World War I Propaganda
Public Opinion & the Great War
• In April 1917, Americans ambivalent about
entering the Great War
– How is this our problem?
– In what way are American values or interests threatened?
– Recent immigrants from both sides of war
• Plus, the Irish
– More draftees than volunteers
• Only such war in American history
– Most popular song in 1915:
• “I Didn’t Raise My Son to Be a Soldier”
Public Opinion & the Great War
• Public opinion needed to be mobilized in
order to win the war
– And it was: most popular song in fall 1917:
• “Over There”
The propaganda arm of the US Govt. during WWI:
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION (CPI)
Created in June 1917, headed by veteran journalist and magazine editor
GEORGE CREEL, the CPI performed many tasks aimed at controlling
information about the war and encouraging Americans to engage in
appropriate war-related behavior.
EXAMPLES:
• worked with newspapers and news services to insure that sensitive war
information did not appear in news stories
•organized a nationwide group of “Four-Minute Men” to serve as public
speakers
•Volunteers who spoke weekly on government-approved topics
• produced or co-produced short movies about the war, soldiers, training
camps, and the responsibilities of civilians
• shown before main features at theaters around the US
CPI’S PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN WENT THROUGH
TWO STAGES:
• 1917
•Very much “pro-American”
• Based on calls for Americans to “do their duty” in a
variety of ways
•1918
•Very much more “anti-German”
• Demonizes the enemy as a source of motivation
MOST FAMOUS ASPECT OF CPI’S
PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN
POSTERS
Most posters were commissioned from well-known graphic
artists of the 1910s
• James Montgomery Flagg
• Howard Chandler Christie
• Charles Dana Gibson (of “Gibson Girl” fame)
They appeared in post offices, stores, factories, schools,
and other government buildings – in short, EVERYWHERE
Some targeted civilians, others focused on young men
eligible for military service
ENLISTMENT
POSTERS
POSTERS
AIMED AT
CIVILIANS
ANTI-GERMAN
POSTERS
The 1920s
THE AGE OF CELEBRITY
The Age of Celebrity
Pre-1900, America celebrated “heroes”
Political figures like Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jackson
Businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller
Inventors like Edison, Ford
What did we celebrate about them?
Their accomplishments
But also their character and values
They represented “us” in some meaningful way
Models of certain behavior or beliefs
Helped to create a mythic narrative of America
The Age of Celebrity
Post-1920, America celebrated “celebrities”
A person who is always in the public eye
Interest in all they do, say
Dependent on the creation of a “mass culture”
Celebrities need fans, after all
Celebrity possible only after creation of “mass media”
Movies
Magazines
Radio
“Mass media” makes possible national cultural figures in ways not
possible before
The Age of Celebrity
So who were these celebrities?
Mostly, figures from popular culture
Movies
Sports
Music
What did we celebrate about them?
Their exploits
But also primarily their personality and private lives
That is, what they did and were like when not doing “their jobs” on
the screen, the playing field, or the radio
The Age of Celebrity
Celebrities must have accomplished something
No Kardashians, that is
And that’s why Babe Ruth was a celebrity but Jimmy Dykes
wasn’t
But they become “celebrities” because they represent
something that someone else believes can “sell” a
product
And because they make fans feel better about their
own lives and flaws
The Age of Celebrities
Where did the “worship” of celebrities come from?
Basically, from the rise of the consumer-based economy
How do companies distinguish their product from others?
Should you go to a Metro movie or a Warner Brothers movie?
The one that has your favorite movie “star”
Which newspaper should you buy?
The one that has pictures of your favorite athlete
Which cigarette should I smoke?
