The character of "Rosie the Riveter" first began as a song inspired by war worker Rosalind P. Walter. After high school, 19 year old Rosalind began working as a riveter on Corsair fighter planes at the Vought Aircraft Company in Stratford, Connecticut. After a newspaper article featuring Rosalind’s work was published, songwriters Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb were inspired to write the song “Rosie the Riveter.” With the release of this song, the concept of Rosie the Riveter became a part of public consciousness.

It should be noted that while Rosalind may have been the first, there were many other “real life Rosies” throughout the war. Rosie the Riveter came to be a symbol of all women working in the war industries during World War II. After the release of the song inspired by Rosalind, the image of Rosie the Riveter became further cemented in the public imagination in large part due to the circulation of illustrations and propaganda. On May 29, 1943, the Norman Rockwell Rosie illustration was published on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Today, perhaps the most famous of all the Rosie imagery is “We Can Do It,” created by J. Howard Miller and published by Westinghouse. Surprisingly, “We Can Do It” was not widely circulated during the war years, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was ever seen outside of the Westinghouse factory floors. The popularity of “We Can Do It” is largely attributed to its inclusion in a 1982 Washington Post Magazine article, “Poster Art for Patriotism’s Sake,” about the poster collections at the National Archives.

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

Search the Library of Congress Online Catalog to find and request additional materials related to "Rosie the Riveter," or the working women of World War II. There is no single heading search that will retrieve all books on the subject, but the following headings should lead to relevant items in the Library's online catalog:

• Rosie the Riveter (Symbolic character) or Rosie, the riveter.
• World War, 1939-1945--War work. United States.
• World War, 1939-1945--Women.
• World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States.
• World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.
• World War, 1939-1945--War work--United States.
• World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States.
• Women--Employment--United States--History--20th century.
• Women--United States--Biography.
• Women--Employment--United States--History--20th century.
• Women--United States--History--20th century.
• Women in mass media--History--20th century.
• Women in advertising--United States--History--20th century.
• World War, 1939-1945--Propaganda.
• Consumer rationing--United States--1940-1950.
• United States. Citizens' Defense Corp.