A HISTORY OF WARFARE PROPAGANDA

WAR AND PROPAGANDA


Throughout history, propaganda has been used to rally armies, control citizens, and renew patriotic feelings among nations. Though there were many early forms of propaganda, its use grew mainly after the development of the printing press, which led to some of the greatest feats of propaganda in history. The timeline of historical propaganda in this post is very brief. To save time I will show you only the most famous and acknowledged feats of propaganda in war. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR:

Between the 16^th and 19^th century the use of propaganda grew immensely. Governments and societies soon began to see the power that posters, billboards, books, newspaper articles, plays and other media could have on the public. Preceding America’s war for Independence, a cartoon written by Benjamin Franklin became an important piece of propaganda for the colonies of America. It encouraged the colonies to unite against British rule. The cartoon was that of a snake cut into segments 

representing the colonies, and the words JOIN OR DIE. 

JOIN, or DIE. Originally meant to be a cartoon, the Americans soon took this slogan and used it to rally the people against the Brits. 

THE CIVIL WAR:Though the Civil War in America was not known for a lot of propaganda, there was one interesting picture I found. It was the picture of a former slave's gruesome whip marks on his back. The picture was distributed to Union troops, to remind them of the injustice that was happening in the south. The civil war was not necessarily known for the use of propaganda.




WORLD WAR I:

In this universal struggle, many new types of warfare were commenced; mustard gas, trench warfare, ect. But something more powerful than battle technology also came began in World War I: Government propaganda. The governments of the U.S, Great Britain, and Germany all used propaganda for to influence the citizens of their countries in a optimistic manner. Both the allies and their enemy boasted the inevitable victory of their country that could only be gained with the help of dutiful citizens. Also, another example of government propaganda is that of recruiting posters. The faces of Uncle Sam and Lord Kitchener stared at the faces of young men, telling them their was no worthier of a cause than to join their countries military. 

Very personal slogans; your country needs YOU. 

Every man, woman AND child!

But it didn't stop there. The government knew it was important that every citizen played a roll in the war. Women and children alike were rallied with posters and slogans reminding them to do their part in collecting scrap metal and preserving food. It is true that most propaganda is full of lies and deceit, but much of the propaganda used in World War I was harmless towards the citizens of the U.S and actually brought growth, community, and a new sense of purpose for the people of America. To me, there are two kinds of communism. One that would control the people and one that would inspire them.



World War II: 

Perhaps some of the most famous works of propaganda came from World War II. Following the lead of World War II much propaganda was made by the allies in a positive way, encouraging the people to help with the war, buy bonds, and collect scrap metal ect. However, World War II also began the negative connotations of propaganda. This was started by Hitler and Nazi Germany. Another post in this blog will be devoted to Nazi Germany's influence on George Orwell along with the influence of Soviet Russia and totalitarianism. In the meantime, you can see a picture that you may recognize. In 1943, a man named J. Howard Miller produced a poster aimed to boost the morale of workers during WWII, especially the women. 

A very famous example of propaganda in WWII.

Recruitment posters were also used often, such as the two pictured above.


MODERN PROPAGANDA
Propaganda is still used in war to this day. You have probably seen different types of propaganda without realizing it. For example, many of you have seen different commercials similar to this one.




Recruitment videos such as this are used to show how exciting and patriotic a job in the military can be. These videos along with college payment are two of the major ways the military acquires enlistments.
Though the U.S will use propaganda, it almost never has negative connotations when it comes to military propaganda. In a clever move during the Afghan War, the U.S took control of Afghan radio transmitters and replaced the anti-american messages with anti-Taliban ones in order to gain sympathy and support from civilians. Other tactics like this have been used over and over in the history of war and military propaganda.

Though this was simply a very brief history of propaganda, it is important to realize that propaganda has always been a very useful and dangerous tool in warfare. By giving the masses of people only one side of an argument and not letting them decide for themselves which is the best way to go.This is a re-occurring theme in 1984 and will further be addressed in future posts. Propaganda is used in all circumstances, but given the circumstances of 1984, propaganda is used primarily for war. And not just a war, but an eternal struggle towards the primary adversary; the people.

A famous conspiracy theory regarding the Al-Queda attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, states that the actual cause behind 9/11 was George Bush. It is said that George Bush ordered 9/11 to happen in order to justify war agaisnt the Al-Queda and Osama Bin Ladin. Though this is probably not what actually happened, it raises a good point, especially in regards to George Orwell's famous slogan;

WAR IS PEACE