Name:
Class Period:
Document Based Question
WWII Home Front
Historical Context: After the United States entered World War II, many men left their jobs to join the
military. Millions of women stepped in to take their place in factories and offices.
Task: Discuss how life for women in the United States changed during World War II and note the gains
women made in the field of employment.
Part 1: Short Answer
Study each document carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Document A: Working Women during World War II
1) Who was Rosie the Riveter?
2) Looking at the picture, describe what type of
woman Rosie the Riveter seems to be.
3) How does this image of a female worker differ from the traditionally accepted image of the
time?
4) Why was this image created?
Document B: Women in the U.S. Work Force, 1940-1946
5) What trends in women’s employment does the graph show (2)?
Document C: The Future of Women’s Work
“Despite the surge of women into heavy industry, markedly larger numbers of new women
entrants into the wartime work force took up clerical and service jobs,… and there women’s
gains proved far more durable. The number of women factory operatives plummeted at war’s
end… By 1947 the proportion of working women in blue-collar occupations was actually smaller
than it had been at the war’s outset… The future of women’s work lay not in the wartime heavy
industries,… but in the [growing] service occupations, which within a decade of the war’s
conclusion eclipsed factory work as the nation’s principal source if employment.”
-David M. Kennedy, Freedom from fear
6) What trends in women’s employment does David M. Kennedy mention?
7) According to this quote, in what jobs did women make the longest lasting gains?
Document D: Factory Worker’s Lives
“Gosh, we have been working hard at work lately. Just rushed to death and never getting through. Our
production schedule has been doubled and still we work harder and put out more all the time… You
better be careful how you talk to me ‘cause I have developed a big muscle in my right arm and a good
strong one in my left arm, so take it easy, kid.”
-Margret Hooper, aircraft factory worker
8) How would you describe life for the average female factory worker?
Document E: Song Lyrics from the Era
9) Describe the purpose of this song.
10) What could the “E” in the song lyrics stand for?
Part 2: Essay
Directions:
● Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion.
● Use evidence from the documents to support your response.
● Include specific related outside information.
● Use pencil or dark ink to write your essay.
●It is recommended that you use a bubble or flow map to organize your essay.
Historical Context:
After the United States entered World War II, many men left their jobs to join the military. Millions of
women stepped in to take their place in factories and offices.
Task:
Discuss how life for women in the U.S. changed during WWII and note the gains that women made in
the field of employment.