PUSHING US TOO FAR
CENTER TARGETI can explain how propaganda was used to sell World War I to the American public.
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READ ABOUT IT!
Welcome to the American Propaganda Virtual Center. The first thing your group needs to do is read about American Propaganda to join World War I. After you read, you need to work together to complete the American Propaganda Center Page in your Lesson Chronicles.
UNITING THE NATION
President Woodrow Wilson knew, despite his best efforts to keep America out of World War I, that the United States would need to declare war on Germany. Between unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, the Black Tom Explosion, the Great Phenol Plot, and the Zimmerman Telegram, Germany had made it clear that it would continue to antagonize the U.S. Wilson knew that it would take time and money to mobilize American troops and prepare the nation for war. Wilson also knew he would need to win the support of Americans who wanted to remain neutral.
Enlisting Propaganda and The Selective Service Act
Posters went out everywhere. People hung enlist posters everywhere including shop, home, and cable car windows. They were pasted on the side of buildings and billboards. It was advertised in newspapers and magazines in many different languages. Many of these posters were very inspiring and some even scared people into enlisting.
 Pictured Above:
I WANT YOU FOR THE NAVY
If the thrill of heroism didn’t convince young men to join the army, pretty girls might.
Poster by: Howard Chandler Christy, 1917.
The propaganda campaign to enlist men into the military was not as successful as the government had hoped. They had hoped to enlist one million men in the service during the first 6 weeks of the war. Only 73,000 people enlisted. So Congress passed the Selective Service Act, on May 18, 1917. The Selective Service Act which became known as the draft, required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for the military reserves national lottery. If the United States needed more troops to help fight the war, the government would randomly pull names of those registered. These men would receive military training and go to help with the war effort.
George Creel & the Committee on Public Information
 George Creel
To win support, President Wilson thought the government should launch a nationwide propaganda campaign. So, he created the Committee on Public Information, under the direction George Creel. The Committee on Public Information was a group that organized the propaganda campaign to gain support for entering World War I. Their job was, not only to convince Americans to support going to war, but to also invest money and time to the war effort.  Movie Poster for "Pershing's Crusaders"
Creel began by hiring famous artists such as James Montgomery Flagg, Charles Dana Gibson, Harrison Fisher, and Joseph Pennell. These artists produced artwork for posters and billboards, leaflets, and pamphlets, magazines and newspapers. Historians and professors wrote booklets about the war effort. American composers wrote patriotic music and radio shows broadcasted propaganda to every home in America. Hollywood created propaganda films like, “Pershing’s Crusaders,” “America’s Answer,” and “Under Four Flags.” Some of the biggest stars of the silent era promoted the Liberty Loan Drives at huge public rallies. Photographers even produced pictures that were used as propaganda in newspapers and magazines.
 Liberty Bond Propaganda Poster
Creel hired 75,000 men that he called four minute men. These men were public speakers who delivered hundreds of patriotic speeches at movie theaters, lodge meetings, union halls, grange-meetings, churches, Sunday schools, synagogues, lumber camps and Native American reservations. Four minute men usually focused on a specific need such as the draft, the Red Cross, the Farm and Garden Initiative, the Food Conservation Drive, and war bonds. |
TOOL BOX
Important Vocabulary
antagonize: to irritate or upset someone or to cause someone to feel hostile or angry
Committee on Public Information: a group that organized the propaganda campaign to gain support for entering World War I and to invest money and time to the war effort conserve: to save something or to keep something from being wasted deployed: to move troops into position for military action or to send troops into war draft: a system in which young people are required to join the armed forces of a country for a period of service enlist: to join or enroll in the military Farm and Garden Initiative: a movement to get citizens to grow food in order to increase food production for the American and European soldiers fighting in World War I food conservation drive: using propaganda to reduce the amount and types of food people ate at home so that more food could be saved and sent the the troops overseas four minute men: public speakers who worked for the Committee on Public Information that spoke to different groups of people all over the nation about how to help in the war effort George Creel: the director of the Committee on Public Information during World War I Herbert Hoover: head of the U.S. Food Administration during World War I Hooverizing: the term used to describe the campaign to conserve food during