The one endorsed by your favorite athlete or movie star
The Age of Celebrity
In order to make and keep a celebrity, an entire
industry is created
Publicity people who work for studios, sports teams
Agents representing celebrities
Public relations companies (think “Mad Men”)
Newspapers reporters and columnists
Fan magazines covering movies/stars, sports/athletes
In the end, “accomplishments” morph into “image”
And once established, the image is the most important
It’s the image that gets sold
The Age of Celebrity
As the twentieth century progresses, the
“accomplishment” becomes less and less
“accomplished”
And today one can be famous for, well, being famous
“Image is everything”
Celebrities of the 1920’s
America’s Biggest Hero: Charles Lindbergh
Movie Stars of the 1920’s
Rudolph Valentino
Charlie Chaplin
Buster Keaton
Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd, “Safety Last” (1923)
Douglas Fairbanks
Mary Pickford
Lillian Gish
Clara Bow
Theda Bara
Theda Bara as Cleopatra (1917)
SPORTS HEROES
Babe Ruth
Jack Dempsey
Red Grange
Bobby Jones
Bill Tilden
Gertrude Ederle
The Road to the
Great Depression
The Economy of the 1920’s
The “Roaring Twenties”
• Key aspect of our sense of the 1920s: economic prosperity
• Closer look:
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•
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1914-1919: economic boom
1920-1922: recession
1922-1929: another boom
The “Roaring Twenties”
•
•
Economic statistics, 1922-1929
•
•
•
•
•
Industrial output doubled
GNP rose by 40%
Wages rose by 17%
Industrial productivity rose by 75% (industrial output per manhour)
Population rose by 10% (to 121m)
American workers highest paid in the world
Sources of Economic Growth in 1920s
•
Transition to a full-blown consumer economy
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•
•
Especially in durable goods → last at least five years
Spending by middle and upper classes
Consumer revolution made possible by
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•
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Low prices: inflation low throughout the decade
Advertising: changes to more graphics-based (from text-based) ads
Buying on credit: “installment plan” for most significant purchases
Consumer Revolution
•
For first time, average Americans can afford products that make their lives easier
•
•
Especially housewives
Leads to creation of more leisure time
•
Which helps propel mass culture
• Radio shows
• Movies
• Magazines
• Books
• Sports
Causes of the Great Depression
• So if everything was so great, what the hell happened?
• Basically, the “Roaring Twenties” prosperity masked several deeper
economic problems that eventually led to the Great Depression
Causes of the Great Depression
•
Let’s look at SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS:
1.
Durable goods sales by definition can’t be sustained by domestic consumption
Need to sell to other markets
2.
Wages, while high, didn’t keep up with productivity gains, so workers eventually
can’t buy what they’re making → requires exporting of surplus production
Causes of the Great Depression
3.
Many traditional industries not “roaring”
Industries that employed many workers and had high capital investment
Railroads, coal, textiles in particular
Causes of the Great Depression
4. Farmers don’t “roar” at all in the ‘20s
Farm exports plunge after 1919
Per capita agricultural income, 1929: $273
Per capita national income, 1929: $681
Causes of the Great Depression
5. Installment buying (credit) got out of hand
Farmers always in debt
Average American consumer debt skyrockets
1919: $100 million
1927: $7 billion
Credit buying only works if economic fortunes continue to improve
Causes of the Great Depression
6. Distribution of income very unequal as 1920’s progressed
Wages up 17%
Dividend (payments to stockholders) income up 65%
Saving account totals up 50%
Problem: as incomes of the wealthy rise, less of their income is spent on
consumer goods, more spent on investment (e.g., stocks) and saving
Causes of the Great Depression
7.
U.S. goes from net debtor nation to net creditor nation
That is, other countries now owe us more than we owe them → HOW?
Problem because in order for our economy to grow, we have to export
surplus production to other countries (see Reason #2 above)
But for other nations to pay back their loans to us, we need them to export
goods to the U.S., to make money that they can turn around and send to us as
debt payments
A Time of Reform
THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
PROGRESSIVISM
Progressive Era
Roughly
1890 to 1920
Participants known as “Progressives”
Basic goal of Progressive Era: REFORM
Practically
every aspect of American life: politics,
economy, race, gender, government
WHO WERE THE PROGRESSIVES?
