Review of Petra Dewitt, "Heroines on the Home Front: World War I and the Council of National Defense's Woman's Committee, Missouri Division," Missouri Historical Review 112:3 (April 2018), 169-188.
By Rhiannon Smith or Rylea Felumb
Today we are looking at the work of Dr. Petra DeWitt, a historian and Associate Professor at Missouri S&T who specializes in social, migration, and ethnic history.[1] In her 2018 article published in the Missouri Historical Review, titled “Heroines on the Home Front,” Dr. DeWitt explores how World War I transformed the lives of women right here in our state.
When the United States entered the war, Missouri Governor Frederick Gardner called for service, and the response was staggering. Over 118,000 women joined the Missouri Division of the Woman's Committee. These women were driven by a firm belief: that the war would be won largely by “economy, thrift, and the work of women.”[2] This mobilization reached every single county in Missouri. Residents might have seen ‘Patriots Specials’ – trains or vehicles that traveled across the state to educate the public about the war effort.[3] In rural areas especially, women became the primary faces of the national cause, taking on a sophisticated range of tasks like growing food, nursing, and managing charities.
However, DeWitt highlights a major contradiction in this history. While these women were publicly praised as “heroines,” their labor was often viewed by the male-dominated government merely as an extension of their domestic duties rather than skilled professional labor.[4] The expectation was that these roles were temporary – that once the men returned, women would be content to return to their pre-war lives. The Missouri Council of Defense even expressed doubts about the capabilities of these women throughout the war effort.
But the change was more permanent than the government expected. By acting as a bridge between domestic life and the public state, Missouri women gained organizational skills. DeWitt concludes that this wartime mobilization, supported by the Progressive Movement, provided the very foundation and public presence that would fuel the push for women’s suffrage in the years to follow.[5] While the right to vote wasn't a direct reward for their work, the experience they gained gave them the tools to fight for it.
[1] "Dr. Petra DeWitt," Missouri S&T, accessed February 1, 2026, https://sites/mst.edu/dewittp
[2] Petra DeWitt, "Heroines on the Home Front: World War I and the Council of National Defense's Woman's Committee, Missouri Division," Missouri Historical Review 112, no. 3 (April 2018): 169.
[3] DeWitt, "Heroines on the Home Front," 169
[4] DeWitt, "Heroines on the Home Front," 180.
[5] DeWitt, "Heroines on the Home Front," 170.