and propaganda, and assumptions behind women’s tendencies which forced “Rosie the Riveter” to become a male dominated concept.
During the war, men were off fighting for America, and the women were left behind to take over their jobs in the factories. Women proved that they can do almost all of the same jobs as men. Rosie the Riveter, a picture of a woman flexing with a caption of “We Can Do It,” became the symbol for women all across the nation. After the war, years later, women began to receive equal pay for the same jobs that the men were doing. Many other minority groups, such as African Americans, played a huge
Maria Rosetta O’Neale (original name) helped end the civil war when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant and the north won. She was known as “Rebel Rose”. She proved that women could do just as good as a man in the military.