Planned Propaganda Changed the View of War
Americans saw World War One as an unpopular war to begin with for many reasons. It was fought an ocean away over land that seemingly did not affect Americans. Plus, America had many citizens that had emigrated from those European countries involved. President Woodrow Wilson narrowly won his re-election bid with the slogan; He kept us out of war, in November of 1916. Yet by April of 1917, America was entering the European war. This unpopular war was made popular within months by propaganda. These propaganda posters coupled with the information Kennedy provides in Over Here would help students understand how an unpopular war becomes at least acceptable in a matter of a few short months. McAdoo, Hoover, …show more content…
America was already giving millions of dollars to Britain and France and raising taxes to support a war that was mostly unwanted seemed to be political suicide. McAdoo had the Federal Reserve actually create money. This way, the “true incidence of war costs could be hidden, at least in the short run, by inflation” (Kennedy, 105). In the meantime, McAdoo sold war bonds by capitalizing on emotions. He had propaganda posters created to encourage American citizens to purchase war bonds and thus be patriotic (Kennedy, 103-105). These propaganda posters are better seen than explained and should be shown to history students when learning about World War One. Coupled with the discussion of how and why McAdoo needed to create these posters, the primary source of the posters themselves will help students understand the time period. These posters pulled on Americans’ heartstrings and guilt. The posters reminded them that there were boys fighting and dying for them, the least they could do was donate some money (Bartlett). One poster even depicted a dead soldier stating he had made the ultimate sacrifice, were we as Americans doing our part (Rogers)? Yet another poster is directed at kids, asking them to save their quarters to buy war savings stamps (Flagg). McAdoo also hired groups he called Four Minute Men. These men would speak around the country …show more content…
Many of these men had fought in the Civil War and had a positive view of war. They taught this view to the younger generation through school or literature. Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior was a Civil War officer that spoke to Harvard’s graduating class. He told them, “War might be terrible when you were in it, but with time, you see that its message is divine” (Kennedy, 179) thus further romanticizing the war. There was a different kind of propaganda to go along with this elite and romanticized view of war. This group of elite young men could be touched by the written word. Authors of the time such as Seeger and Empey wrote books about the glories and virtues of war. Seeger was a young American who went to fight with the French in 1914. He wrote about his experiences and when he was killed in 1916, he became an instant war hero in the Unites States. Former President Theodore Roosevelt called war a Great Adventure. Because of this rhetoric, the elite of the younger generation filled volunteer spots very quickly (Kennedy 178-185). While the written word was pressure enough, there were also propaganda posters to keep the elite ideas at the forefront. One poster depicts Navy life as a great opportunity to see the world. The seaman has a great smile on his face and his luggage packed as he was off to see the world (Ruttan)! There was another poster showing the glory of war in what looks like a silhouette of Theodore
Americans saw World War One as an unpopular war to begin with for many reasons. It was fought an ocean away over land that seemingly did not affect Americans. Plus, America had many citizens that had emigrated from those European countries involved. President Woodrow Wilson narrowly won his re-election bid with the slogan; He kept us out of war, in November of 1916. Yet by April of 1917, America was entering the European war. This unpopular war was made popular within months by propaganda. These propaganda posters coupled with the information Kennedy provides in Over Here would help students understand how an unpopular war becomes at least acceptable in a matter of a few short months. McAdoo, Hoover, …show more content…
America was already giving millions of dollars to Britain and France and raising taxes to support a war that was mostly unwanted seemed to be political suicide. McAdoo had the Federal Reserve actually create money. This way, the “true incidence of war costs could be hidden, at least in the short run, by inflation” (Kennedy, 105). In the meantime, McAdoo sold war bonds by capitalizing on emotions. He had propaganda posters created to encourage American citizens to purchase war bonds and thus be patriotic (Kennedy, 103-105). These propaganda posters are better seen than explained and should be shown to history students when learning about World War One. Coupled with the discussion of how and why McAdoo needed to create these posters, the primary source of the posters themselves will help students understand the time period. These posters pulled on Americans’ heartstrings and guilt. The posters reminded them that there were boys fighting and dying for them, the least they could do was donate some money (Bartlett). One poster even depicted a dead soldier stating he had made the ultimate sacrifice, were we as Americans doing our part (Rogers)? Yet another poster is directed at kids, asking them to save their quarters to buy war savings stamps (Flagg). McAdoo also hired groups he called Four Minute Men. These men would speak around the country …show more content…
Many of these men had fought in the Civil War and had a positive view of war. They taught this view to the younger generation through school or literature. Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior was a Civil War officer that spoke to Harvard’s graduating class. He told them, “War might be terrible when you were in it, but with time, you see that its message is divine” (Kennedy, 179) thus further romanticizing the war. There was a different kind of propaganda to go along with this elite and romanticized view of war. This group of elite young men could be touched by the written word. Authors of the time such as Seeger and Empey wrote books about the glories and virtues of war. Seeger was a young American who went to fight with the French in 1914. He wrote about his experiences and when he was killed in 1916, he became an instant war hero in the Unites States. Former President Theodore Roosevelt called war a Great Adventure. Because of this rhetoric, the elite of the younger generation filled volunteer spots very quickly (Kennedy 178-185). While the written word was pressure enough, there were also propaganda posters to keep the elite ideas at the forefront. One poster depicts Navy life as a great opportunity to see the world. The seaman has a great smile on his face and his luggage packed as he was off to see the world (Ruttan)! There was another poster showing the glory of war in what looks like a silhouette of Theodore