World War and the Growth of Global Power 271Eleanor had a long history as a feminist activist, which continued into the
war years. Since the 1920s, she pushed for reforms to help protect working
women. In 1920, she joined the League of Women Voters and advocated
public health, education, and welfare reforms. Two years later she joined the
leftist Women’s Trade Union League and campaigned for minimum wage and
maximum hour laws for women. She remained a vocal feminist and activist
throughout the 1920s and 1930s and became the most prominent political
organizer for women in the state of New York. Her concern for women
continued as her husband became president and then as the U.S. entered
WWII. For example, well before images of Rosie the Riveter popped up,
Eleanor pushed for more prominent roles for women in wartime manufactur-
ing. In 1942, she announced that all women, regardless of their race, should
be allowed to learn trades and work in wartime factories. “If I were of a
debutante age,” she said, “I would go into a factory—any factory where I
could learn a skill and be useful.” Although men typically performed such
work under normal conditions, the war pulled them from the factories and
sent them off to fight. Moreover, war required more workers in temporary
munitions-making jobs. Eleanor attempted to persuade private industries with
federal contracts during wartime to provide services for their new female
FIGuRE 5-11 Eleanor Roosevelt inspects African American war workers’
dormitories