USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
What part did propaganda play in World War I?

(A) ** Propaganda posters were used to influence an attitude towards war for a nation’s citizens.

(B) Propaganda was seen as devious and an illegal form of governmental communication.

(C) Governments did not use propaganda.

(D) Propaganda was only used on the Allies side, showing the Central Powers as cruel and brutal.

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -Propaganda could be used to arouse hatred of the foe, warn of the consequences of defeat, and idealize one’s own war aims in order to mobilize a nation, maintain its morale, and make it fight to the end.

Concept note-2: -Propaganda posters sought to rally the fighting spirit on the home front, raise money for war bonds, and create a sense of togetherness across a vast and diverse nation.

Concept note-3: -Posters and flyers are among the most well-known types of propaganda, but photographs, film footage, artwork, and music can also be used as propaganda. Propaganda was used extensively in World War I and World War II and many examples were nationalistic in nature.

Concept note-4: -Propaganda in wartime must seek to demoralize enemy morale. A primary objective of propaganda aimed at enemy nations is to break down their will to fight. It seeks to lower the enemy’s will to resist and it does this in several ways. One is to picture the military successes on the propagandist’s side.

Concept note-5: -What is a ‘propaganda poster’? Propaganda is an attempt to inuence peoples’ opinions or behaviour through the use of specific images and words. It usually gives limited information which is heavily biased in its presentation. Propaganda typically achieves its aims by generating an emotional reaction in the viewer.