The Women's Land Army of World War II
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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2017 In the Field the Women Saved the Crop: The Women’s Land Army of World War II Denna M. Clymer University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Agricultural Economics Commons, Agricultural Science Commons, Food Security Commons, History of Gender Commons, Military History Commons, United States History Commons, and the Women's History Commons Recommended Citation Clymer, Denna M., "In the Field the Women Saved the Crop: The omeW n’s Land Army of World War II" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 2536. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2536 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. In the Field the Women Saved the Crop: The Women‘s Land Army of World War II A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History by Denna M. Clymer Missouri Southern State University Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice Administration, 2001 Pittsburg State University Master of Arts in History, 2007 December 2017 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. _________________________________ Dr. Jeannie Whayne, Ph.D. Dissertation Committee Chair _________________________________ ___________________________________ Dr. Bob McMath, Ph.D. Dr. Elliott West, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member Abstract The Women‘s Land Army brought together rural and urban sectors of the United States in a climate of national and regional crisis. By the time the country was cast into war, the agricultural sector was already caught in a downward economic spiral that drove away laborers. With demand falling, and farms propped up only by experiments in subsidy and parity, when military and industrial jobs emerged in urban areas, farm laborers became scarce. At the same time the war created jobs for men outside of the agricultural sector, farm prices recovered and demand soared, forcing farmers to look to women for much-needed farm labor. The federal government proved a hesitant partner in the program, preferring to advance labor initiatives that did not challenge existing gendered divisions of labor endorsed by the USDA Extension and Home Demonstration programs. It was only in 1943, under extreme pressure, that Washington created the WLA that workers and farmers had demanded since 1941. Examining the Women‘s Land Army of World War II allows us to discern rural, urban, and federal attitudes toward gendered labor by creating an environment that incentivized new relationships between women, farms, and profit-driven farm labor. Women, both rural and urban, proved eager to participate in farm labor programs, and farmers, aware that labor resources were limited, readily accepted the possibilities of the program and gave women the chance to prove their mettle. This mindset was couched in the reality that most farmers were already aware that at least some women were perfectly competent farm workers. Most farm women, though relegated to monikers of ―farm wife‖ or ―farm daughter‖ performed labor alongside husbands and fathers who received the preferential title ―farmer‖. The WLA did not break new ground for rural men, but it did change perceptions of women on farms. Under the auspices of patriotic enthusiasm, farm and urban women received social permission to enter the fields openly, and own their personal roles in farm production. ©2017 by Denna M. Clymer All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements This dissertation is truly the product of a village of supporters. I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to committee chair Dr. Jeannie Whayne, whose patience, guidance, and support have been crucial from my earliest coursework through this final project. Dr. Bob McMath‘s feedback and support in was helpful in shaping a ideas of the flow of power in rural interactions with government entities, and his patience even in retirement has been more than I could ever ask for. Dr. Elliott West has helped me learn the rhythms and processes of graduate seminars, and provided special insight into the role of chaos in redefining social expectations. I am grateful to Dr. Jim Gigantino for support as Director of Graduate studies. His flexibility in accommodating my out-of-state residency is more than I could ask for, and I am grateful. This work has brought me into contact with remarkable scholars and researchers who have shaped this final product. Thanks particularly to Dr. Stephanie Carpenter for conversation and support, and for providing me with source material not available elsewhere. Dr. Katherine Jellison‘s conference commentary helped to shape much of my discussion of the Midwest, and helped me find my seal legs in conferences. I am also thankful to Anne Effland, of the USDA for her help in tracking down difficult-to-locate source material for this study. The writing of this dissertation overlapped with many career and personal developments. I am grateful to colleagues and administration at Crowder College for their ongoing support as I have scrambled to balance this project with a new career. I am especially indebted to Ron Cole and Keith Zoromski, whose thoughtful commentary, support, and collegiality have made this project possible. And thanks especially to my husband, Nathan, who has been unendingly patient with the many demands that academia has placed on my time. He alone is happier than I am to see this work completed. Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my husband, Nathan, who officially has the patience of Job. I would not have been able to consider, let alone complete a journey through graduate school without him. It is dedicated also to my parents, who were committed to seeing their children achieve academically against many odds. And to my siblings, whose perfect miscellany of support and competition made me strive for excellence. It is also dedicated to Mike Rogers, the undergraduate English teacher who made me believe graduate school was not beyond my abilities, and to the memory of Wayne Neal, who taught me the rewards of stubborn persistence. Without people like these, people like me would never succeed. Table of Contents I. Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................1 II. Chapter 2: The U. S. role in wartime food supply .....................................................18 III. Chapter 3: Fits and Starts: farms, women, and war in 1917-1942 .............................38 IV. Chapter 4: Federal Reckoning ...................................................................................70 V. Chapter 5: Fruit Furloughs and Victory Vacations ....................................................95 VI. Chapter 6: The WLA in the South .............................................................................145 VII. Chapter 7: The Confines of the Rural Feminine: Ideology in the WLA ...................180 VIII Chapter 8: Conclusion ................................................................................................210 IX. Primary Sources .........................................................................................................219 X. Secondary Sources .....................................................................................................228 Figures 2.1 Reasons given in 1940 census for idle or abandoned lands .......................................36 2.2 Commencement of non-operation by year. ................................................................36 2.3 Value of Farm Equipment in 1940 as a percentage of 1930 numbers .......................37 3.1 Life Magazine image of a VLC worker .....................................................................69 4.1 Breakdown of Emergency War Labor Program Workers by Program 1943 .............94 4.2 Breakdown of Emergency War Labor Program Workers by Program 1944 .............94 5.1 Image of Bloomer Hall at Camp Mil-Bur ..................................................................142 5.2 Image of Camp Mil-Bur washing facilities ...............................................................143 5.3 Image of Swimming Dock at Camp Mil-Bur ............................................................144 6.1 Total WLA Deployments by State 1943 ....................................................................170 6.2 Total WLA Deployments by State 1944 ....................................................................171 6.3 Total WLA Deployments by State 1945 ....................................................................172 6.4 Total WLA Deployments by State 1946 ....................................................................173 6.5 Location of Labor Exchanges in Fayette County, TX. .............................................174 6.6 Rosa McKinney of West Virginia pictured at work in Maryland ..............................175 6.7 States reducing cultivated acreage 1939-1944 ..........................................................176 6.8 H. L. Mitchell with a group of STFU women deploying to New Jersey ...................177 6.9 A Virginia Woman Sorts and Grades Eggs in 1943 ..................................................178 6.10 Shamrock Texan cartoon teases at gender on the farm ..............................................179