Project log!

Pitch

My research topic is: How newspapers reflect changing attitudes towards women’s participation in the workforce.
My research question is: How do Oregon Historical newspapers from around the state, including articles about cities around the world, reflect changing attitudes towards women’s participation in the workforce in Oregon from 1910-1975?
I expect to work with the following materials: I plan to work with both secondary and primary sources during this project. I have found some articles that discuss women’s industrial labor in Oregon during WW2, and am planning to use the Oregon Historical Newspapers site to access newspapers using the keyword search ‘women labor’, and use relevant articles that I find with that search.
I plan to process these materials by: I need to read through and take notes on the articles I found in order to get more knowledge and background for this project. I need to listen to a few of the interviews that I found that are relevant. I plan to process the newspaper articles I find by saving them as Plain Text files, editing the existing transcriptions as needed, and then removing irrelevant portions of the paper from the file. These will then be saved and cited, and then analyzed using Voyant.
I plan to present these materials by: using either a digital exhibit with impactful articles included, or using visualizations of analysis done through Voyant.
My final submission will take this form: I would like to submit my project in the form of a website, using analysis, explanations, and visualizations of the data I collect.
This project is intended to engage these audiences and communities: I think that the intended audience for this project is historians, scholars, students, or really anyone interested in topics of women and gender studies, labor history, and Oregon history.
I bring the following existing knowledge and/or skills to the project: I already have background and experience with research, so I feel confident in my ability to find sources and important information and feel comfortable with the research process itself and the potential issues or problems that come with research.
In order to do this project, I need to learn: I think I need to learn more about making a website. I feel like when I have tried in the past I can’t always get it to look the way that I want it to so I would like to learn more about customizing the site to look the way I want. I also need to learn more about using technology past just basic uses, there are many things in relation to computers that I don’t feel like I know how to do.

Search Log

For most of my searches, through both the library and JSTOR, I was able to find a lot of sources through keywords without having to narrow down the searches a lot. Many of my sources came from a search of “women labor WW2 Oregon” or just “Oregon labor ww2”.

Source 1, 2 3:

Library search “Oregon Historical Quarterly” -> JSTOR - search “women labor”

Source 4:

Book I own

Source 5:

Archives West: search “women shipyard world war 2” -> Northwest Women’s History Project records and interviews, 1943-2021 -> scroll down, under ‘content description’ click on ‘available online in OHS Digital Collections’ link

Source 6:

I don’t remember and didn’t write it down, I keep trying to replicate the search and can’t figure out how I got there, but the link to the source should be active.

Source 7:

Visit Oregon Encyclopedia -> search “shipyard” and find ‘Kaiser Shipyards’

Source 8: (these are the newspapers I’m using for my project):

Go to the UO library search homepage -> click on “research support” and go to research guides -> journalism & communication -> finding newspaper resources -> stay on newspaper resources, scroll down, click on “Using the Historic Oregon Newspapers Website” -> click on “Historic Oregon Newspapers” -> search “women labor” and filter by year

Bibliography

source #1: Mercier, Laurie. “Breadwinning, Equity, and Solidarity: Labor Feminism in Oregon, 1945–1970.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 120, no. 1, 2019, pp. 6–45. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.120.1.0006. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023.
source #2: Amy E. Platt. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War II, a Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 116, no. 2, 2015, pp. 234–48. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.116.2.0234. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023.
source #3: Diane Simmons. “Rejection, Reception, and Rejection Again: Women in Oregon’s World War II Shipyards.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 119, no. 1, 2018, pp. 96–119. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.119.1.0096. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.
source #4: Polishuk, Sandy. Sticking to the Union: An Oral History of the Life and Times of Julia Ruuttila. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
source #5: Northwest Women’s History Project. “Northwest Women’s History Project Records and Interviews.” 2021, digitalcollections.ohs.org/coll-883-northwest-womens-history-project-records-and-interviews. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.
source #6: Oregon History Project. “Women in the Shipyards.” Oregon, WWII, Women, and Work, Oregon Historical Society, www.oregonhistoryproject.org/women-in-the-shipyards/.
source #7: Oliver, Gordon. “Kaiser Shipyards.” The Oregon Encyclopedia, Oregon Historical Society , www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/kaiser_shipyards/#.ZEwxeezMLs1.
newspaper sources

Reading Plan

read source 1: 5/1
read source 2: 5/1
read source 3: 5/3
read source 4: already read - go back through highlighted sections & take notes 5/3
source 5: choose and listen to 3 interviews: 5/5
source 6: 5/5
source 7: 5/7

Research Question

As a history major, I wanted to conduct a historical project around the question: “How do Oregon Historical Newspapers from around the state of Oregon, including articles about cities from around the world, reflect changing attitudes towards women’s participation the work force between 1910-1975? I chose this period of time because I think it encapsulates many historical events, it is a period with the overarching theme of change, and the industrialization between 1910 and 1975 changed what jobs were accessible

