Spanish American War Propaganda

Jordan Sledge

The Spanish-American War of 1898 was a conflict between Spain and the United States. This war was very popular, having many men volunteering to fight against evil. Americans loved the idea of freeing the oppressed people of Cuba. They saw themselves as a strong nation that needed to liberate the Cubans because they could not do it alone. The war shaped America culturally--it defined who was socially a “true” American citizen, and who wasn’t. If you were for the war, it was considered that you were manly and a real patriot. However, if you did not support the idea of war, you were seen as weak and scared. The war brought new life into the idea that Americans were military men, therefore, they were seen to be good leaders. In

For three years, the United States decided to stay neutral; however, it was very clear that the country sided with their allies. President Wilson successfully used propaganda to create a huge sense of nationalism within Americans. Anti-German propaganda showed Germans as deadly monsters whose weakness were American soldiers. In one propaganda poster, it depicted Germans as a huge, fury-filled gorilla dragging a girl by the hair. Posters like this made Americans--men especially--angry and motivated enough to want to be apart of the war effort. The war strengthened the idea of nationalism that Americans already possessed. This nationalism promoted a sense of fulfilment for many Americans because they were going to help save the world. Though propaganda created a sense of pride within Americans, it also created a division within the nation. During this time a lot of immigrants were coming from Germany and Austria Hungary. Though immigrants made up a good number of the nation it was not a good time to be an immigrant. Propaganda made Americans wary of foreigners. The loyalty of German American citizens was heavily questioned while America wasn’t even in the war yet. Americans connected radical politics such as socialism and communism with immigrants. World War I created a lot of fear in the American people, leaving many feeling that they could not even trust

Before entering the war America was enduring the greatest economic crisis. More than a quarter of America’s working class was out of work. At the time President Hoover thought the depression would go away with time. He did not believe that it was up to the federal government to create jobs for Americans. In 1933 President Roosevelt was elected and promised Americans to get them out depression. President Roosevelt New Deal programs was able to slowly get Americans back on their feet again. The New Deal was able to stabilize banks after the initial stock market crash in 1929. The program also created a ton of job programs-- such as the Public Works Administration. The idea behind the New Deal was that the government job to ensure that Americans received some basic level of assistance.Though the New Deal was constructed to leave some Americans out -- a generation and a half of African Americans did not have access to the programs, it helped many Americans get back their lives back. The end of the Depression era came in 1941 when the United States entered World War II. Many Americans consider World War II the Good War because it was a time of national unity. FDR was able to inspire Americans with the famous four freedoms; speech, warship, want, and fear. The war was being fought to protect the freedoms of the American worker and farmer. Roosevelt also created more federal programs such as the War Production Board and