The Committee on Public Information was a huge part of American propaganda during World War I and could be argued that without this Committee there would have been barely any propaganda. Although we talked a little bit about this topic in class, I wanted to do some more research on the Committee on Public Information (also known as CPL). The main goal of the CPL was to obviously get the American people excited about the war and get all citizens involved in war efforts. It was established on April 13, 1917, less than a week after America entered the war. George Creel was the head of the committee, who was put in charge by President Woodrow Wilson.
Since the goal was to make the American people supportive of the World War, CPL would censor all of the information about the war released to the public. The committee would give newspapers and other forms of media "guidelines" to what stories could be published. Although these guidelines were considered "voluntary", CPL did enforce this and later helped to establish both the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sabotage Act of 1918.
Creel also tried to get the word out there to the citizens that America entering the war was a good thing. One way he did this was by a group called the Four Minute Men. The Four Minute Men was a group of volunteers that went out into communities all over the US and made pro-war speeches. This group would most commonly speak in movie theaters or different types of meetings. These volunteers would give four-minute speeches about many different topics and encourage all American citizens to get involved. The Four-Minute Men was widely successful and according to Creel,more than 7.5 million speeches were given.
The Committee was getting their pro-war ideas out there through many different newspapers, articles, speeches and even cinema. However, Creel felt like something was missing. He wanted to find a way to get the citizens involved who did not read the newspaper or go to the movies. Creel ended up working with Charles Dana Gibson, an artist, and created many different types of pro-war posters. Many other artists also made posters for American propaganda as pro-war posters and billboards became extremely efficient at getting the people of the United States involved and for World War I. Overall, the Committee on Public Information was quite successful at creating different and unique ways to spread American Propaganda throughout the country.
This is a really great post Kate! I think it's interesting that Creel thought that newspapers and movies weren't enough to involve citizens. I wonder if the literacy rates at the time had an affect on his initiative for posters, or he thought that posters and billboards would be more efficient at delivering a message. I tried researching if he had any connection to some of the more racist propaganda, like we discussed in class (The Birth of A Nation) but I couldn't find anything. If he was close to Wilson, he might have, because Wilson did promote the film, but I couldn't find any direct connection, did anyone else?
ReplyDeleteBeing a fan of the arts, I have always enjoyed the propaganda songs which promote the war cause and get people excited. It's interesting that nowadays you don't really think of soldiers, or citizens for that matter, singing about the war. Yet it used to happen. In my mind it sort of created a festive atmosphere.
ReplyDeletePoems or chants go right along with the songs. Poets such as Alan Seeger or Herbert Kaufman would have their war poems published in newspapers and read nationwide. We see excerpts of such works in our textbook. In his poem A Message to America, Seeger writes,
"You have the grit and the guts, I know;
You are ready to answer blow for blow
You are virile, combative, stubborn, hard,
But your honor ends with your own back-yard;
Each man intent on his private goal,
You have no feeling for the whole;
What singly none would tolerate
You let unpunished hit the state,
Unmindful that each man must share
The stain he lets his country wear,
And (what no traveller ignores)
That her good name is often yours."
He is trying to convince Americans to join the war by telling they have what it takes.
As with the war songs, war poetry seems to have went out of fashion. Does anybody think that such poetry and songs would be fitting in today's battle scene? Could it be useful to raise moral?
Sources: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-message-to-america/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Kaufman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Seeger
Excellent post, Kate! I think it's interesting to look at specifically, the effect the four minute speeches had on the American Public. The American Public at this time was extremely diverse and divided. In order to motivate and inspire a desire for war among all sectors of the American Public, Wilson had to make sure his propaganda campaigns attracted all the different types of Americans, and did not just appeal to one group. Specifically, the four minute men recognized diverse audiences. There were reports of Yiddish speakers in certain theaters and workplaces, and there was a Sioux four minute man. Furthermore, the four minute men also gave a speech entitled "The Meaning of America," that was translated and given in seven different languages across the United States. The four minute men's ability to appeal to a diverse American Public is what made this method of propaganda so effective.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4970/
What's interesting is the amount of control the government had over the media at this point. They told newspapers what to print and kept most news of the war from the people, which is unimaginable here today. What would it have been like to live in a country where basically everyone thought the same thing?
ReplyDeleteIt would also be interesting to know what Creel thought as he prepared campaigns. Did he think he was tricking people or telling the truth?