WWI Poster Analysis

When I think of propaganda, I think of media used by the governments to manipulate citizens in WWI and WWII. If I had to define it, I would call it: "media used to manipulate the masses."

According to Dictionary.com, propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, or nation.

I was given a link to these three images.

The first of these images is of a beautiful nurse with one hand reached out, as if she is calling to the reader. The nurse is in all white, and looks almost holy. Her other hand is wrapped gently around a young girl with a respectable green dress. Both appear solemn. A red cross in the sky is outlined with light, drawing the eye. The caption on the bottom reads: "Our Greatest Mother: Join!" After all this is seen, the viewer starts to notice the background. On a dark, shadow-covered mountain, there seems to be war and conflict. It is difficult to make out, but there are definitely bare chests, running horses, and torches. The edges of a town can be seen in the valley in the distance.
The author is trying to convince all women viewing this poster to join the Red Cross. The poster states this explicitly. However, besides just telling the viewer its intent, it tries to subliminally convince her. The outreached hand is inviting. The pure, white outfit, the serious facial expressions, and the glowing cross allude to religion and holiness, which is juxtaposed with the chaos seen in the back. The artist hopes women, especially mothers, see this and become compelled to be as pure and familial as the woman in the picture in order to try to combat their conflict-ridden lives in the midst of a war.
Younger others are the target of this poster. The model woman in the picture is glowing, and seems to be a mother caring excellently for her child. Also, the caption calls her "Our Greatest Mother."

The next image is of a slender, smiling woman, also in a nurse's clothing. She stands confidently in the frame of a golden-yellow door she has pushed open that reads "Opportunity" in red. She also holds a rolled-up piece of paper, which makes her seem smart and accomplished. The heading reads, "Be a Trained Nurse" in red, as well. The room she is entering is yellow. Behind her is a blue, cloudless sky, and what might be a red brick hospital on a grassy lawn. Additionally, a white box filled with information persuading the reader to be a nurse, like the salary ($25.00 a month), and promises of free books, uniforms, and "unlimited opportunities."
As the door reading "Opportunity" leads to a golden room, the artist hopes the viewer will become a nurse to find a golden opportunity. The author also wanted to make the nurse seem confident and surrounded by intelligence to attract young women to the profession.
From the box of text mentioning the required amount of education and the young, model woman in the picture, it can be ascertained that the target of this poster is young women out of college or high school who would be useful as nurses.

The third image is of a female switchboard operator. She wears a dark, professional suit, a headset, and is busy at the task at hand. At the bottom, it reads "Back our girls over there- United War Work Campaign" in dark blue. A navy triangular logo in the bottom-right has the acronym "Y.W.C.A.", which is the female counterpart to the Y.M.C.A., the Young Men's Christian Association. The glass doors behind the woman reveal men and horses marching by in front of a yellow sky. She seems admirable, because she is dedicated to helping the war effort, even though she is a woman and cannot physically fight.
The allusion to war and the ominous sky are meant to concern the viewer. However, the hardworking switchboard operator provides an alternative to the fear the image provokes. The artists wants to feed off of the helplessness that women uninvolved in the war effort may feel and use this to convince them to become switchboard operators. The words "Back our girls over there" also try to make the viewer feel guilty, as if not becoming switchboard operators would be leaving fellow women without needed help. The familiar term "our" additionally makes the viewer feel more connected to the model woman, more responsible for her fate.
Since this poster is sponsored by Y.W.C.A., its ideal target is young, Christian women. The model woman is young and white, and the artists wants to get similar women to help in the war effort.

I am not comfortable with the idea of the federal government spending tax dollars to create a propaganda campaign to convince me of something. It is similar to advertising in that I would be subliminally influenced, but with advertisements, I know that the source is biased to a particular source and wants me to buy a particular product. There is an unbalanced power dynamic between the citizen viewer and the advertiser when the advertiser is the government. Then, there is also the issue of the taxes I payed being used to convince me of something I did not asked to be convinced to do.