Wiebe: “Revolt of the middle class”
o
“WASPs”
o
o
o
o
“old immigrants”
Well educated
Urban/suburban
Professional occupations (e.g., law, medicine,
accounting, ministry)
PROGRESSIVE CRITIQUE OF SOCIETY
Motivated by a desire to “make the city livable,” Progressives
focused on problems created by urbanized, industrial
America:
Poverty
Disease/”unhealth”
Crime
“Giantism” of institutions (corporations, unions, interest groups)
Overcrowding
Immigrants and “Americanization”
“new immigrants”
Corruption within and between business and government
PROGRESSIVE CRITIQUE CONT’D
In short, a concern for SOCIAL JUSTICE
Challenging injustice
Concern for equality of opportunity
Work for a fairer allocation of community resources
“Make the world a better place”
CONTRIBUTIONS OF PROGRESSIVES
INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Challenge traditional ways of thinking
Esp.
about how to achieve success in a modern world
Critical of individualistic, “bootstraps” approach
Belief in “expert,” technical, and technological knowledge
Faith
Experts “know better” than politicians, average citizens how to deal
with a complex, ever-changing world
Faith
in managerial expertise → technocratic experts
in power of education
More education always better than less
“Nurture” over “nature”
CONTRIBUTIONS, CONT’D.
Modern world characterized by interdependence
“Interconnectedness”
of modern life
Therefore, we all have a responsibility to work
together to help each other solve problems
CONTRIBUTIONS, CONT’D.
PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
Prohibition (18th Amendment)
Women’s suffrage (19th Amendment)
National parks system
Child labor, minimum wage, workplace safety laws
Regulation of corporations (Interstate Commerce Commission,
Sherman Antitrust Act, Food & Drug Administration)
Public health clinics in large cities
Kindergartens & high schools
Political reforms (referendum, initiative, recall)
Federal Reserve Banking system
CONTRIBUTIONS, CONT’D.
PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
PROGRESSIVES IN ACTION
MARGARET SANGER
Founder of American birth control
movement
Trained as a nurse
Sanger appalled by the size of
immigrant families, and by the
problems (she believed) it created:
• Poverty
• Disease
• Illiteracy
• Crime
Provided women with information on
how to avoid pregnancy, and access to
health care, including abortions
JOHN DEWEY
“Father of Modern
Education”
Modern world demanded
new way of learning,
teaching
Focus on how to learn, not
memorizing facts
Flexible, practical
Education necessary for
democracy
W.E.B. DUBOIS
Civil rights leader
Co-founder of NAACP
Biracial organization
African Americans should
be allowed to pursue
whatever avenue they
choose
“Talented Tenth”
Compare to Booker T.
Washington
An Industrial Economy,
1860-1900
INDUSTRIALIZATION, 1860-1900
• Industrialization in America begins around 1800, ends ca. 1970s
• We pick up story in the middle
• Our time period – industrial economy dominated by corporations
• Prior to Civil War, entrepreneurs and partnerships
•By 1900, US had surpassed England as world’s largest economy
•1860: US economy was fourth in world (UK, Germany, Russia)
• STATISTICS OF ECONOMY, 1860-1900
• GNP rose by 200%
• Population rose by 150% (fr. 31M in 1860 to 76M in 1900)
• Real wages rose by 50%
Economy of late 19th century based on production of
producer goods
• Goods purchased by other manufacturers or processors
• Examples:
• Iron and steel
• Petroleum
• Lumber
• Cloth
• Machines
• These goods key to growth of industrial consumer-based economy
• They must come first
A major effect of the IR:
• 1860: 2/3 farmers, 1/3 non-agricultural
• 1900: 1/3 farmers, 2/3 non-agricultural
• Change in the nature of work
– From rural to urban
– From agricultural to non-agricultural
– From natural rhythms to the clock
– From skilled to unskilled
• Made “work” more widely available to more “workers,” but
reduced the value of both to society
– Workers less likely to be seen as “producers” of something of
value, therefore seen as less valuable to society
– Can be paid low wages, easily replaced
KEY ELEMENT OF ECONOMY OF THE PERIOD:
• DEFLATION
• A decline in consumer prices
• An increase in the value of money
• Consumer prices measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• Start with a baseline year
• Add up the cost of a “basket of goods”
• Give that cost a value of 100
• Take another year and add the cost of the same “basket of goods”
• Compare that value to the baseline year
• Express the difference in terms of 100
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, 1860-1900
•
1860 – 100
•1870 – 157
•1880 – 129
•1890 – 107
•1900 -- 101
CAUSES OF DEFLATION
• Two sets of supply and demand factors:
• Supply and demand of goods
• Supply increases
• Demand decreases
• Supply and demand of money
• Supply decreases (money becomes more valuable, so prices fall)
•Demand increases (demand for money is simply population)
• Not all four of these have to be true to cause
deflation
• But we’d expect at least three to be true
• NOTE: It’s also a matter of degree – that is,
how much do they rise or fall
SO HOW MANY OF OUR FACTORS WERE TRUE?
