Download Covering the War: American Propaganda in the Pictorial Sections

Covering the War:
American Propaganda in the Pictorial Sections
U.S. newspaper coverage of World War I (1914-18) provides a
unique perspective on wartime propaganda. The scope of
articles and images clearly exhibits America’s evolution from
firm isolationism in 1914 to staunch interventionism by 1918.
Once American soldiers joined the war, public opinion at home
changed. And newspapers helped change it.
President Woodrow Wilson was reelected in 1916 with a
campaign slogan: "He kept us out of the war." Newspapers from
that year reflected this relative neutrality. On July 11, 1916, the
first two pages of the New York Times were devoted to the visit
of a German submarine carrying dyestuffs to Baltimore. There
were photographs and stories of the crew—including a jovial
interview with the captain, Paul Koenig, who spoke at length
about his U-boat's on-ship library and Shakespeare. A
December 10, 1916, photograph showed a German soldier
mourning at a fallen comrade's grave. The dehumanization of
Germans, a trademark of wartime propaganda, had not yet
begun.
The president's eventual shift in wartime policy was mirrored in
the newspapers. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared
war on Germany. Headlines in the New York Times and the
Washington Post over the next few days declared: "Call for
'Republic' in Reichstag; America Will End Autocracy by Entering
War, London Thinks—German People Learning—And Our Taking
Up Arms Will Complete Their Enlightenment" and "Germans
Lose Hope—Strong Demand Develops for 'Peace Without
Annexation.'—Conservatives are in Fear—Campaign Against
Wilson's Appeal to Teuton Democracy." The United States was
optimistic that the declaration of war would compel Germany to
lay down its arms. This optimism proved unfounded. By June, it
was evident that Germany had no intentions of surrendering.
Patriotic propaganda, as well as a succession of censorship laws
beginning with the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917, went into
full swing. Photographs showed scores of young men registering
for the draft—the American flag visible in more than half the
images. Photographs of German soldiers ceased, as did any
stories from German or Austro-Hungarian perspectives.
Countless portraits of a heroic President Wilson appeared. In
June the war drive became a competition to see which state, or
even which city, was the most patriotic. The New York Times
posted graphics daily showing which states had contributed the
most recruits and purchased the most war bonds. As
intervention became imminent, newspapers ran fewer
photographs from the battlefield and replaced them with
pictures of parades and training regiments. Editorial policies
became even more vigorously pro-American once American
soldiers began to fight in the war.
Five headlines from June 1917 summarize various aspects of
the war drive: "Columbia Calls"; "New Police Arms Awe
Socialists"; "American Liner Thinks She Hit a U-Boat; Came Up
Alongside, Cook Poured Soup on It"; "[Germany] Went
Exultantly 'Goose-Stepping' Over a Neutral People"; and
"Germans Gave Poison in Candy." These headlines exhibit the
insistence of patriotic duty; the criticism of pacifism; and the
fault, inferiority, and heartlessness of the Germans. In a matter
of months, the United States had rejected isolationism and
embraced its role as protector of democracy throughout the
world. The American newspaper had embraced a new role as
well—no longer just a reporter of news, but an agent of public
opinion.