Effects Of Propaganda In Ww1

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Propaganda played a key role in gaining American support for World War I. American citizens had no interest in entering the war, feeling they had nothing to gain by it. Wilson used this propaganda to change their minds. Through posters, songs, movie clips, speeches and advertisements, Americans were shown how awful the Germans had become. Though much of the information Americans received was exaggerated, it began to sway the minds of citizens. Whether you were a child, a man or a grandmother, propaganda was made specifically for your individual attention. This way, all citizens, of all ages, would begin to despise the Germans and unite against them in war. This propaganda had both positive and negative effects on Americans. With the country still very new, many of our citizens were first and second generation immigrants. This meant that many people felt close ties to their families in Europe. In addition to torn support for America and an ethnic support for their family’s homeland, they believed wars in Europe “appeared to have solved little or nothing, and the end of one war seemed to be a prelude to the next.” After many months of maintaining neutrality, Woodrow Wilson knew it was going to take a lot of persuading to gain the nationalism needed for war support. If the sinking of a ship carrying Americans didn’t persuade the citizens to take a stand, Wilson had to bombard them with negative views of their enemy. Through legislation, he established the Committee on Public Information. This began the quest for controlling how citizens perceive the war through biased headlines and stern legal action for anyone opposed to the war. Through fear, The Committee on Public Information used advertisements claiming that German spies w... ... middle of paper ... ...War II was a smart one. However, through media in the 1940’s, it was a lot easier to spread the word of a negativity about Japan even without the Committee. Propaganda is useful to rally troops to fight when you hit at the heart of a man’s need to feel important. It is also useful to give a country the patriotism needed to band together in support of war when it is necessary. However, using exaggerated propaganda to show another country, or its people, in a negative light, can only do harm. It caused panic, paranoia and fear in our citizens. I don’t call using fear a successful tactic to inciting patriotism. It was manipulative. It’s the type of stuff you expected from Hitler or Muslim extremists. It should not be expected by the President of the United States or any government-run committee. Motivating through positive propaganda is the only way to be successful.

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