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A particularly notable experiment was the Woman's Land Army of America (WLAA) based on a British program. With so many men conscripted, there was concern over the 1917 and 18 hsarvest. And American food production was an important part of the Allied war effort. So young city women were recruited for farm labor. There was no comparable program in Germany and Austrisa-Hungary despite there was a severe shortahe of agricultural labor which was significantly impairing harvests. The Woman's Land Army of America deployed about 20,000 urban women to volunteer to support the War effort by working in the agricultural sector (1917-21). The idea was to replace the male farm workers called up for military service. They worked as ordinary wage laborers. Young urban women were active recruited. There was quite a mix of women who volunteered: city workers, society women, artists, business professionals, and college students. It was a revolutionary program in msany ways. America never befoer had a formally organized group of women workers sanction by Government. And the mansagers in the program were mostly women. And they were deployed in physically demanding farm labor. Many Americans found the whole idea disconcerting. And even worse to many conservsative Amnericans, the women involved were young, college-educated, and lived together with other independent-minded women away from home. The varied social background of the women would leave a lasting impression. Americans were used to women living under the authoirity of men (first fathers and then husbands). The WLAA seemed and affornt to the very fabric of society.
The WLAA was launched at the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women at Ambler (now part of Temple University).
A particularly notable experiment was the Woman's Land Army of America (WLAA) based on a British program. With so many men conscripted, there was concern over the 1917 and 18 hsarvest. And American food production was an important part of the Allied war effort. So young city women were recruited for farm labor. There was no comparable program in Germany and Austrisa-Hungary despite there was a severe shortahe of agricultural labor which was significantly impairing harvests.
The Woman's Land Army of America deployed about 20,000 urban women to volunteer to support the War effort by working in the agricultural sector (1917-21). The idea was to replace the male farm workers called up for military service. They worked as ordinary wage laborers.
Young urban women were actively recruited. There was quite a mix of women who volunteered: city workers, society women, artists, business professionals, and college students.
The volunteers were called "farmerettes", a term similar to the "sufergettes" who were in the porocess of gaining the vote for women. And some of the same feminist fervor accompanied the sufergette movement.
It was a revolutionary program in many ways. America never before had a formally organized group of women workers sanction by Government. And the mansagers in the program were mostly women. And they were deployed in physically demanding farm labor. Many Americans found the whole idea disconcerting. And even worse to many conservsative Amnericans, the women involved were young, college-educated, and lived together with other independent-minded women away from home. The varied social background of the women would leave a lasting impression. Americans were used to women living under the authoirity of men (first fathers and then husbands). The WLAA seemed and affornt to the very fabric of society.
The WLAA was launched at the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women at Ambler (now part of Temple University).
Communal camps were set up for the WLAA volunteers.
They were assigned “men's work”. That involved plowing fields, driving tractors, planting, harvesting, and hauling lumber. The WLAA farmerettes at first shocked conservative farm communities. Many farmers were skeptical. For the most part, however, the young women proved themselves to be both enthusiadstic aand more important capable workers. Many deeply griceled old farmers havingv trouble finding woirkers came to rely on the farmerettes and became their vocal champions.
At a time that women in the work force were paid lower wages than men, the WLAA required that their farmerettes be paid the going wages received by men farm workers. Employers were restricted to using them for an 8-hour workday.
The young WLAA women were issued military-style uniforms. They wore broad-brimmed sun hats, blue smocks, breeches, putees, and boots.
Weiss, Elaine F. Fruits of Victory: The Woman's Land Army of America in the Great War
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