World War I Propaganda

1. World War I Propaganda Unit 4: Warfare NAME:

2. Introduction – Page 1 • Drawings to incite a population during wartime were used as propaganda from the earliest times. In the United States, there were broadsides with slogans during major conflicts, such as the War of American Independence and the Civil War. During the Spanish-American War (1898), posters and films served the purpose most effectively but it was during World War I that posters were used for the first time as a primary tool of propaganda. • Without the radio and television of later configurations, the poster was an important instrument of mass persuasion in World War I, especially in military recruiting, which combined both glamour and shame to woo eligible recruits. In Allied countries, the Germans were portrayed as rapacious Huns; the Allied soldiers were depicted as fighting for home and country. The poster had a simple message: failure to enlist was akin to treason. Recruiting propaganda of the same sort found its way into popular music and vaudeville entertainment. Probably the most famous poster was U.S. painter James Montgomery Flagg's "I Want You" (1917), which shows Uncle Sam, still a staple of military recruiting today, pointing a finger directly at the viewer. This poster was used in both World Wars and eventually more than 4 million copies were distributed. • However, French World War I posters set the standard for war poster design with their beautiful artwork and ardent messages such as "On les aura" ("We'll get them") or "Sauvonsles" ("Let's save them") that awakened citizens to the urgency of the war. Also effective were films about the war, exhibits of war art, and special gala evenings to gain support for the war. Looking at these posters, the viewer can trace the war's causes and crises in poignant messages conveyed by each image. The pleas were effective not only in mobilizing citizens to serve but also in mobilizing those on the home front to produce supplies for the soldiers in the trenches.

3. Introduction – Page 2 • One of the most effective and popular posters of World War I that played on anti-German hysteria in the United States was "Spies and Lies," which was produced by the U.S. Committee on Public Information as a warning to Americans about "loose lips" and the damage they could cause national security if a speaker was not careful since foreign enemy agents were everywhere, "eager to gather scraps of news about our men, our ships, our munitions" and listening to every word. The poster gave specific directives on what to avoid ("Do not become a tool of the Hun" by passing on gossip; "Do not wait until you catch someone putting a bomb under a factory" or "spread[ing] pessimistic stories") and advised Americans to immediately contact the Justice Department with this information since "you are in contact with the enemy today, just as truly as if you found him across No Man's Land." • U.S. volunteer public speakers exhorting Americans to support the war effort. Organized under the auspices of the federal Committee on Public Information (CPI) headed by George Creel, the Four-Minute Men ultimately numbered some 75,000 individuals. Mostly made up of men, the organization also included a Women's Division, children, college students, and foreign allies. The Four-Minute Men gave short patriotic speeches in public places, including camps, churches, Indian reservations, theaters, and lodge meetings. The most popular locations for their speeches and for singing patriotic songs were movie theaters, and it was from this venue that the appellation "Four-Minute Men" is derived. In the early twentieth century, it took about four minutes to change the reels on the projectors used for feature-length silent films. • Four-Minute Men were supplied with material in bulletins from the CPI in Washington. Their themes included support for war bonds, food conservation, relief organizations, patriotic behavior, the draft, and federal policy issues.

12. Conclusion • If interested, see political posters from other countries or see more examples of posters used within the United States. • http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/index.htm