• Supply and demand of goods
• Was the supply increasing?
• Was the demand decreasing?
• Supply and demand of money
• Was the demand increasing?
• Was the supply decreasing?
ANOTHER POINT TO CONSIDER:
• Who benefits from deflation?
• Consumers → because scarce, more valuable money makes prices fall
• Lenders → generally the rich, who have bank deposits and other
investments
• Who loses with deflation?
• Producers → that is, anyone who produces a good or service for market
• Borrowers → anyone who borrowed at a fixed rate of interest must
repay loans with scarcer, more valuable money
• A $500 per month mortgage over thirty years (for ex.) means you
are making payments in scarcer, more valuable money
• As prices fall over time, that $500 buys more thirty years from
now than it does today
KEY POINT:
Which group of Americans tended to be “double losers” when we have a
deflationary economy, because, more than any other group, they are both
producers and borrowers?
FARMERS
And therefore we’d expect them to be the group most interested in INFLATION
Prices would rise
Mortgages would become cheaper
But how can farmers get the inflation they need?
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•
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Can they decrease the supply of their crops?
Can they increase the demand for their crops?
Can they decrease the demand for money?
Can they increase the supply of money?
– WHO CAN?
• The federal government
• So:
– Farmers’ economic problems have only a political solution
Labor Unions
• Worker response to industrialization: UNIONS
• Two types of unions
– Industrial unions
• Organized workers regardless of occupation
– Trade (or craft) unions
• Organized workers by trade or occupation
Industrial Unions
• Most important: KNIGHTS OF LABOR (1869)
Terence Powderly, President
of the Knights of Labor, 1886
Ideology of the Knights of Labor
• The nature of industrial capitalism is
destructive to traditional American values
regarding work
– Reform is not enough
• Return to a pre-industrial world where “capital” and
“labor” distinctions didn’t exist
• Workers were their own “bosses”
– Political activity and strikes are counter-productive
• CHANGE THE SYSTEM, NOT MAKE THE SYSTEM BETTER
Death of the Knights of Labor
• Haymarket Square Riot,
May 1886, Chicago
• Anarchist rally; police
and strikers killed
• Unsolved “crime”
resulted in seven guilty
verdicts, w/ executions
or life sentences for the
guilty
Trade Unions
• Most important: AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
LABOR
– Founded 1886 just before Haymarket
– A federation of trade unions acting more or less in
concert to achieve goals
– Each trade union had organization but also
belonged to the AFL
American Federation of Labor
Samuel Gompers,
President of the AFL,
1886-94, 1895-1924
Most significant labor
leader of his time and
perhaps in American
history
Ideology of the AFL
• “bread and butter unionism”
– Practical, tangible improvements in workers’ lives
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•
•
•
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Better pay
Collective bargaining
Shorter work weeks (8-hour day)
Benefits
Safer workplace conditions
– Political involvement and strikes are necessary to achieve
goals
– Enemy: unskilled, esp. immigrant, workers
• Drive down wages for all workers, including skilled workers
• Not opposed to capitalism; wants more of the pie
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