World War I liberty loan drives: fundraisers during World War I in which the government sold special issue war bonds to raise money for the war effort mobilize: bringing together military forces to prepare for war propaganda: an idea or statement that is either false or exaggerated and is spread in order to help a political cause, a political leader, or a government propaganda campaign: using propaganda to achieve a goal rationing: allowing a person or group of people to only have a set amount of something each day for a certain length of time recruit: finding or convincing people to join the military Red Cross: an organization set up in 1864 to care for those who were wounded, sick, or homeless in wartime Selective Service Act: a law that required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for the military reserves national lottery during World War I surplus: the amount over or more than the amount that is needed U.S. Food Administration: a government agency under the direction of Herbert Hoover that worked to get food to U.S. and Allied troops fighting in World War I war bonds: loans to the federal government that the government will repay you in the future with a small amount of interest Woodrow Wilson: President of the United States during World War I |
4 Minute Men Propaganda Poster
By the end of World War I, Creel had 150,000 people working on the propaganda campaign for the Committee on Public Information. According to Creel’s own statistics, the 4-minute men delivered 7,555,190 speeches to a total audience of 314,454,514. Given that the total population of the country was around 103,000,000, each American heard an average of 3 speeches during the 19-month war effort. Creel's propaganda campaign was greatly successful. He changed the hearts and minds of most Americans and had them investing money and volunteering time to help the effort.
Herbert Hoover and the U.S. Food Administration
When America declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917 President Wilson put Herbert Hoover in charge of the U.S. Food Administration. The U.S. Food Administration was an organization in charge of providing food for the American and Allied armies as well as the American people at home. Herbert Hoover used propaganda to convince Americans to conserve or save food. He called his program food conservation, but many Americans called it "Hooverizing." The most popular examples of food conservation during World War I were wheatless Wednesdays and meatless Mondays.
Hoover had faith that the American people would conserve food willingly without having to use rationing. Rationing is allowing a person or group of people to only have a set amount of something each day for a certain length of time. Hoover used several strategies to get Americans to voluntarily conserve food. First, he worked to gain the support of housewives to conserve food and stop waste. He made signs, posters, and banners that read, "Food Will Win the War." By doing this he cut down the amount of food people ate in America by 15% without rationing.
Hoover also worked with farmers to grow more food for the troops. He promised that farmers would all get a fair price for the food they grew and he guaranteed the U.S. would buy any surplus crops as well. The result was that U.S. food shipments to the troops tripled. He kept the American armies fed and was able to build up surplus warehouses of food to keep Europe from starving after the war was over.
ANALYZE IT!
PART 1: PROPAGANDA GALLERY
Today's Analyze It Activity is in two parts. For Part 1, you and a partner will work together to learn about the different types of Propaganda using World War I Propaganda Posters. For each artifact in the gallery, read about what type of Propaganda is being used. Then discuss what you believe the message of the propaganda to be. In other words, what is this propaganda saying? What is it for? Is there a target audience in this propaganda? Who is it? Why do you think they were targeted? Was the propaganda effective in your opinion? Why or why not? Use the graphic organizer handout below to guide your thought process. I will hand out paper copies in class.
(You can see a larger image of each artifact by clicking on the picture.)
(You can see a larger image of each artifact by clicking on the picture.)
PART 2: MAKING PROPAGANDA
For Part 2 of the Analyze It Activity, you will create your own Propaganda Poster. Think of something at Moody Middle School that you would like to do or change. Determine whom your audience is. Who are you trying to convince? What type of propaganda might persuade your audience? Now create a propaganda poster for your cause. If you do not finish, do it for homework. If you finish early, go on to the extension activity below.
EXTENSION
If you finish early click on the icons below to view other galleries of World War I Propaganda.
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PROVE IT!
You just learned about American Propaganda in World War I. Now you need to show off what you know. Complete the Center Check by clicking on the Center Check Icon below and answering the questions.
CENTER COMPLETE!
You have completed the American Propaganda Virtual Center. Click on the button below to go back to the Lesson 3 - America Enters World War I.