Chapter 17: World War I "Wartime Propaganda"

Introduction
Students have read about how the warring nations used propaganda for many purposes. To raise morale, newspapers gave even the smallest victories big headlines. At the same time, they demonized their enemies, portraying them as beastly. You also learned that public opinion in the United States had been against getting involved in a European conflict. Yet in 1917, President Wilson declared war.

Lesson Description
Students will go to the Wartime Propaganda: World War I Web site. They will then answer four questions about what they have read.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will learn why the Committee on Public Information promoted World War I.
2. Students will explore how advertising techniques and a sophisticated understanding of human psychology can be used to manipulate public attitudes.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. President Wilson felt that unwavering public support was crucial to the wartime effort. The purpose of CPI was to promote the war domestically while publicizing American war aims abroad.
2. He implemented "voluntary guidelines" for the news media. This enabled him to control what reporters printed.
3. They used scholars, artists, filmmakers, novelists, short story writers, and essayists, because information reaches the public through various means.
4. Students' answers will vary. Some students may feel that the comment by Randolph Bourne suggests that there was an awareness of how the propaganda was used, though it may have been limited to scholars. Others may feel that the public probably had a tendency to trust what it read and heard in the media.
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