Journal of Historical Political Economy > Vol 2 > Issue 4

The Gendered Legacies of the Frontier and Military Enlistment Behavior

Jonathan Homola, Political Science, Rice University, USA, homola@rice.edu , Connor Huff, Political Science, Rice University, USA, connor.huff@rice.edu , Yui Nishimura, Political Science, Rice University, USA, nishimura@rice.edu , Amorae Times, Political Science, Rice University, USA, amorae.times@rice.edu
 
Suggested Citation
Jonathan Homola, Connor Huff, Yui Nishimura and Amorae Times (2023), "The Gendered Legacies of the Frontier and Military Enlistment Behavior", Journal of Historical Political Economy: Vol. 2: No. 4, pp 635-653. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/115.00000043

Publication Date: 06 Feb 2023
© 2023 J. Homola et al.
 
Subjects
International relations: International conflict,  International relations: War,  American political development,  Political economy
 
Keywords
American frontierWorld War II military enlistmentgendered legacies
 

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In this article:
Introduction 
The Legacies of the Frontier and Military Enlistment Behavior 
Data and Empirical Strategy 
Results 
How the Frontier Shaped Women's Role in the Home 
Conclusion 
References 

Abstract

How did the local legacies of the frontier shape the decisions of men and women to enlist in the US military during World War II? We combine county-level data on World War II enlistment with measures of total frontier exposure from Bazzi et al. (2020) to show that men enlisted in World War II at roughly similar rates regardless of whether they were from places with more or less frontier experience. By contrast, women located in places that had more frontier experience enlisted at lower rates. To better understand these differences, we next leverage county-level data from the 1940 Census, and show that women located in places with more total frontier experience had more household responsibilities, less labor force participation, and more children. Our findings show how the culture that developed on the frontier had a constraining influence on women, who were left with primary responsibilities on the homefront. This demobilization highlights how gendered cultural constraints can decrease women's military participation.

DOI:10.1561/115.00000043

Companion

Journal of Historical Political Economy, Volume 2, Issue 4 Special Issue: The Development of the American West: Articles Overview
See the other articles that are part of this special issue.