Annotated Bibliography

source 1 annotation

citation: Mercier, Laurie. “Breadwinning, Equity, and Solidarity: Labor Feminism in Oregon, 1945–1970.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 120, no. 1, 2019, pp. 6–45. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.120.1.0006. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023
summary: Mercier’s article mainly discusses women’s labor activism during the post-war period through the 70s. She discusses the unique conditions of labor in Oregon, the purposeful exclusion of women of color from unions, the necessity for childcare for workers, and the ways in which white women attempted to portray themselves as workers rather than women in attempts to fight for higher wages and better working conditions alongside men. Another thing that Mercier discusses is key figures in the women’s labor movement, as well as key events. This article discusses the ideology and viewpoint of white female activists, as well as those around them - including male activists and union members, and larger groups of people in the area.
indication of the general utility of source: I think that this source is beneficial to inform the broader public of the labor movement during the post-war period (ww2) and the ideology and views of white women during this period; I think the main use of this source is to provide background knowledge.

source 2 annotation

citation: Amy E. Platt. “‘Go into the Yard as a Worker, Not as a Woman’: Oregon Women During World War II, a Digital Exhibit on the Oregon History Project.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 116, no. 2, 2015, pp. 234–48. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.116.2.0234. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023.
summary: Platt’s writing details the experiences and specifics of women who entered different areas of the workforce, especially related to war production. She uses numbers and percentages to provide a picture of the workforce in Oregon and goes into depth about the experiences of black women in the shipyards in Portland. She goes into post-war conditions in Oregon for women as men came back from war, and Platt mentions more in-depth the post-war experience of women of color in Oregon - particularly Black and Japanese American women. She then gives pages to a few different women who worked during the war and goes in-depth about what they did and their experiences. In the midst of these individual shoutouts, she provides a page of information about Indigenous women in Oregon who worked in the shipyards.
indication of the general utility of source: Platt’s article provides specific numbers, particularly in regards to the number of women working in industrial fields in Oregon and the numbers of women in the workforce during this period, which could be useful for different projects. Platt also provides profiles and experiences of specific women and discusses the experience of women of color which could be useful to provide further background information, or one could use these specifics in a project.

source 3 annotation

citation: Diane Simmons. “Rejection, Reception, and Rejection Again: Women in Oregon’s World War II Shipyards.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 119, no. 1, 2018, pp. 96–119. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.119.1.0096. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.
summary: Simmons begins her discussion of women’s labor in the shipyards with the mention of Rosie the Riveter, both the original poster and the version created by Norman Rockwell. Simmons then moves on to discuss the viewpoint that many people, men in particular, around Oregon had of women doing industrial labor, particularly working in the shipyards, and how these ideals influenced newspapers and propaganda posters, such as both of these versions of Rosie the Riveter. She then discusses the experience of white and black women working in the shipyards, and their experiences working alongside men. She then moves on to discuss Eva Eldridge, who Simmons knew, and Eva’s experience working in the shipyards.
indication of the general utility: This source helped inspire the idea for my project, as the author was using newspapers to place herself within the context and attitudes of the period. I think that this source can be used for background information, and provides information about childcare centers at the shipyards and how they accounted for childcare as a barrier to women’s ability to work.

source 4 annotation

citation: Polishuk, Sandy. Sticking to the Union: An Oral History of the Life and Times of Julia Ruuttila. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
summary: Polishuk’s book is a biography of the life of lifelong labor activist Julia Ruuttila, and her work in Oregon as a labor activist. It discusses her life growing up in Eugene with a father in the IWW, her life after moving out of her parent’s house, her relationships, and most importantly: her work. As this book was written after Polishuk interviewed Julia, the people around her, and researched her life, there are a few inconsistencies within the story, but mainly surrounding personal details. Julia was extremely dedicated to her work, and this book is a wonderful way to learn more about what she has done for labor rights in Oregon.
indication of the general utility: This book is really interesting and includes tons of information, both from Julia Ruuttila herself and from the author. Included in this book is a lot of information about Oregon and Oregon’s history from the perspective of a labor activist, as well as information about industrial work, labor unions, and journalism.

source 5 annotation

citation: Northwest Women’s History Project. “Northwest Women’s History Project Records and Interviews.” 2021, digitalcollections.ohs.org/coll-883-northwest-womens-history-project-records-and-interviews. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.
summary: I listened to the oral interviews of three different women who had worked different jobs in Portland at the shipyards during WW2, the first was Alice Erickson, the second was Dorothy Anderson, and the last was Velma Lake. Alice worked as a driller, Dorothy did both inventory work and worked as an electrician’s apprentice, and Velma worked as a scaler (assisted painters), a painter, and a welder. All of these women had different stories to tell about their experience in the shipyards and with the unions, and what they did after the war. One of the things that I noted from their stories was that they needed to join unions to work in the shipyards, but many of the unions were reluctant to take on women because they were going to rid of them after the war but took them on out of necessity. Another important point was that these women doubted themselves prior to working in the yards, but the yards gave them confidence.
indication of the general utility: These interviews are incredibly interesting and could be used for any number of things, including just listening for fun. I thought it was interesting to hear first-hand accounts of the experiences of these women rather than reading them because it felt much more personal and real. They provide a lot of background information and can place the listener within the context of pre, during, and post ww2.

