The Home Front and the Women's Civil Right Movement

The more we learn about the Second World War the more we can see that the war

was the single most transformative event in the history of the United States. One day the United States was still the sleeping giant that was hesitant about entering the war. The next day men were being enlisted in the army while women were beginning to fill in their roles that their husbands normally played. Lives of millions of American citizens were changed in just a few days, and the changes that took place in that era were changes that would remain in our society until this day. This was simply because the Second World War was the perfect opportunity for minorities to display their skills, it was the chance for the oppressed to rise to the occasion and show what they were capable of. Women, Hispanics, and African-Americans alike were enabled to take on challenges that they had never faced before, and overall their response to adversity was exceptional. Without their help victory would have been much harder to obtain. Although it is important to recount the countless ways in which these groups found success during the Second World War it is just as important to see how their success led to the birth of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

As the United States enter the Second World War it quickly realized that it was

facing one of the biggest challenges that it had ever encountered. The task of winning the war seemed to be very difficult at first, especially when the United States began to see the conditions that each of its allies found themselves in at the beginning of 1942. France was still being occupied by the Germans, the British were still trying their absolute best to fend off the relentless Nazi army, and the rest of Europe was just living under the shadow of an expanding Germany, a Germany that would stop at nothing in its attempt of world domination. Furthermore, the Americans saw in Germany a military force that was far superior to any of its rivals and that could tear almost any foe apart. The best chance that the Americans had to beat Germany and its allies was through the mass production of airplanes, tanks, warships, rifles, and other armaments. Fortunately, as it was already mentioned before, the United States was the sleeping giant. At the time the United States had by far the largest industrial potential in the world, a potential that Adolf Hitler would grossly underestimate. Soon the Americans would begin to overwhelm its enemies with its massive armies which were all heavily armed. Nevertheless, such mass production would not have been possible without the help of women. While American men were joining the Army the women were getting jobs as welders, electricians, and riveters in defense plants. Many of these jobs had been strictly for men only. A woman who worked in the defense industry became known as “Rosie the Riveter.” Between 1941 and 1945 approximately 6.5 million women had joined the workforce, and most of them had done so for the first time. This giant influx of women into the workforce caused the overall workforce membership to rise from 1.5 million to 12 million. It showcased just how capable the United States was to rise from desperation and enter the war. The Japanese had hoped that their attack on Pearl Harbor would demoralize the United States. Instead, they only angered “the sleeping giant.” Women were

indeed a key component of this awakening.

Rosie The Riveter

The mere fact that women had indeed strengthened the workforce in the

United States was an example of important women were to the American society outside of the domestic environment just like they were in it. However, many women would go even further by joining the army and excelling in jobs that were far more mentally demanding than the jobs other women could find at a factory. 350,000 women joined the Armed Services, working at home and

abroad. Nevertheless, the United States was not the first country to include women in its army. The British had already allowed women to join the army in a desperate attempt to defend the country from German invasions. The result was extraordinary. In fact, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was so impressed with the use of women in the British army that she then suggested that women should be used in the American army as well. She was particularly interested in the idea of including a women’s service branch in the Army. In May of 1942 Roosevelt’s wish would be fulfilled when Congress

decided to institute the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, an organization that would then be upgraded to the Women’s Army Corps. The Women’s Army Corps was an organization that actually had full military status. This organization would go on to play a significant role in the war effort. Members of the Women’s Army Corps worked in more than 200 non-combatant jobs in the United States. Other members would also participate in the war effort overseas. Towards the end of the war the Women’s Army Corps had more than 100,000 members and 6,000 officers. In the Navy, members of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service held the same status as naval reservists and provided support stateside. The Coast Guard and the Marine Corps would soon so the same as the Navy. In summary, the role of women in combat forces cannot be underestimated. Even though the presence of women was mostly felt in factories, their role in the Army was just as significant.

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The Second World War was important to women in America in the same was

that it was important to African-Americans. It showed them what they could do, what they were capable of, and the limitations that society had place upon them up to that point. Such realizations left them wanting more, and they did look for more. African-Americans could not conceive the fact that they were fighting for a country that was still not willing to grant them rights that they had been denied for decades. Women now wanted to fight for a country in which their rights and their ideas were just as important as those of their male counterparts. These sentiments led to the beginning of the different Civil Rights Movements that would divide the country in many ways but at the same time unite many.