It was probably necessary for the government to invest in propaganda posters during WWI because they were desperate. From these images, it is evident that they needed help with the war effort, so much so that they wanted help from women to win. A need that strong allows morals to be cast aside temporarily so that the need may be met. The government manipulated the people because otherwise, they feared, they would lose.

Progressivism in the United States- Multiple Choice ANSWERS

1. Progressive reformers tried to work around party boss-controlled state legislatures by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. proposing the referendum, an approach where legislation could be sent back to the electorate to be approved
b. creating direct primaries to limit the power of mayors and give more power to the city council
c. giving voters the ability to recall officials from office at special elections
d. suggesting a way of giving legislation directly to voters in general elections through the initiative
e. restricting corporations and businesses from trying to influence public officials in state legislation

Answer: b

2. What was one way cities and their governments were reformed?

a. the mayor and city council would be replaced by common citizens chosen by the council
b. the city council would be removed from power and mayor would be left as the sole leader since he would be easier to control than an entire council
c. cities would follow the example of John Thompson, a celebrated mayor of the reputed best-governed American city, Chicago
d. ward leaders and district bosses would be made illegal
e. a professional from elsewhere would be payed to manage the city while using his outside perspective to guide him

Answer: e

3. As a result of the reformers' efforts, all of the following occurred EXCEPT:

a. the influence of party bosses was removed from American politics by 1912
b. interest groups replaced parties and pressured the government to help their interests
c. party influence on politics declined
d. individuals and their interests developed more direct influence in government
e. voter turnout began to gradually decrease

Answer: a

Overarching Thesis: Progressivism

Everyone in class explored a topic in the Progressive Era. Then, we were split into groups of three to use our new knowledge to form a thesis, introduction, and conclusion based on our topics. The theses we all created are summarized below.


Reformers and public figures promoted changing views/attitudes about health/fitness.

People started to have new expectations about the role of government in promoting higher standards for society.

People took measures to protect themselves from new threats/modern issues.

Innovations in transportation allowed people to move around in new ways.

All-encompassing wave of reform included a variety of strategies to attack problems of all kinds.

Innovations brought improvements and provoked new fears/anxieties, many of which turned out to be unfounded.


Then, I formed a thesis statement based on the first thesis statement. It is:


An increase in intelligence, technology, and awareness brought about by the Progressive movement led the people of America to drastically change the nation in mostly positive, but some negative, ways. Overall, the people were empowered to expect more from their country.

Progressivism in the United States- Multiple Choice Questions

Using Chapter 21 in the textbook, I wrote three multiple choice questions that could assess someone’s understanding of important facts, ideas, and concepts related to the history of Progressivism in the United States.

1. Progressive reformers tried to work around party boss-controlled state legislatures by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. proposing the referendum, an approach where legislation could be sent back to the electorate to be approved
b. creating direct primaries to limit the power of mayors and give more power to the city council
c. giving voters the ability to recall officials from office at special elections
d. suggesting a way of giving legislation directly to voters in general elections through the initiative
e. restricting corporations and businesses from trying to influence public officials in state legislation

2. What was one way cities and their governments were reformed?

a. the mayor and city council would be replaced by common citizens chosen by the council
b. the city council would be removed from power and mayor would be left as the sole leader since he would be easier to control than an entire council
c. cities would follow the example of John Thompson, a celebrated mayor of the reputed best-governed American city, Chicago
d. ward leaders and district bosses would be made illegal
e. a professional from elsewhere would be payed to manage the city while using his outside perspective to guide him

3. As a result of the reformers' efforts, all of the following occurred EXCEPT:

a. the influence of party bosses was removed from American politics by 1912
b. interest groups replaced parties and pressured the government to help their interests
c. party influence on politics declined
d. individuals and their interests developed more direct influence in government
e. voter turnout began to gradually decrease

Living Essays- Progressivism

I met with my group and read their research. William and Forrest were in my group. We imagined that we and our research were an essay about US History in the Progressive Era after identifying the central ideas and unifying themes of our work. We wrote an introduction and conclusion to this theoretical essay that can be found below.

