WW II Sends Record Number of Bay State Women to Work
On this day in 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor launched the people of Massachusetts into World War II — and out of the Depression. The state's industrial cities and shipyards sprang back to life to meet wartime demand for munitions, ships, and military supplies. But with men leaving to enlist, there was a sudden labor shortage; women stepped forward as "production soldiers," taking their place on assembly lines. In the mill town of Lowell, where women had traditionally worked unskilled jobs for low wages, new opportunities opened, offering independence, self-respect, and money. At the end of the war, many women lost their jobs to returning soldiers, but others, armed with new skills, remained. The number of working women never again fell to pre-war levels.
Related Moments
"Mill Girl" Writer Lucy Larcom Dies
"Mill Girl" Writer Lucy Larcom Dies
On this day in 1893, Lucy Larcom died. A popular poet during her lifetime, she would be forgotten today except for a work of prose that she wrote in 1889. Her autobiography, A New England...
Bread and Roses Strike Begins
Bread and Roses Strike Begins
On this day in 1912, the labor protest later known as the "Bread and Roses" strike began in Lawrence. A new state law had reduced the maximum workweek from 56 to 54 hours. Factory owners...
G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine
G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine
On this day in 1942, after months of highly secret work, GE engineers in Lynn successfully tested the engine they called by the innocuous name "I-A." It was the first jet engine built in the...
