Download Propaganda in World War One

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Propaganda in World
War One
Day One: What is Propaganda?

Propaganda is a specific type
of message presentation
aimed at serving an agenda.

At its root, the denotation of
propaganda is to propagate
(actively spread) a philosophy
or point of view.
What is Propaganda?

The most common use of the
term (historically) is in
political contexts; in particular
to refer to certain efforts
sponsored by governments or
political groups.
Why do we use Propaganda?
 Each
of the nations which
participated in World War
One from 1914-18 used
propaganda posters.
 Posters
served the
following purposes:

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To justify their involvement
to their own populace
As a means of recruiting men
A way to raise money and
resources to sustain the
military campaign.
Urge conservation
Why Posters?
 Television
had not yet
been invented
 Not
everyone owned
or had access to a
radio
 Posters
were the most
effective means of
getting a message
across
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Justification

Destroy this mad brute
 While England and France
were depicted as
“civilization,” Germany was
shown as a “mad brute” —
here, a giant, drooling gorilla
wielding the club of German
kultur (culture) and carrying
the limp, half-naked body of a
woman.
 As a result of propaganda like
this, German Americans —
many of whose ancestors had
lived in America for centuries
— faced persecution during
the war.
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Recruiting

Uncle Sam

This famous portrayal of
“Uncle Sam” first appeared
during World War I.

Poster by James
Montgomery Flag, 1917.
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Male Recruiting

On which side of the window
are you?

Men who stayed safe at
home would be left out of
the glory. Here, a man stays
safe inside, left in the
shadows, while victorious
soldiers parade outside his
window.

Poster by: Laura Brey, 1917.
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Male Recruiting
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Rivets are bayonets - Drive
them home!

Men at home did have
important work to do,
though. Here, an industrial
worker uses a rivet gun,
perhaps in building ships or
tanks for the army. “Rivets
are bayonets,” the poster
says — industrial work was
just as important as military
service.
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Poster by: John E. Sheridan,
1917.
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Women Recruiting

Be a trained nurse

More and more women were
working outside the home in
the 1910s, and this poster
spoke to women’s desire for
a career of their own.
Nursing, it said, “offers
almost unlimited
opportunities.”
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Children

Boys and girls! You can help
your Uncle Sam win the war

Children couldn’t afford liberty
bonds, but to encourage them to
support the war, the government
sold war savings stamps worth
10 cents and 25 cents. Like war
bonds, the stamps paid interest.
In this poster, Uncle Sam teaches
children a lesson not only about
patriotism but about the
importance of saving.

Poster by: James Montgomery
Flagg ; American Lithographic
Co., N.Y. 1917.
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Children

Little Americans, do your bit.
Leave nothing on your plate

Even the smallest children
were enlisted in the war effort.
Wheat was needed for
soldiers, and so children (and
their mothers) were
encouraged to eat other
grains such as oatmeal, corn,
and rice — and were
reminded, like children
everywhere, to clean their
plates.

Poster by: Cushman Parker,
1917.
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Immigrants
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Remember your first thrill
of American liberty
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Immigrants were the target of
this campaign. America had
given them liberty, the poster
reminded them; now it was
their duty to buy bonds to help
preserve it.

Poster by: United States Dept
of the Treasury
(sponsor/funder) and by
Sackett & Wilhelms Corp. N.Y.
1917
Conservation/Contribution
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Keep the home garden going
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Because so much food was
needed for soldiers and
starving civilians in Europe,
Americans were encouraged to
keep gardens. (In World War II,
these gardens would be called
“victory gardens.”) This poster
shows three men with crops in
poses like those in Archibald
Willard’s famous painting Spirit
of ’76, and calls on the “Spirit of
‘18.”

Poster by: William McKee, 1918.
Conservation/Contribution
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Join the United States school garden
army
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Children could work in gardens, too.
A government program called the
United States School Garden Army
encouraged kids to feel that by
gardening, they were fighting in
France alongside the men in the
trenches. Gardening, wrote
President Wilson, “is just as real and
patriotic an effort as the building of
ships or the firing of cannon.”
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Poster by: Edward Penfield, 1918.
Conservation/Contribution
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Our boys need sox, knit your bit
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Women could not serve in the
army, but they could help the
war effort in other ways. This
poster urged women to knit
socks for soldiers, even though
textile factories made soldiers’
uniforms. Efforts like these had
more to do with generating
feelings of patriotism than with
actually supplying the troops.

Poster by: American National
Red Cross
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Seven Tricks of Propaganda
1. Bandwagon - To convince the audience to do or believe
something because everyone else is doing it.
2. Plain Folks - Suggesting something is practical and a good
value for ordinary people.
3. Glittering Generality - Using words so strongly positive in
emotional content that just hearing them makes you feel
good. The words express a positive meaning without
actually giving a guarantee.
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Seven Tricks of Propaganda
4. Transfer - Transferring good looks, feelings, or ideas to the
person who the propaganda is meant to influence. Suggests
the positive qualities to be associated with the product and
the user.
5. Testimonial - Using a famous person to endorse the
product.
6. Repetition - Using the product name or a keyword or phrase
over and over.
7. Name Calling - Using harsh/kind words to make a point
effective.
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Day Two: Class Opener

Yesterday we learned that at its root, the denotation of
propaganda is to propagate (actively spread) a philosophy
or point of view. Write one example found in our current
society that is also based on this idea.
+Poster One
Time: 6 Minutes
+Poster Two
Time: 6 Minutes
+Poster Three
Time: 5 Minutes
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Exit Questions
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Which poster was most effective in communicating its
message? What “trick(s)” did it use?
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Is propaganda only necessary during war? Explain.
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How can propaganda have a positive influence in a society?
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How can propaganda have a negative influence in a society?