Images from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collection
In the past century, World War One has become a jumping off point in the history books to talk about other events-- World War Two, the Cold War, excreta-- but one of the lasting images from this war is the iconic Uncle Sam poster... "I want YOU for the US Army!"
What made Uncle Sam so iconic? We may never know... it could just be that he was introduced at the right time. But his poster wasn't the only thing vying for people's attention. With each new Liberty Loan campaign and appeal for money, the US government introduced a new series of propaganda posters to help influence the public to support the national effort in any way they could, and, from the numbers, the money came pouring in.
How did art change people's minds enough for them to give money to support a cause that they didn't feel was their problem in the first place? This presentation explores the influence of World War One propaganda on an audience who wasn't entirely happy about going to war in the first place, especially when it came down to the financials.