By: Emma Hooper

Supporting The War Effort How did women help the war?  They sent relief supplies to suffering Europeans.  Some women’s groups sent delegations to Europe to provide relief for American soldiers.  U.S. government established The Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense, headed by suffragist Dr. Anna Shaw, to coordinate war efforts.  Women’s Land Army- (U.S.) Produced foods and goods. Dr. Anna Shaw

The Home front  Since men left their jobs for the war; women were left to take over those jobs.  Women worked in/as:  Housework and domestic jobs  U.S. government needed female workers to replace men’s jobs.  Telegraphers and phone operators  Railroad companies, ammunition factories, power machine operators, & naval station shops.  Doctors, lawyers, bankers, & civil servants.  Red Cross- did relief work, trained nurses, & recruiting men who had not enlisted.  Patriotic League- wartime activities, & donating to troops.  YWCA- training girls to replace men in skilled jobs.  Conditions- Women were paid half the wages a man earned. Worked in,sometimes, dangerous and unhealthy conditions. Few factories & employers offered childcare and few set aside toilets for women.

Women in Military  Women served in the navy & marines  Women in the military served as nurses.  (U.S.) Voluntary Aid Detachment- Women received basic medical training. Women could help badly wounded soldiers but only give them basic medical training. Did not receive any wages, was only a voluntary program.  (U.S.) First Aid Nursing Yeomanry – Women drove ambulances, ran soup kitchens for soldiers, & helped organize baths for those soldiers who had been given some time off from the front lines.

Fashion Before & After the War  Fashion had to change in order for women to do more physical movement.  Women’s fashion lost the rigid, tailored lines of the Edwardian period.  Fashion adopted a military look.  People took more of a plainer style of clothes.  Bathing suits became more about the ability to swim than covering skin.  The birth of the trench coat. First used by farmers, then military, woman started using it.  Fashion shows came about. It was a way of collecting funds for the war.

Edith Cavell  Was a British nurse.  Celebrated for helping some 200 Allies escape from German occupied Belgium.  Was arrested, by the Germans, she was court- martialed, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.  “I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved.”

Overall Effects  WWI increased support for the women suffrage movement.  Contributed to the passage of the 19 th Amendment in  Department of Labor (U.S.) created Women’s Industry service (W.I.S).  After the war, W.I.S. became Women’s Bureau, headed by Mary van Kleeck.  Women’s vital role in the war was keeping soldiers equipped with ammunition.  Space was created in the work area women could fill up the work environment.  Fashion became more of about physical movement than luxurious.

Bibliography  Kim, Tae H. "Seattle General Strike: Where Women Worked During World War I." Seattle General Strike: Where Women Worked During World War I. Seattle General Strike Project, Web. 21 Apr  "Women in the Progressive Era." Women in the Progressive Era. National Women's History Museum, Web. 23 Apr