Introduction:

Progressivism was a movement that tackled a myriad of society’s needs. Progressivism was a societal movement that focused on improving the United States in response to the problems caused by industrialization and corruption in government through social, political, and economic change. By definition, progressives did not focus on one area of society to improve. They helped the United States develop the health, social rights, and technology of many individuals. For example, public health conditions were advanced because of lobbyists that pushed for the removal of cocaine in Coca-Cola. Effort put into women’s suffrage led to the passing of the 19th Amendment. Additionally, the progression in aviation technology led to the development of powerful planes to help the U.S. with foreign relations and disputes which ultimately brought about more social organization.

Conclusion:

The progressive movement was an all-encompassing wave of societal improvement. Progressives lobbied to fix several facets of society’s flaws. All of these areas of improvement mentioned above combined to form a concerted effort toward the progression of society. Health, social, and technological development all worked together to improve the nation. For instance, the removal of cocaine in Coca Cola left America with a healthier population. Healthy people can work to improve airplanes. People without ailments caused by traces of drugs in their soda are able to be more active in social movements like the women’s suffrage movement. Advanced planes let a country protect itself from other nations, which allows it to progress in other areas uninterrupted. Women that can vote can influence politics to a greater extent and add to the progressive effort, too.

Several of society's progressions were all blended into one movement.

Progressivism: Perspectives in Print

I knew exactly what the hour had in store for me when I walked into Mrs. Lawson's classroom on Thursday, February 11th at 11:35. Model UN was long gone, as was Mrs. Lawson herself. After roll was called by the substitute, it was time to sit in quiet and research.

On the NewsBank website to which I was directed by the instructions, the InfoWeb newspaper archive, I clicked on "American Historical Newspapers, 1690-2000." I presumed that a whole lot of history went down in those 310 years.

Under the heading "Social & Cultural Issues" in the category "World War I and the Aftermath 1914-1922", I clicked on "19th Amendment- Women Win the Right to Vote". I needed to choose this topic to explore. I have always felt guilty that I do not know enough about the this part of history. I do not know enough about the important progressions of women in society. Guilt partly drove my choice, but also, I was curious. An element of my I-Search involves feminism, and the subject has been on my mind a lot, lately. This topic goes well with our unit's focus of Progressivism, because the 19th Amendment was a result and a cause of the progression of women in society.

First, I saw a summary page of the topic. I needed this. Most of my understanding of the specifics of the movement revolved around an image in my head of girls with picket signs in a parade that I saw in my fourth grade history book.

It probably looked a lot like this.








The amendment is the physical, written document that gives women in America the right to vote. It was passed in 1919 and made the law after being ratified on August 26, 1920. Women suffrage advocates started pushing for this right in the mid-1800s, decades before, so many passed away before their goal was achieved. I did not really understand this beforehand. There was picketing, like in my picture. People also had been speaking, writing, lobbying, and practicing civil disobedience. I did not realize how early this struggle began. A couple ladies did not look up suddenly from their crocheting and decide it was a decent idea to be able to vote in 1918.

Many Americans did not accept the amendment with excitement, either. Many feared it would be detrimental to American culture (boo hoo). They felt women were supposed to take responsibility of all the home and family life. I was more familiar with this concept because of historical fiction books and television. In addition, many people thought the women's suffrage supporters were psychologically unsound because of their beliefs and public actions (what other explanation could there be?); therefore, they felt, women should not be given the power to cast votes and determine the county's path (heavens, no!). I was able to relate this to a class discussion we had a few days before. This mindset lasted after women were given the right to vote. Some states refused to ratify the 19th Amendment for many years; for example, Mississippi, the last, ratified it in 1984. Women could vote, in Mississippi, of course, before then. The state just did not officially approve for a while.

