WWI Big Questions

1. The U.S. got involved in WWI because of the international commitments and obligations that the country was taking on more. The U.S. had allies that were in the war who were becoming exhausted and felt the need to get involved. There were also other factors such as trade with European countries being blocked off and the heavy immigrant population in America at the time that felt like it was their duty to protect their home country. The U.S. was involved in the Spanish-American war, and under 3 active presidents, the country was dealing with a lot of international affairs. For these reasons, it was not surprising that the U.S. felt like they were prepared for this war, ultimately joining in 1917. It helped prepare them to participate in modern warfare overseas because it wasn't going to cost them very much. Also economically, the war was a great source of the industrial boom, which led to prosperity in the future years.

2. There were certain factors up for debate once the U.S. got involved with the war. Financing the war was a big question because they had just gotten out of another war earlier, resulting in a large expense. An ever tougher task was organizing the economy to meet the war needs. The question that was being debated heavily were whether America should make military and economic preparations for war.

3. During the war, the government utilized one major device. It first worked on ways to solicit loans from the American citizens by selling "liberty bonds." Liberty bonds were basically loans that would help fund the war effort. The U.S. entered the war near the end of it and as a result suffered much less casualties than the other countries. They became engaged in only the last successful offensives, however, suffered high casualties in specific battles where U.S. soldiers were active.


4. Overall, the war helped create a great economic boom for the U.S. Following the war was the Roaring 20's which was ultimately created from the economic drive produced during the war. Employment also increased rapidly and migration into the states was also a huge increase. Industrial production and manufacturing activity soared and expanded all across the nation. Most importantly, because many white men were away at war, a lot of new job opportunities opened up for everyone else, mainly women. Over a million more women were working in a wide range of industrial jobs because of the war. This led to the creation of the Women's Bureau, an agency dedicated to protectig the interests of women in the workforce.  

WWI Propaganda Continued

After reading the document on propaganda, I believe that the poster set I reviewed did accomplish the goal of the government during the time frame. The document talks about how the government's main goal was to persuade the people through the use of powerful, personal illustrations to communicate a message. The poster set I looked out focussed on the subscription of liberty bonds. In each of those posters: vibrant colors, powerful words, and emotional illustrations were placed to inspire and catch the audience's attention.

From this propaganda poster, it speaks on a personal level with the audience. I believe the author purposefully does this to reach a comfortable tone with the speaker. The author highlights the word  "You" to distinguish it from the rest of the poster, to help clearly communicate to the person that they are being addressed. The question mark also is noticed at the center of the poster. This offers the person to really decide and contemplate their decision moving forward.

This next Propaganda poster is one that is recruiting or targeted towards people who are interested in joining the Navy. I personally don't find this one very powerful since there is no persuasion in it. All that is listed is the main idea and then the date for when the recruiting week is. It is more of an awareness advertisement than it is a propaganda poster. The color choice is ineffective and the context is broad, along with the lack of illustration in the poster. 

This next propaganda poster is iconic. The viewer is drawn immediately to Uncle Sam with the patriotic symbolism seen by the U.S.A. flag and the colors. This poster is also another recruitment poster and appears very inspiring through the poise all the shadowed men in the background display. The throwing of hats indicates celebration which is motivating to anyone joining the war so that everyone can celebrate together. Uncle Sam is pointing up, but is referring to the words on the poster, "Register." This shows how registering for the war will allow one to call themselves patriotic. The poster makes you feel as if it is your duty to do this. 

This last propaganda poster is once again another call for war attempt to the people. This one is specifically geared towards people to enlist in the Navy. Pictured is civilians watching the boys in blue line up and get ready to get onto a ship. It looks as if one of the blue men is holding out his hand in an effort to signal the others watching them to come join him. It offers as a welcoming gesture, which is very persuasive in propaganda. The American Flag is once again shown, but on the side with the navy, to symbolize their patriotism and effort. 

All of these propaganda posters I chose were related to the recruitment process and persuasion of the war. I found this set of posters much less powerful than the ones previously examined for the reasons that these contained more words and less illustration. 

WWI Poster Analysis

1. Propaganda in my terms is the art of persuasion. It is a tool used in a visual form and very little script to communicate either a pro or con of a concept/idea.

2. Propaganda: Ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.

3. I used Set 6 of the images from the list.

4.

This first propaganda poster communicates its real purpose through words clearly. It is asking the people to buy more liberty bonds. A liberty bond is like a war loan that was sold to support the allied cause during WWI. It was considered a symbol of patriotic duty of the citizens to the United States and provide those going to the war with some financial support.  This picture really speaks to the emotional side of the people because it features a mother holding her baby very close to her arms. There are pots and bowls surrounding her, and judging from her clothing, she looks like a housewife who works mainly inside, while her husband is off outside fighting for the country. By painting this scene, the illustrator is able to show how in need this family is of money, much like the rest of the mothers with husbands at war. The author of this poster also poses a question, but then subsequently offers a solution to that question to help the audience formulate their answer by subscribing to a liberty bond. 

This next propaganda poster is again related to those who are able to donate money to the cause of the war. In the picture, a lady dressed in an American Flag can be seen as an attempt to show her patriotism. The script explains how people are sacrificing their lives in the war, so the least the people could do is to donate money to help aid in the war. The lady is standing over water, staring at the audience, pointing to something vast in the distance. I believe this communicates the great lengths to which the soldiers committed and sacrificed themselves to go fight far away in battle overseas. The red cross behind the lady represents the what the red cross symbol is today, which is portraying the aid/help needed to support this war.  

This last propaganda poster is about the liberty bonds once again. It pictures a dead soldier in the center, meaning he is of highest importance to the audience. In the small text underneath the picture, it appeals to the emotional side of the audience by telling a story about the boy who made the sacrifice for his country. It also explains how he will be protected along with the other boys because their liberty bonds were paid for in full. This is important and also a propaganda technique because by telling the audience a story, they will want to help any other boys they can by purchasing or subscribing to the liberty bonds. 

5. From the emotional images that the author evokes in the audience, I believe they wanted the people to be able to sympathize with the families of the people at war. The author wanted to be able to create a connection of emotions between the two types of people involved in the war: those that were fighting in it and those who were donating money to support it. 

6. Since these set of propaganda posters were dealing with the support of the war and asking for people to buy liberty bonds, I believe the author was trying to appeal to those who were not already involved in the war but had money to give and support the cause. 

7. I would not be very comfortable with the idea of the government using tax dollars to make propaganda in the attempt to persuade me. I would not like this idea because I would feel a sense of violation and an unnecessary use of money on the government's part. 

8. I think that the federal government felt that they needed to do this probably because they did not have the support they needed to proceed in the war. By creating persuasive propaganda, they would attract more of the citizens and hopefully rally their support into the war, which would ultimately help benefit the country. Also, most people did not really know whether the U.S.A should enter the war since the geography suggested it was relatively far away from the main region of war, and it was also late in the battle. However, in order to gain the confidence of the people, propaganda was essential to moving along.