Introduction

There are two primary images that are associated with the character "Rosie the Riveter":

"Rosie the Riveter" (Saturday Evening Post) External
Norman Rockwell created this image for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, May 29, 1943.
"We Can Do It" (World Digital Library) External
J. Howard Miller's illustration initially had no connection with someone named Rosie. Miller created "We Can Do It," as an employee of Westinghouse as part of the national campaign in the U.S. to enlist women in the workforce.

The Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division holds hundreds of images relating to American women workers in World War II. Selected images, like the ones shown below, were issued by the U.S. government or by commercial sources during World War II, and often to encourage women to join the work force or to highlight other aspects of the war effort.

Rosie the Riveter: Working Women and World War II

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Introduction

Howard R. Hollem. Answering the Nation's Need for Womanpower. 1942. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs DIvision.

Howard R. Hollem. Oyida Peaks Riveting. 1942. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Alfred T. Palmer. Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville... 1943. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs DIvision.