After reading the summary, I searched for primary source documents. Under the heading "The Suffrage Debate" to the left, I chose the link to newspaper that read "President Roosevelt Not Enthusiastic for Women's Suffrage; Fails to See What the Right to Vote Means" (Source A) from February 10, 1907. I learned about a common mindset during the time by learning about the president's thoughts on the matter. According to the article from some February 9th many years ago, the president was interviewed by a Lady Cook of England, who used to be American. He was asked by her to support the women's suffrage movement. Cook referred to Roosevelt as "charming" and said it made sense why he was so popular in the United States. She went on to report that he had an "admiration" for women and referred to them as "the power behind the throne". Lady Cook asked the president, in the interview, why women could not progress in society as other groups, like African Americans, had. Roosevelt, apparently, did not want to put effort into the women's suffrage movement since letting women vote would not do them "much good" in their advancement. Maybe it really made sense to him that letting women have input on American politics, like men did, would not bring them closer to equality. Maybe. Either way, it is indicative at how much the American mindset had to have progressed. A president as famous as Roosevelt, with as much "popularity" as Roosevelt, did not support women's suffrage. Much change occurred for the 19th Amendment to have been made law. Many brave women had to have fought for the future that is now.

I also read "Suffrage Becomes a Law: Ratification of the 19th Amendment is Proclaimed" (Source B) to the left, under "Ratification of the 19th Amendment". This paper from September 1, 1920 was a bit more difficult to make out. A heading reads: "Secretary Colby Signed Document at His Home and Later a Crowd of Women at State Department Cheered Announcement". Indeed, according to the article, women gathered at the state department in excitement, cheering Colby, when they were told the amendment was functioning. They had waited for this news the night before with no result. Several of the names of these women were mentioned: an Alice Paul, chair of the National Woman's Party, an Anne Calvert Neely, and more. These women were some of the people that were the most impassioned about suffrage. This article describes them as eagerly awaiting the news.

It reminds me of people waiting all night in a line in front of the Apple Store to get the latest iPhone.





They probably seemed that crazy in the time period, like the summary I read stated. They let themselves seem crazy to the rest of society, and as a result, I can vote. (Well, not until 2020, but, eventually, I can.)

I looked at one other paper. Under "Ratification of the 19th Amendment", I clicked "The First Woman to Vote in the United States of America" (Source C) from September 11, 1920. The lucky lady's face takes up almost the whole page. She wore a huge smile and had a crinkled nose, so it was more of a grin. She looked triumphant. The caption below reads that her name was Margaret Newburgh from Minnesota. On August 27, 1920 at 6 A.M., she showed up to vote on a proposition concerning a municipal bond during a special election.



I am triumphant for her. I am glad I immersed myself in this topic, at least a bit further than I had been before.

The 19th Amendment relates to Progressivism as a movement pretty explicitly. I defined the progressive movement in another blog post as the focus during the late 19th-century and early 20th century on the improvement of the United States through social, economic, and political change. Women's suffrage was one of the most iconic and important social movements of this era, and the 19th Amendment was its culmination.

3rd Quarter Reflection

I think this year I have gotten more practiced with research and analysis. I thought analyzing research in data this quarter, like political cartoons and documentaries, was new and challenging, but also relevant to other classes, like AP Language, where we analyze text. I like this new multiple choice format in the homework, because I am getting more familiar with typical standardized testing tricks, so thanks! I am excited for end-of-the-year research projects. I want to learn more about progressivism and how politics changed over time to how they are today.

I was intrigued that, in class the other day, we talked about the women that were thrown in insane asylums for advocating women's suffrage and were force-fed after going on a hunger strike. It got me fired up. It's cool that we can go off on important tangents like these. I hope we talk more about current politics, as well, during the rest of the year.

A tangent.

Randolph in 20 Years

Imagine that is an important part of your school's vision and mission to always make progress. Now, imagine that 20 years have gibe by, and you return to visit. You are impressed to discover how much progress has been made.
Describe what a Randolph School focused on improving itself might look like in 20 years.

We, Avani, Hunter, Carson, and I, foresee a much more involved student body. Student government has a greater emphasis. They take constant surveys of teachers and students on what they like and dislike. YLC grants are more celebrated and a bigger deal. Sports programs are more efficient and successful. Football safety is improved, and there are not as many concussions. There are more foreign language classes. There is an almost nonexistent carbon footprint.