The government's widespread use of propaganda firmly institutionalized propaganda beyond the press with the creation of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) in 1917. The CPI was headed by publicist George A. Creel who was tasked with selling "the war to America" and established a Division of Labor Publications. At the start of the war, the CPI bombarded the nation with anti-German and pro-American sentiment, sponsoring a National Speakers Bureau, and distributing over 100 million posters and pamphlets.8 In 1918, the American mobilization delivered a less than stellar performance that did not yield the promised results, generating much public dissatisfaction. To cover up this embarrassment, the CPI switched tactics and began producing propaganda based on German "'barbarism,' American altruism, and government competence."9 The press at this time also had massive outreach with millions of readers and were regarded as important sources of information for the general public as well as drivers of mass culture.10
Figure 1.1 "I want YOU for US Army" (1917)
Media Utilization Techniques
Posters were used extensively throughout the war, trying to improve relations between an industrialized society the armed forces and encouraging men to enlist and join the Army and Navy. The famous "I Want YOU for US Army" poster, as seen in Figure 1.1, was created by James Montgomery Flagg, borrowing from an iconic British recruitment posteor.11 As expected, a recurring technique used patriotic symbols (Figure 1.5) and appealed to either one's ego at being needed by his country (Figure 1.2) or the fear of not joining the fight (Figure 1.3).
Motion picture was also tested as a means to deliberately influence and shape public opinion and action. Films pre-1917 took on a "decidedly pacifist tone," but once the US declared war, many anti-German films were quickly produced. Some propaganda fell into grey and black areas of false information. Atrocity stories were a cheap, dramatic way to accomplish this. An infamous story was that of German "corpse factories" that used corpses for fat and circulated widely thanks to the Allies, who knew full well it came from a deliberate mistranslation.12
In fact, these types of atrocity stories were often the foundation of anti-German propaganda before the United States joined the war. Even when America held a position of neutrality while war broke out in Europe, there was wide circulation in the press regarding stories of German brutality. One famous case is that of a Red Cross nurse Edith Cavell who became a courageous martyr after being executed by the German army in 1915.In 1918, thanks to the CPI, there was the addition of calls to stop the vicious "Hun" in various media, comparing the ancient nomadic people to the German soldier after the Kaiser made a remark in 1899 telling his soldiers to "behave like Huns".13
Figure 1.2 "Join the Navy" (1917)
Figure 1.3 "Only the Navy can stop this" (1917)
Figure 1.4 "Uncle Sam needs that extra shovelful" (1917)
Figure 1.5 "Keep him free" (1917)
The German threat was repeatedly highlighted in many posters and various forms of media. Figure 1.8 features a "Hun" looking directly at the reader with murderous intent while another in Figure 1.9 endangers women and children. The animal-like savage form with its easily recognizable Pickelhelm in Figure 1.7 threatens all of America and her ideals, personified by a helpless, half-naked woman. At the same time, as illustrated in Figure 1.9, the solution to the Teutonic threat is the strong and courageous American soldier. Or, in the absence of one in a poster, the reader is challenged to take on the threat, perhaps by enlisting or through financial means.
Figure 1.6 "Gee!! I wish I were a man, I'd join the Navy – be a man and do it" (1917)
Figure 1.7 "Destroy this made brute! Enlist" (1918)
Figure 1.8 "Beat back the Hun with Liberty Bonds" (1918)
Figure 1.9 "Halt the Hun! Buy US Government Bonds" (1918)
Target Audience
Men were the sole targets of recruitment campaigns, for war (and politics) was still exclusively male territory as well as male duty. Posters such as Figure 1.6 reminded men that they had not only were obligated to serve their country but that the women they were protecting expected them to as well. Those who did not or could not serve in the military, including women, were encouraged to support the war effort through other means such as saving resources and food (Figure 1.4) or via purchases (Figures 1.5, 1.8, 1.9). Atrocity stories were versatile and targeted anyone who would be shocked and outraged at the hearing of German brutality, perhaps to the point where no one questioned it, even if one was neutral on the issue of waging war. In fact, indirect forms of propaganda are highly successful as it draws "the neutral into some form of de facto cooperation with the belligerent," thus forcing them to choose a side.14
Figure 1.10 "New York Globe: the Kaiser"
Counterpropaganda
Anti-war voices in the United States opposed entering the Great War for various reasons, although a vocal faction came from the anti-capitalist camp. To limit dissent, the Espionage Act of 1917 was passed. However, by 1918, there was significant anti-war effort from radicals, dissenters, draft evaders, and the like that Congress ended up passing the Sedition Act in May, enforced by agents of the Justice Department.14 Such laws made it easier for the federal government to silence anti-war groups and organizations. One target of law enforcement was the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members were called "wobblies." There were efforts in the press to denote the IWW and its members as German agents, as seen in Figure 1.10, as well as dangerous agents of anarchy, sedition, and lawlessness. Starting in late 1917, IWW offices were raided by law enforcement, and thousands of wobblies were harassed, arrested, imprisoned, and deported.16
