Woodrow Wilson's Use Of Propaganda During World War I

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history” (GoodReads), was a quote that George Orwell, a once famous author, used to describe the uses and effects of propaganda. In relation to World War 1, many countries that were involved in the fighting had to gain support from its citizens in order to fund the war effort. By using propaganda, these countries were able to gain support through its citizens and to fight battles due to the increase in support of the military. Governments in the war devoted a multitude of resources and a huge amount of effort to produce newspapers, books, and cartoons to help opinionate society and sway the general public to fight for a stance. World War 1 became
Wilson’s first term started with the ideal of nonintervention of the war, but for his re-election in 1916, Wilson continued with the emphasis of peace and his publicists used the slogan ” The man who kept America out of the war”( Grant 214). However, Wilson and the government were well aware of the imminent situation and knew that Wilson’s role in America would change. His role reversal began on April 2, 1917 when he requested Congress for a declaration of war. After the declaration of the war, Wilson created the Committee of Public Information (CPI), a government agency that sought to shape public opinion in support of the war through newspapers, pamphlets, speeches, films, and other media, in which he set a journalist, George Creel, as its leader. Under the direction of George Creel, the CPI was able create myriads of works of propaganda in order to entice American society. Creel relied heavily on visual forms of media because they proved to be very effective in American society (WWI: The Home Front 1). Creel employed an army of artists and they were put to work under the “Division of Pictorial Publicity”. Artists such as James Montgomery Flagg, Charles Dana Gibson, Harrison Fisher, and Joseph Pennell churned out patriotic works that enticed the American society dramatically (WWI: The Home Front 1). The patriotic efforts of artists were also
In the US, propaganda was used to create sympathy for the Allies in Europe and antipathy against Germany. The means of propaganda were therefore: mass-production and circulation; using media and publications that were already popular; influencing those people who were already influential; harnessing the power of images; and appealing to values and characteristics that were important to the target audience (Cooke 1). Propaganda sought to evoke sympathy for war aims and fighting forces, and the dehumanization of the enemy (Cooke 1). The latter can be powerfully seen in the propaganda of the US, Britain, and France, which portrayed Germans as barbaric and animalistic (Cooke 1). This shows that the Allies and the US used propaganda to evoke sympathetic emotions from the people of these countries and gained support through the people. Because the people felt that it was their duty to help their country, countries became more unified, people conserved food and bought bonds, and people also wanted to go to war. Therefore, propaganda swayed society during the war and allowed for many beneficial things for nations at