Answer:
Although many countries were drawn into the conflict of World War I, the United States maintained a policy of isolationism advocated by President Wilson. Elected in 1912 as the 28th president of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson served from 1913 to 1921. The president vowed to keep the country out of the war, but attacks on American lives eventually made this impossible. On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat sank the British liner R.M.S. Lusitania off the coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people with 128 Americans among the fatalities.
In response to Germany’s actions, President Wilson addressed Congress on April 2, 1917, appealing for the United States to enter the war as “the world must be made safe for democracy.” Four days later, the United States declared war on Germany.
Although President Wilson and Congress saw the need for the United States’ entry into the global conflict, it was necessary to convince the American people of their need to support the war effort. This was not an easy task as the president had won re-election based on his promise to keep the United States out of the fighting. President Wilson and his administration developed a series of propaganda campaigns that focused on the patriotic duty of all Americans to back the war effort in order to defeat the enemy, thus enabling the preservation of democracy at home and abroad. On April 14, 1917, President Wilson established a propaganda organization called the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and appointed George Creel, an investigative reporter and writer, as chairman. The committee remained active until June 30, 1919.
The CPI used multiple forms of media to “advertise” the war. They organized a series of public propaganda speakers across the country, called “Four Minute Men,” to keep Americans informed of the war efforts. The committee published a daily newspaper and produced war films. It also designed educational materials for public schools and universities to energize younger generations to support the United States. The CPI even wrote specific war materials that included suggested prayers for churches and religious institutions.
The CPI encouraged others to join the war-propaganda mission. Hollywood produced war‑related films to stir American patriotism. Patriotic songs were created, including George M. Cohan’s popular melody, “Over There,” that was written on April 7, 1917, and became America’s theme song for the war. All branches of the military produced war propaganda materials to recruit young men for military service.
Artists and illustrators designed recruiting posters which flooded the country, enticing men to voluntarily enlist in the service branches. In order to build an adequate fighting force, Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917. This law required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military duty. By the end of the war, 2.8 million men had been drafted for service.
To help prepare American soldiers stationed abroad during the war, pamphlets and booklets containing language translations and information on local currency were issued. The Victor Talking Machine Company developed tutorial foreign-language recordings, including associated translation booklets, to teach French to American soldiers deployed to France.
Providing opportunities for entertainment was a way to keep the troops in high spirits. American soldiers craved reading materials and enjoyed listening to music as a means of temporarily escaping the war-time conditions. The American Library Association’s Library War Service maintained libraries for servicemen both in the United States and overseas.
The Wilson administration knew the Great War would come with a large price tag. To generate the necessary funds, Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo created Liberty Loan Bonds. These government bonds paid an interest rate lower than that of banks, but McAdoo utilized propaganda posters drawing on Americans’ sense of patriotism to encourage them to buy the bonds.
The American Red Cross was founded by Clarissa Harlow (Clara) Barton in 1881 to provide relief to individuals impacted by natural disasters or military conflict. In 1914, the Red Cross sailed the S.S. Red Cross, a relief ship carrying surgeons and nurses, along with medical supplies, to Europe at the beginning of the Great War.Besides medical support and assistance, the Red Cross also provided canteen services. It operated 700 canteens in the United States and opened 130 more in France.
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