Date

12-19-2023

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)

Chair

Mary Mac Ogden

Keywords

Women, World War II, Pilots, Cochran, Women's Airforce Service Pilots

Disciplines

History

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the career of pioneering aviator Jacqueline Cochran in the interwar period when she crafted the aviation program, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), for the US military during WWII. Born into poverty and orphaned, nothing in her upbringing prepared her for the litany of records and pioneering work she achieved throughout her life. Cochran pushed the limits of acceptable assignments and positions for women as an aviatrix, cosmetic magnate, and Director of the WASP during WWII. She used tested models applied by generations of women reformers to create a unique place for women in aviation. By adopting collective action, programming, and branding, she created a place for women in aviation, making the WASPs prosperous and opening the doors for future generations of women. She pushed the boundaries of acceptable employment for women while proving that women could handle the rigors of the military and fly military aircraft. She built a beauty empire connecting her to influential people, enabling her to climb the social ladder from obscurity to famed aviatrix. With fame came access, leading to an appointment as leader of the WASP in 1943. Here, she took proven successful models in her business career and applied them to the hyper-gendered, change-resistant military landscape. She successfully led a team of over one thousand female aviators in eighteen months to conduct missions essential to the war effort and historically prohibited to women. Although the WASP disbanded in 1944 and denied permanent militarization by Congress, the disbandment was not the fault of Jacqueline Cochran but the result of the politics of progress. Cochran's leadership and vision advanced opportunities for women while solidifying her place in history by carving a niche for women in military aviation. Using archival data from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library Archives, Texas Women’s University Archives, the Michigan Tech Archives, her autobiographies, and firsthand recollections from her collection at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library Archives, this research demonstrates the significance of Cochran's accomplishments during World War II and the broader implications it had on promoting gender equality in aviation, the military, and the national labor force.

Download

Included in

History Commons

Share

COinS