Propaganda During Ww1

During WWI, help is needed to bring all the citizens united and in an agreement with war, as well as raising fundings, raising the number of people in the workforce, mainly women, and having the military 's back. They needed to acquire food and other supplies for the men that were fighting in the trench warfare and replace the jobs that they left. The federal government sought support on the home front by propaganda, enforcing new laws, and through speeches and events.

Propaganda was one of the main ways to get a message across, and that was what the government liked; strong and convincing cartoons that encouraged people to provide aid on the home front and encouraging women to occupy the jobs that the soldiers left to help the economy

There were others that opposed the effort, and the federal government had to take serious measures by enforcing new and strict laws. The government passed the Espionage and Sedition laws, and even though they interfered with the first amendment, they still put harsh and unfair laws on whoever dared to break them, “or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or the imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both:” (The Sedition Act of 1918). These punishments went over the top for the small “crimes” people committed. People were allowed to say their views in public only if it supported the war and it didn’t speak against military efforts. Also if their opinion wasn’t interfering with people’s positive look on the war. Since the Espionage Act didn’t allow people to say otherwise, “the Espionage Act prohibited individuals from expressing or publishing opinions that would interfere with the U.S. military’s efforts to defeat Germany and its allies.” (immigrationtounitedstates.org ) The sedition act followed this by making “the language of the Espionage Act more specific by making it illegal to use disloyal, profane, or abusive language to criticize the U.S. Constitution, the government, the military, the flag, or the uniform.” (immigrationtounitedstates.org) Therefore making it extremely difficult to even try to oppose it and

The president also took action with presenting speeches, hoping to get support on the home front. For example, the “Zimmerman Telegram” caused an uproar in the country once they found out what it said and who was it from. In the “Zimmerman Telegram” it said, “If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement...” This explained how Germany supposedly wanted Mexico to declare a war on the U.S and when Germany “wins”, they will give all the land that the U.S took back to them. Which caused a lot of fury to the government, and this made the citizens angry. Also, it made them want to go to war with the central powers and join the allies, which is exactly what the government wanted. More than ever did they want and need support from the people. Woodrow Wilson made the speech, “Do Your Bit For America” addressing to the people to contribute to those on the battlefield defending the country for them, explaining the many that have fallen for their freedom, which touched a lot of souls. Woodrow Wilson said, “We must supply ships by the