Above: The description for this 1942 photograph reads, "This young lady is training to work on the assembly line of one of our great war plants. In preparation for this task, she devotes six nights a week to a WPA vocational training school where experienced instructors show her the technique of modern welding." Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
In 1946, the Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43 explained that "The rapid expansion of war industries and the growing demands of the armed forces for manpower were responsible... for increased employment opportunities for women... Many women working on WPA projects were by aptitude, previous work experience, and WPA project experience, qualified for certain types of industrial jobs, such as assembly work. In order to hasten [their] placement... in industrial defense jobs, many were shifted by the WPA from service projects into training projects. Women who had been employed on sewing projects were taught to operate small bench machines. Others were trained as light aircraft riveters; welders; lathe, drill press, and milling machine operators; tool grinders; solderers; molders; machine tool inspectors. Some were instructed in electrical assembly, motor testing and repair, and blueprint reading. On August 18, 1942, more than 8,200 women were employed on WPA training projects" (p. 92).
Above: The description for this 1943 photograph reads, "Jeffersontown, Kentucky. The Jefferson County community cannery, started by the WPA (Work Projects Administration), now conducted by the state vocational education department. Women pay three cents each for cans and two cents per can for use of the pressure cooker. Canning beans and greens raised in a victory garden [see next image]." Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Above: The description for this WPA poster, created between 1941 and 1943, reads, "Poster for the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoting victory gardens, showing carrots, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, and potatoes growing." According to an article on the History Channel, "Throughout both world wars, the Victory Garden campaign served as a successful means of boosting morale, expressing patriotism, safeguarding against food shortages on the home front, and easing the burden on the commercial farmers working arduously to feed troops and civilians overseas. In 1942, roughly 15 million families planted victory gardens; by 1944, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced roughly 8 million tons of food - which was the equivalent of more than 40 percent of all the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States" ("America's Patriotic Victory Gardens," May 29, 2014). Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Above: A 1941 WPA poster. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Above: WPA nurses heading out for a day's work in New Orleans, 1936. The WPA preserved skills and hope for hundreds of thousands of unemployed women across America. We'll probably never know for sure how many of these WPA women ended up serving in World War II--either in the military or in the defense industries--but we do know that about 350,000 American women served in the Marines, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Women's Auxiliary Corps, in the WASPS (women pilots), and in the WAVES (women who volunteered for a variety of military support roles). Their work covered just about every non-direct combat job you can think of, including, of course, medical care. (See, e.g., "Women in the Military - WWII: Overview," Minnesota History Center, and "WAVES," Encyclopedia Britannica). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: A 1952 postage stamp. The experience of World War II established, more than ever before, the essential role of women in national defense. And the WPA's faith in the ability of women-in-need to contribute to the nation's common good--through public works and defense training--played a key role in this national enlightenment. A researcher wrote in 1943: "To WPA officials their success in devising projects peculiarly adapted to the abilities of women has been a source of great satisfaction. Achievements in this area doubtless surpass any results previously realized in a vast public employment program and are attributable in large measure to the fact that federal, regional, state, and local WPA staffs have, from the beginning, included specialized officers designated to plan projects and to see that women's interests were properly safeguarded. [These projects included] health projects, education, recreational leadership, library extension work, research, laboratory and clerical work, art, music, cooking, and other professional and service projects..." (Donald S. Howard, The WPA and Federal Relief Policy, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1943, p. 281). Image scanned from personal collection.
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