WWII saw the enlistment of 350,000 American women into the army. About 140,000 served in the Women 's Army Corp (WAC), and 100,000 served in the navy 's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). About 75,000 registered nurses also volunteered for military duty, and 1000 served in the Women 's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Women 's integration into the military was marked by deep anxieties about their potentially negative effects on male soldiers as well as the threat to 'womanhood ' posed by their service. Government officials and corporate recruiters urged women to take jobs in defense industries, creating a new image of the working women. "Rosie the Riveter" was one cartoon used by these companies to persuade women to join the work force. Because of this, many women abandoned what they thought of as "women 's work" and began work in factories as airplane riveters, ship welders, and drill press operators. Women became 36% of the work force, a rise from the past 24 …show more content…
Among African Americans, a new militancy prevailed during the war. Pointing to parallels between anti-Semitism in Germany and racial discrimination in the United States, black leaders waged the Double V campaign: calling for victory over Nazism abroad and racism at home. Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, black labor activism was on the rise. In 1940, only 240 of the nation 's 100,000 aircraft workers were black, and most of them were janitors. African American leaders called for the government to require defense contractors to hire more black workers. After only silence from D.C., famous activist A. Philip Randolph called for a march on Washington in the summer of 1941. Roosevelt, not wanting to cause a scene, made a deal. He created the Executive Order 8802, which prohibited most workplace discrimination. And also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). But the wartime developments did lay the groundwork for the civil rights revolution that came in