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  • Essay / Use of Propaganda Against American Citizens in World War I

    Propaganda was used by the government as a means to achieve all of its major goals during the war. Propaganda played a very important role in winning over the citizens of the United States of America during the First World War. This propaganda helped gain support for the war and also created high morale among the population. While this is the definition of propaganda, the real question is to what extent has this propaganda actually influenced the opinions of Americans? The answer is very useful, and looking at the propaganda used throughout this great world war you will notice its value. The reason this propaganda was so successful throughout the war was simple: there was more than one type of propaganda. Some of them were war songs, poetry, advertisements, posters, caricatures, speeches and film stills. Many different forms were necessary because the war effort was a national cause and needed to be promoted wherever people sought to get involved. A large percentage of the United States population did not read newspapers. Therefore, posters played an important role in persuading people and, like advertising, propaganda targeted specific audiences such as women, young men, and African Americans. With all the different types of propaganda and the way it ended up appealing to many different types of people, the belief that the war was a good thing spread like a pandemic across America. Propaganda was the government's ideas that they wanted to put in people's heads. of its citizens. One of these ideas was to get people to enlist and fight in the military. An example of this propaganda aimed at recruiting many people into the military is the famous Uncle Sam poster. This poster had a great influence and inspired many Americans to join a man in serving his country, and if they don't, they bring shame to their family name. (P. 147) These poems were very effective in influencing Americans because in the works, the ideas of patriotism were so strong that they persuaded many young men to join the armed forces. Propaganda was a very effective method used by the government to influence the minds of Americans during the First World War. During this period, people's minds were very sensitive to it, and propaganda was used perfectly to structure the minds of many Americans. The reasons why this program was so successful were that it targeted certain groups of people, there were many different types, and it spread effortlessly among the population. The effect of all this was that there was enough support, money and soldiers to go to war and that is ultimately exactly what America did..