strains on families.
These wartime stresses
contributed to an
increased divorce rate.
Thousands of children
became latchkey kids,
and the rates of juvenile
delinquency,unwed
pregnancy,and truancy
escalated.To draw more
women into the
workplace,factories
began to set up daycare
centers.Women moved
into increasingly
responsible positions
and provided support
services for all branches
of themilitary.Theywere
paid the same as the men who had
previouslyheldthesepositionsandreceived
the same promotions.The impact was
dramatic: married women were out of the
house and earning their own money.The
symbolic,domesticimageof womeninthe
late1800sandearly1900shadnowchanged.
Changes in Marriage and Divorce Rates.
In1946,theyearfollowingWorldWarII,
marriagesabounded.AsillustratedinFigure
3.1,themarriageratehaddropped
substantiallyfrom1942to1944,due
primarilytothewar.Themarriageratethen
rosedramaticallyfrom12.2per1,000people
in1945to16.4in1946(NationalCenterfor
HealthStatistics,1973).Thousandsofmen
returnedhomefromwar,andaspiritof
optimismsweptthe
nation.Thefirstofthe
“babyboom”generation
wasbornandfamilies
lookedforwardtoatime
ofpeaceandprosperity.
Thedivorcerate,
whichhadbeenslowly
climbingfrom1940to
1944,rosefrom3.5to4.3
per1,000people
between1945and1946
(NationalCenterfor
HealthStatistics,1973).
Theincreaseindivorces
wasprimarilyduetothe
largenumberof
marriageswhichtook
placejustbeforethemen
shippedofftowar,andthesubsequent3or
4yearseparationbeforetheirreturn.Most
divorcesinthisperiodoccurredbetween
young,childlesscouplesoroldermarried
coupleswithgrownchildren.Figure3.1
comparesthenumberofmarriagesand
numberofdivorcesper1000population
duringthe10-yearspanfrom1940to1950,
whileFigure3.2illustratesthetrendinthe
numberofdivorcesper1000population
acrossnearlya110-yearspan.Interestingly,
thepeaksanddipsinthedivorceratereflect
thetimesofprosperityanddistressin
America,indicatingthesusceptibilityofthe
Americanfamilytotheeconomic,political,
andpsychologicalclimateofthecountry.
EvidenceofthissusceptibilitycanbeseeninChapter 3
Rosie the Riveter embodied the heroic spirit
of the time, women stepping into positions
vacated by men who were engaged in a
lengthy, horrific war.AbsoluteStockPhoto