source 6 annotation

citation: source #6: Oregon History Project. “Women in the Shipyards.” Oregon, WWII, Women, and Work, Oregon Historical Society, www.oregonhistoryproject.org/women-in-the-shipyards/.
summary: This source provides background information about the necessity of female workers during World War 2, and includes some insight into attitudes towards working women during the war. It also includes a small glimpse into postwar work life for women. This source is not very long but also provides a little bit of information about women joining unions during the war because they anticipated layoffs following the end of the war as men wanted to return to their jobs.
indication of the general utility: I think that for beginning research about Oregon’s shipyards or for anyone just hoping to learn a bit more about the shipyards without doing a deep search, this page is really beneficial. It provides a little bit of everything and gives a lot of background information and links to other sources about similar topics which can be found at the bottom of the page, and these sources have a little bit of information about them so the reader knows what they’re getting into.

source 7 annotation

citation: source #7: Oliver, Gordon. “Kaiser Shipyards.” The Oregon Encyclopedia, Oregon Historical Society , www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/kaiser_shipyards/#.ZEwxeezMLs1.
summary: This page written by Gordon provides insight into the shipyards themselves, including their functions, numbers of employees, and different information about production. It also helps the reader understand the social and economic impact of the shipyards on Portland during the war. One of the ways it does this is to provide statistics about women, and people of color moving to Portland to work in shipyards and provides numerical data about this.
indication of the general utility: I think that this source could potentially be useful for anyone hoping to learn more about Portland’s shipyards in general, it has a lot of good background information about them and could be helpful for both broad or specific uses. This page also links to others that are similar, making it a helpful starting point for research on this topic.

Environmental Scan

contribution

For this project, I will analyze historic Oregon newspapers as a way to reveal changing ideals surrounding women’s participation in the workforce. I originally was interested in women’s labor activism and the history of unions in Oregon but struggled to find a gap in the research for my project. I am really interested in the history of Oregon, and I like learning about women’s participation in history. I will analyze historic newspapers as a way to reveal changing attitudes, and I would like to present this analysis and create a digital exhibit with note-worthy papers. My project is unique because I will be analyzing newspapers as a source that demonstrates popular opinions. I think there are projects that discuss changing ideals about women’s participation in the labor force, but none analyze historic newspapers. I think this project will not only answer my original question about how changing ideals are reflected in newspapers, but I hope to also answer questions about how newspapers reflect popular attitudes, speak to the general public, and potentially influence the opinions of others.

methods

The tools that will be used for this project are “TextEdit” and “Voyant”. TextEdit is a program one can download onto their computer, and can be used for many different types of projects. I will use this program to clean up the newspapers I am looking at, by fixing any mistakes and removing irrelevant sections, and storing and formatting these documents in an organized way that will make it easy to upload them to Voyant. I will use Voyant to analyze these texts and reveal patterns, as well as changing ideals. I think that these are the best technologies for this project because both are free and capable of doing what I need for this project and are compatible with my computer. I believe that paying for any program that does these same functions is unnecessary and a waste of money, as both of these programs do what I need them to.

stakeholders / audiences

This project is intended for academics, such as both professors and students, specifically those interested in history, women and gender studies, or labor history. The majority of my sources are available through the UO, so the UO is also part of my intended audience: I would like to show the UO how people are using the resources that they have made available and encourage them to continue providing these sources and other resources that may otherwise be difficult to access. I think in order to reach this audience it would be beneficial if I posted about it publicly for others to see.

dependencies and resources

My entire project depends on the newspapers accessed through the UO library and many of these sources are only available through the UO. These newspapers have been uploaded to “Oregon Historic Newspapers” which is a site created by the UO. I will use the program “TextEdit”, which was free, but I had to download it onto my computer in order to use it. To sort through and upload these texts, I will require at least 6 hours, most likely over the course of a few days, and I will need enough data on my computer to store and download all of the newspapers that I will use in this project. I will use Voyant to analyze these newspapers, which is a free and available website that anyone can use.

Week 8 notes

currently text mining and transcribing newspapers, as these text files will be inserted into Voyant, I thought it would make sense to use the current version of each word so that I would have one version of each word, changes made as follows:
- per cent -> percent
- tokether -> together
- statees -> states
- thru -> through
- middle west -> midwest
- asociation -> association
- aeroplane(s) -> airplane(s)
- till -> until
- ocupation -> occupation
- criticises -> criticizes
- seceretary -> secretary
- them selves -> themselves
- well being -> well-being
- manikin -> mannequin
- calory -> calorie
- decripit -> decrepit

Week 10 notes

Voyant stop word list: - women - woman - labor - work - women’s - woman’s - working