Coffee Time!
Coffee Mugs from around the world - a personal travelogue
Rosie The Riveter - the True Story
|
Although “We Can Do It!” is often called “Rosie the Riveter”, the truth is not quite that simple... This is one of my favourite mugs – a strong design with a fascinating history, and pleasant memories of where it was obtained as a souvenir.
|
|
The real “Rosie the Riveter”
 |
During World War II massive conscription of men led to a shortage of available workers and therefore a demand for labour which could only be fully filled by employing women. The term "Rosie the Riveter" was first used in 1942 in a song of the same name which became a national hit.
“Rosie the Riveter” While other girls attend their fav’rite cocktail bar Sipping Martinis, munching caviar There’s a girl who’s really putting them to shame Rosie is her name
All the day long whether rain or shine She’s a part of the assembly line She’s making history, working for victory Rosie the Riveter Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage Sitting up there on the fuselage That little frail can do more than a male will do Rosie the Riveter
|
There was no single Rosie, but several. She became closely associated with a real woman, Rose Will Monroe, who worked as a riveter in Ypsilanti, Michigan, building B-24 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Forces. Monroe was asked to star in a promotional film about the war effort at home. The song "Rosie the Riveter" was popular at the time, and Monroe happened to best fit the description of the worker depicted in the song.
 |
In 1943, Norman Rockwell further popularised Rosie with a Saturday Evening Post cover illustration. Readers quickly recognized the “Rosie” on her lunchbox.
|
Women quickly responded to Rosie the Riveter, who convinced them that they had a patriotic duty to enter the workforce.
In time, “Rosie the Riveter” became a cultural icon, representing millions of American women who worked in factories and shipyards producing war munitions and supplies.
Similar images of women war workers appeared in other countries such as Britain. They were heavily used by the government to encourage women to volunteer for wartime service in factories.
|
The real ‘We Can Do It!”
|
In 1942, Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller was hired by the Westinghouse Company to create a series of posters for the war effort.
One of these posters became the famous "We Can Do It!" image—an image that in later years would also be called "Rosie the Riveter," though it was never given this title during the war.
The intent of the poster was to keep production up by boosting morale, not to recruit more women workers.
It was shown only to Westinghouse employees in the Midwest during a two-week period in February 1943, then disappeared for nearly four decades.
|
 |
“Rosie the Riveter” in Popular Culture
|
In the early 1980s, the Miller poster was rediscovered and became famous, associated with feminism, and often mistakenly called "Rosie the Riveter”.
Since then the iconic image has been used, copied and satirised in 100s of different ways. |
 |
More Details
More details about Rosie The Riveter, and the social history of that time, can be found in this Wikipedia article.
The Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien
 |
|
But there is another reason it is a favourite mug of mine…I purchased it as a souvenir whilst visiting one of only two remaining operative Liberty Ships left in the world – S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco. Originally 2,751 Liberty Ships were built during World War II. But that is another story…
|