Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon, whose image was used to promote the WOW's (Woman Ordnance Workers), of the United States, representing the American women who worked in war factories during World War II, many of whom worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and materiel.

What do you know about Rosie the Riveter? Try this U.S. History Made Easy Trivia quiz. You'll find the answers at the bottom of the page.

1) Although Rosie the Riveters took on male dominated trades during WWII, women were expected to return to their everyday housework once men returned from the war.

• True or False?

2) Rosie the Riveter was most closely associated with a real woman, Rose Will Monroe, who was born in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1920 and moved to Michigan during World War II.  Where did she work as a riveter in Ypsilanti, Michigan, building B-29 and B-24 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Forces?

• Willow Run Aircraft Factory
• Willow Grove Power Center
• Ford Factory - Willow Grove

3) Monroe was asked to star in a promotional film about the war effort at home, and was featured in a poster campaign.

• True or False?

4) The song "Rosie the Riveter" by was released in early 1943, and Monroe happened to best fit the description of the worker depicted in the song. The films and posters she appeared in were used to encourage women to go to work in support of the war effort. Who wrote the song?

• Henry James
• Kay Kyser
• Burt Kelly

5) The "Rosie the Riveter" movement increased the number of working American women, a 57% increase from 1940. What was the 1944 total of working American women?

• 20 million
• 40 million
• 60 million

6) Although the image of "Rosie the Riveter" reflected the industrial work of welders and riveters during World War II, the majority of working women filled non-factory positions in every sector of the economy.

• True or False?

7) The average man working in a wartime plant was paid $54.65 ($500 - 2008 dollars) per week. What was the average women paid?

• $31.50 per week ($288.22 - 2008 dollars)
• $45.65 per week ($417.70 - 2008 dollars)
• $54.00 per week ($494.01 - 2008 dollars)

8) The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was opened in Richmond, California, site of four Kaiser shipyards, where thousands of "Rosies" from around the country worked (although ships at the Kaiser yards were not riveted, but rather welded). Over 200 former Rosies attended the ceremony. When did the park open?

• October 14, 2000
• September 11, 2001
• February 6, 2000

9) The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter is a 1981 documentary film about the American women who went to work during World War II to do "men's jobs." In 1996, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Who directed the documentary film?

• Connie Field
• Connie Mack
• Helen Ready

10) The image most iconically associated with Rosie is J. Howard Miller's famous poster for Westinghouse, titled We Can Do It!, which was modeled by a Michigan factory worker in 1942. Who was the worker model?

• Geraldine Doyle
• Esther Baker
• Ruth Roman

Rosie the Riveter Answers

1. True
2. Willow Run Aircraft Factory
3. True
4. Kay Kyser
5. 20 million
6. True
7. $31.50 per week ($288.22 - 2008 dollars)
8. October 14, 2000
9. Connie Field
10. Geraldine Doyle