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    Rosie the Riveters

    Album Description

    Last weekend, the World War II Museum, in partnership with the Gary Sinise Foundation, hosted 18 Rosie the Riveters from around the country. 

    I was so very honored to get to attend a private dinner with them at the Museum the night before they toured the Museum with some of our students.  It was so special getting to talk to some of the women to hear their stories.  When I was talking to Maxine the Riveter, I told her how she was a hero and had paved the way for myself and other women.  She responded with "I'm not a hero.  I was just doing what I had to do.  I just went to work." 

    The Rosie's were also treated to the WWII Museum's new show, Rosie!  which includes music from the period.  There was also a lot of discussion of oral histories and the importance of preserving and elevating these voices.  It made my primary sources heart so happy!

    I learned that there are chapters of the Rosies in many states.  Louisiana is hoping to start our chapter soon.  If you have a chapter in your area, I recommend reaching out--these stories are so very special and are so impactful for students (and educators, too, of course!)

    'Rosie The Riveter WWII Museum'

    Teaching Notes

    Our high school students got to spend the day with the Riveters.  What would you ask a Rosie the Riveter if you could meet her?

    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jed3A38vAP0

    Reference note

    'Rosie The Riveter WWII Museum'

    'Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Commemoration | March 21, 2025'

    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d1bGTyRoRY

    Reference note

    'During World War II, millions American women on the Home Front answered the call to join the wartime workforce. Today, Rosie the Riveter is one of the most popular and enduring symbols of the WWII era, representing the women workers whose contributions paved the way for future generations. Join The National WWII Museum as we commemorate the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to America's real-life wartime Rosie the Riveters.'

    Instagram: World War 2 Museum Welcomes the Riveters

    Instagram: World War 2 Museum Welcomes the Riveters

    Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II

    Link: https:https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdcwebcasts/03/02/26/hs/s0/90/0/030226hss0900/030226hss0900_640x480_800.mp4

    Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687597/

    Reference note

    Summary: Sheridan Harvey explores the evolution of "Rosie the Riveter"and discusses the lives of real women workers in World War II.
    Created / Published: Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 2003-05-14.
    Notes: -  Sheridan Harvey. -  Recorded on 2003-05-14. -  Kids, Families. -  Researchers. -  Teachers.
    Digital Id: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/gdcwebcasts.030226hss0900

    We Can Do It! Rosie the Riveter.

    Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2021669753/

    Reference note

    Summary

    • This poster, produced by Westinghouse during World War II for the War Production Co-Ordinating Committee, was part of the national campaign in the United States to enlist women in the workforce. In the face of acute wartime labor shortages, women were needed in the defense industries, the civilian service, and even the armed forces. Publicity campaigns were aimed at encouraging those women who had never before held jobs to join the workforce. Poster and film images glorified and glamorized the roles of working women and suggested that a woman's femininity need not be sacrificed. Women were portrayed as attractive, confident, and resolved to do their part to win the war. Of all the images of working women during World War II, the image of women in factories predominates. Rosie the Riveter--the strong, competent woman dressed in overalls and bandanna--was introduced as a symbol of patriotic womanhood. The accoutrements of war work--uniforms, tools, and lunch pails--were incorporated into the revised image of the feminine ideal.

    Created / Published

    • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1942 to 1943]

    Notes

    • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
    • -  Original resource extent: 1 color poster.
    • -  Original resource at: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
    • -  Content in English.
    • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

    Digital Id

    Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park, Rosie the Riveter Memorial, Off Regatta at Melville Square in Marina Park, Richmond, Contra Costa County, CA

    Teaching Notes

    How would you design a monument for the Riveters?  What kind of monument would you design for a hero in your community?

    Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/ca3332/

    Reference note

    Created / Published

    • Documentation compiled after 1968

    Notes

    • -  Survey number: HAER CA-326-D

    Repository

    Riveter at work on Consolidated bomber, Consolidated Aircraft Corp., Fort Worth, Texas

    Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2017878315/

    Reference note

    Created / Published

    • 1942 Oct.

    Genre

    • Transparencies--Color

    Notes

    Repository

    Digital Id

    Do It! Save Lives, Stay Home

    Teaching Notes

    This interpretation of the Rosie the Riveter poster was created during COVID.  

    Why do you think the artist chose this iconic poster to adapt for COVID?

    Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2020632232/

    Reference note

    Summary

    • Poster shows Rosie the Riveter wearing a face mask. The words in the title "We Can" have been painted over.

    Created / Published

    • [Seattle] : Amplifier, 2020.

    Genre

    • Inkjet prints--2020
    • Posters--2020

    Notes

    • -  Title from item.
    • -  Alternate title from Amplifier website.
    • -  Mike Nicholson Los Angeles, California, United States: https://amplifier.org/portfolio-posts/mike-nicholson-do-it/ External
    • -  "My family decided to make as many mask[s] as we could during our quarantine time. It reminded me of the women call to action during WWII. I think this is our countries moment to work together and show a united compassion for each other." Mike Nicholson
    • -  On bottom right corner: Mike Nicholson + Amplifier.org.
    • -  Purchase; Amplifier; 2020; (DLC/PP-2020:074).

    Repository

    Digital Id

    • ppss 01111 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppss.01111

    Mrs. Jennie Mae Turner, welder at the Ingalls shipyard, Pascagoula, Miss.

    Teaching Notes

    Write a thank you card to Rosie the Riveter...what would you say?

    Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/90709142/

    Reference note

    Created / Published

    • 1943.

    Genre

    • Photographic prints--1940-1950

    Notes

    • -  Photo from Ingalls shipyard, U.S. Maritime Commission.
    • -  Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information Collection.
    • -  No. 3176.

    Digital Id

    Betty Jane Cook Collection

    Teaching Notes

    The Veterans History Project has some oral histories from Rosie the Riveters.  As you listen, think about the kind of work they were doing.  What were the conditions like?  How did they feel about their jobs?  What is something that you are proud of in your own life?

    Link: https:https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/vhp/0532/053275/afc2001001_053275_mv0001001_640x480_800.mp4

    Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.53275/

    Reference note

    Repository: Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress