What Role Does Propaganda Play In The Early 20th Century

In the early 20th century Americans had very strong and often harsh views on foreigners. World War I propaganda provided the ideal platform for the expression of views on foreigners. Aside from World War I propaganda; many other writers of the time expressed their view of foreigners. In the early 20th century, Americans viewed foreigners as savage and uncivilized, which led to foreigners being viewed as a threat to democracy and therefore being treated with very little respect.
Propaganda is information published, often with bias, in order to emphasize a specific political viewpoint. Propaganda played a massive role in World War I in shaping the attitudes Americans had regarding foreigners. The World War I propaganda poster “Destroy this Mad Brute Enlist- U.S. Army,” depicts a massive gorilla wearing a German soldier helmet holding a club in one hand and a wailing woman in the other. The gorilla is meant to represent not only German soldiers but Germans and foreigners as a whole. The club held by the gorilla has the word “Kultur” which means “culture” in German. The poster uses the personified gorilla to show that Americans viewed foreigners, specifically Germans, as uncivilized and savage. Americans considered all “uncivilized” foreigners to be a threat to American democracy.
In Mitchell Palmer’s “Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer Defends
America from Communists.” Palmer states that “Aliens of the same misshapen caste of mind and indecencies of character, and it showed they were making the same glittering promises of lawlessness, of criminal autocracy to Americans that they had made to Russian peasants.” In this statement it is clear to see that America possessed a widespread belief that uncivilized “aliens”, as foreigners were often called, were not only troublesome but a threat to the basis of American ideals; democracy. This belief lead to the discrimination and hate that many foreigners faced in the United States.
Despite the fact that many immigrants came to America to have a better life many foreigners were discriminated against and horribly mistreated because of the perception that uncivilized foreigners were a threat to democracy.
In “Pun Chi Appeals to Congress in Behalf of Chinese Immigrants in California,” Pun Chi describes the discrimination faced by Chinese immigrants in America. Pun Chi states that Chinese come to America to build their future and instead are viewed as thieves and enemies. America had always had a reputation for being the land of the free, however, that view changed quickly in the early 20th
century.
Americans in the early 20th century had very strong negative views on foreigners. Americans quickly became engrossed in their belief that savage foreigners were a threat to their daily life. Fueled by propaganda and thoughts of threats to democracy Americans became close minded and fearful giving America a malicious reputation among foreigners.