World War II could be considered the turning point for women’s social and economic liberation. When men went off to war, wives and sisters took over their duties at home and moved into industrial plants around the nation. During this movement, “Rosie the Riveter” became the symbol of women who hung up their aprons and dresses and put on pants and boots to pick up a welding torch. “Rosie” represented the strength and ability of women to perform a man’s task.
Arkansas women were no exception. Defense plants, in various forms, appeared around the state: Ford, Bacon and Davis detonation plant in Jacksonville, the Pine Bluff Arsenal and the Southwest Proving Grounds in Hope, are just a few. One woman, Georgia Peterson, held a variety of jobs at the Ford, Bacon and Davis plant-- “powder weigher and powder scooper, assistant line leader and operator.”
For the first time in many of their lives, women played the role of both mother and father. They also became responsible for managing the household finances under adverse conditions such as food rations and less income. In many instances, women not only handled the finances, but ran the family business as well, including managing farms and sharecroppers.
The move of women into the workplace, whatever the reason, was not heralded as positive by everyone. As one seventy-six year old woman said, “They [women] became more independent and being separated from their husbands and working with other men resulted in many divorces and broken homes--neglected children.” The rise in juvenile delinquency that could be attributed to wartime was blamed almost entirely on the movement of mothers and wives into the public workforce.
Women made more advances than merely working outside of the home during this time. They also entered the armed services, first as auxiliary and later as full members in the Women’s Army Corps (WACS), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), the Coast Guard (SPARS, Semper Parafus – Always Ready), Marine Corp Women’s Reserves (MRs) and Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPS). In 1988, 2,800 female World War II veterans lived in Arkansas.
The suddenness with which women found themselves in these new situations and their successful adjustment gave them self-confidence. Consequently, they desired to keep their newfound independence after the war. By becoming an integral part of the war effort at home and in factories, the American woman earned a permanent place in the public workforce and the armed services.
Arkansas women were no exception. Defense plants, in various forms, appeared around the state: Ford, Bacon and Davis detonation plant in Jacksonville, the Pine Bluff Arsenal and the Southwest Proving Grounds in Hope, are just a few. One woman, Georgia Peterson, held a variety of jobs at the Ford, Bacon and Davis plant-- “powder weigher and powder scooper, assistant line leader and operator.”
For the first time in many of their lives, women played the role of both mother and father. They also became responsible for managing the household finances under adverse conditions such as food rations and less income. In many instances, women not only handled the finances, but ran the family business as well, including managing farms and sharecroppers.
The move of women into the workplace, whatever the reason, was not heralded as positive by everyone. As one seventy-six year old woman said, “They [women] became more independent and being separated from their husbands and working with other men resulted in many divorces and broken homes--neglected children.” The rise in juvenile delinquency that could be attributed to wartime was blamed almost entirely on the movement of mothers and wives into the public workforce.
Women made more advances than merely working outside of the home during this time. They also entered the armed services, first as auxiliary and later as full members in the Women’s Army Corps (WACS), Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), the Coast Guard (SPARS, Semper Parafus – Always Ready), Marine Corp Women’s Reserves (MRs) and Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPS). In 1988, 2,800 female World War II veterans lived in Arkansas.
The suddenness with which women found themselves in these new situations and their successful adjustment gave them self-confidence. Consequently, they desired to keep their newfound independence after the war. By becoming an integral part of the war effort at home and in factories, the American woman earned a permanent place in the public workforce and the armed services.