How Did President Wilson Use Propaganda
President Wilson’s main goal before the start of World War I was to not get involved. Practicing isolationism was a difficult task to follow through with though. Intercepting the Zimmerman Telegram from the Germans to the Mexican government changes the perspective of entering into the war. President Wilson’s “He Kept Us Out Of The War” campaign slogan quickly went out the window. Before America just entered into the war, Wilson wanted to make sure he had majority support from the American people. In order to obtain this support, Wilson initiated the use of propaganda into American every day life. The propaganda was meant to get people behind the war, get people to support the war, and also get the people to participate in the war effort. Two posters from the fifth chapter in Discovering The American Past Volume II (7th Edition), that seemed most effective were the “Spies and Lies”
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The enemy was of course the Germans. The poster explained what the Germans goals were, how they operate in order to receive information, what not to do in order to prevent giving confidential information out, when to report this situation, and how to report this situation. This was effective to the American public because of course no one wanted to give any information to the enemy. It also helped Americans gain a better sense of pride for the country, especially since they felt they were protecting it. This poster was targeting anyone that could be out having a simple conversation with anyone. Mostly, since the example is two women speaking, the poster could’ve been targeted more towards the female gender. It could’ve been targeted more towards women because women are stereotypically known to talk and gossip more than men. Regardless, the poster definitely got its point across and had the ability to make Americans self-conscious of the things they said and whom they said these things
The enemy was of course the Germans. The poster explained what the Germans goals were, how they operate in order to receive information, what not to do in order to prevent giving confidential information out, when to report this situation, and how to report this situation. This was effective to the American public because of course no one wanted to give any information to the enemy. It also helped Americans gain a better sense of pride for the country, especially since they felt they were protecting it. This poster was targeting anyone that could be out having a simple conversation with anyone. Mostly, since the example is two women speaking, the poster could’ve been targeted more towards the female gender. It could’ve been targeted more towards women because women are stereotypically known to talk and gossip more than men. Regardless, the poster definitely got its point across and had the ability to make Americans self-conscious of the things they said and whom they said these things