The creation of propaganda under the direction of George Creel during WWI Essay

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 evident on the huge catalog of songs published by private music companies during the war in the form of sheet music (WWI The Home Front 1). Creel also mobilized Americas advertising industry, including newspapers, magazines, and public advertising (WWI The Home Front 1). His campaigns allowed for propaganda to be on billboards, the walls of subway stations, the sides of barns, anywhere an American might travel (WWI The Home Front 1). Also, millions of prowar, proWilson leaflets, pamphlets, and propaganda booklets which were often written by historians and college professors, found their way into American homes because of his constructive campaigns (WWI The Home Front 1). Creels influence, President Wilson, and the Government had a significant effect in the issuing of propaganda.

Propaganda during the wartime had an important significance because it supported the ability of a country to fight and swayed society to help out the war effort. In the US, propaganda was used to create sympathy for the Allies in Europe and antipathy against Germany. The means of propaganda were therefore massproduction 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 war.

In final analysis, World War 1 became an era in which propaganda became extremely prevalent. The US was a country that used propaganda as weapon to twist the emotions of American citizens during the war. Propaganda in the United States made its citizens both angry and sympathetic. At first, propaganda made the people feel sorry to the countries fighting in the war but it also made them irate because of Germanys nefarious