Propaganda During The Great Depression

The United States have had numerous times when it experienced increased amounts of unemployment rates. One of the most notable time period was the called The Great Depression. During this time frame a lot of propaganda has been generated to demonstrate and contribute positive messages towards the citizens of USA. According to the book named, The WPA Putting America to Work by Jeff Hill it states on page 19 “… Hoover encouraged chartable efforts to address the issues of joblessness, hunger, and poverty… encouraging citizens to donate to charities…” Since the U.S. relief system depended heavily on charities to help the needy, propaganda have influenced more people to stand up and help out. One poster on page 20 says, “THINGS MAY BE BAD WITH
YOU BUT THEY’RE WORSE WITH OTHERS.” This poster is from New York’s Emergency Unemployment Relief Committee and it mainly focuses on encouraging the wealthy to provide donations to the poor citizens. On this poster, there are many aspects that show the generosity and purpose of donating to the less wealthy. It states, “SEND A CONTRIBUTION TODAY TO THE EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF COMMITTEE. THIS DOESN’T MEAN THE OTHER FELLOW – IT MEANS YOU!” This last message proves that this is a positive example of propaganda, because of the words the artist chose to use. Lastly, in this illustration there is a wealthy and noble man reaching in his pocket for money to offer to a poor family. This act represents that others should follow this legacy if they are able to do so.
Helping out the poor will not hurt you. It will help your nation become as strong as ever. This was the central message of this portrayal. Another example of a positive propaganda illustration is related to “encouraging young American males to sign up with the Civilian Conservation Corps.” (Hill 33) On April 5, 1933 was when Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6101, which officially established the Civilian Conservation Corps. In the time frame of three months, over 300,000 people decided to join the corps. “According to Roosevelt, the CCC was intended to focus on “simple work, … confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control, and similar projects.” (Hill 33) These words were portrayed through a poster on page 33 which says, “A YOUNG MAN’S OPPORTUNITY FOR WORK PLAY STUDY & HEALTH”. This poster depicts the fact that every male citizen who are eligible to do work in the fields of conserving nature and engineering/military should consider joining in. This picture is showing us that joining CCC will contain projects such as renovation of erosion-damaged lands, controlling forest fires, and reinstating historic
battlefields. It explains how these activities will play a major part towards this community project.
This message has been seen through the poster because of the axe a man holds in his hands. Using this propaganda allowed people to be motivated in helping out the citizens of their own country and making a change. “The CCC gave us discipline and a work ethic, taught us how to get along with others, and enabled us to help our families back home.” (Hill 35) Finally, the most famous, popular, and positive example of propaganda is of “Rosie the Riveter”. Men dominated the American work force of the 1920s, but the women were also a significant part of the labor market. Many women worked as “… teachers, social workers, nurses, librarians, housekeepers, textile factory workers, farm laborers, secretariats, and office clerks.” (Hill 80) Numerous women lost their jobs, just like the men, during the Great Depression. WPA recognized the need to assist women in getting employed. Many obstacles did interfere in this ongoing process, but women were finally managed to receive jobs in the WPA. Unfortunately, since women in the older days had to take care of kids and family, only certain job categories were present for them to select and work for
them. Majority of women chose to be seamstresses. “Beginning in July 1940, women began taking part in vocational training for industrial jobs tied to military manufacturing.” (Hill 81)This training helped women easily make a smooth transition to working for big factories associated with helping the military. This is the period of time when the propaganda poster of “Rosie the Riveter” plays a huge role for women. These women were simply depicted by the iconic figure, “Rosie the Riveter.” The poster is of a woman showing her upper hand while rolling up her sleeve and making a fist. It states on the poster, “We Can Do It!” This message guides women a path to encouragement and realization that men and women are equal. It also shows that both genders have equal strengths and that there is no job that a woman cannot do. This propaganda poster was the start of the growing confidence and liberty for women. “Rosie the Riveter “became one of the most famous images of the World War II era – and an enduring symbol of strength and equality for women.” (Hill 82) These were various examples and analysis of positive examples of propaganda posters throughout the history of the Great depression and World War II. Many positive creations of propaganda have been generated throughout history. Propaganda only holds one purpose which is to create and shape one’s thoughts and beliefs based upon what you believe in. Propaganda can be an excellent tool to use in order to gain confidence and hope in our community, but when handled incorrectly, it can potentially corrupt a society’s system.