America Joins World War II With Propaganda Support - Essay Sample

Introduction

America participated in World War II (1941-1945) but began using propaganda six months into the war to disseminate political propaganda. Propaganda was used as a way to show their commitment to allies and increase support for the war. The U.S did not support propaganda use at first but later adopted as a way of giving information it after pressure from the media and businesses. This was done through the Office of War Information. Messages were spread through radio, leaflets, and film, but most striking were the posters which had bright colors and sensational language. Through the use of propaganda, Americans were encouraged to; support the war effort through their daily activities such as conservation of products like butter, fats, and rubber; buying war bonds; converting goods; victory gardens in case of vegetable shortage; and efforts in getting women into the workforce through women's power campaigns.

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Some posters warned soldiers of venereal diseases while others warned against careless talk urging them to keep sensitive information to themselves so the enemy will not overhear. Writing and distribution of propaganda were aided through agencies created by the government. The two main ones were the OWI (Office of War Information) and the Writers War Board. The former handled the writing while the latter ensured propaganda was delivered anywhere they could, home and abroad. America also made propaganda targeting the enemy and made it appear as if it came from inside the enemy's country.

During this period, there was a large audience for radio, large readership for posters, and strong attendance at movie theatres, which indicated propaganda was present at all media levels in both private and public sectors and made America be identified for its role in propaganda used during World War II.

Use of propaganda.The aim of using propaganda was to attack the enemy morale, and this was also done by Germany, where Germany's Propaganda Ministry, together with the Foreign Ministry, established Buro Concordia. Radio messages were transmitted to Britain, France, and other countries, which appeared to originate from inside those countries. America allied with Britain in responding to Germany by transmitting radio messages and dropping mailbags that contained fake newspapers made to look as if they were made by Nazi resistors. Some bore stamps with a horrific picture of Hitler and words Futsches Reich meaning "Ruined Empire" (D'Souza 23). America used every aspect of media in its propaganda, including posters, leaflets, radio, comic books and cartoons, movies, newspapers, and magazines.

Radio

The radio was extensively and widely used in the U.S against other nations as a form of propaganda during WWII to reach its citizens as well as other nations worldwide through shortwave. Radio broadcasters were urged to focus on selected themes to prevent confusing targeted audiences. Examples of the use of radio are President Roosevelt's fireside chats, messages to Italian Navy to surrender, Norman Corwin's "This is War" programs broadcasted nationwide and the entire world by shortwave, CBS Radio series Our Secret Weapon, Hello Americans and Ceiling Unlimited for entertaining lies, promotion of inter-American understanding and friendship and glorification and dramatization of the aviation industry's role during WWII consecutively. In Japan, short-wave receivers were prohibited, which meant that the people could not receive propaganda. This did not last as America utilized medium-wave radio to reach the Islands after the capture of Saipan, which had considered invincible (Giovacchini 1248).

Posters

Posters were used for advertising and had different messages that encouraged support for the war, such as conservation, home efforts, secrecy, and recruitment and in production where work in factories was considered. They were strategically placed in areas like post offices, bars and restaurants, railroad stations, retail shops, and on windows of apartments and private homes. Artists designed war posters for free with positive messages that focused on patriotism, duty, and tradition, unlike their counterparts that fuelled hatred for the enemy. The posters were aimed at satisfying consumer needs during the war and rarely used images showing war causalities or battlefields (Steele 992).

Comic Books and Cartoons

Comic books and cartoons played the role of swaying public opinion, and comic strips often dwelt on war themes and sabotage in their stories. Examples include Little Orphan Annie, Terry, and the Pirates, and the cover issue of the Four Favorites in 1943 showing Tojo, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini being beaten by a war bond character

Cartoons conveyed the difficulty of war by depicting the soldiers' disheveled look and sadness, which resulted in continued support of the troops as it showed their daily hardships. Mauldin, one of the cartoonists then, used his cartoons to show the efforts of ground forces and how bitter and onerous the war was, which helped convince Americans that obtaining victory was not going to be easy (Kimball 347). He received support from the War Department and was praised by Ernie Pyle in 1944.

Advertising

Advertising was always in support of the war, and companies also used it to remain relevant before the public even with no product for sale. In contrast, others connected their product somehow with the war. The government allowed companies to treat it as a business expense. The War Advertising Council supervised this. Many ads urged for the purchase of war bonds, while others showed war efforts.

Leaflets

American armament used planes to drop leaflets to people in different locations to convey short tidbits of information, especially against the enemy forces and for counterfeit stamps, books, and currency, which affected enemy morale. The leaflets also provided means through which the enemy troops could use to surrender. Pamphlets were dropped in targeted Japanese cities with the warning of atomic attacks on the military and defense industries and asked civilians to flee these cities and demand new leaders for the attacks to stop (Stahl94). The leaflets also indicated that their wish not to harm the civilians after the atomic attacks, that the Americans had powerful explosives equal to 2,000B-29 bombers. Even when the Japanese government surrendered, more leaflets reflecting terms of the surrender were dropped for the Japanese people to know as a right.

Books

Books had an indirect, long-range influence as they molded public opinion and were useful in post-combat phases. Some topics, for example, on submarines, were prohibited, and books that had such topics or any related topic were suppressed, fiction included. Non-fiction war books got promoted more by bookstores.

Movies

Hollywood aimed at entertaining the audience with comedies, musicals, and drama. At the same time, major studios remained neutral until after the Pearl Harbor attack by Japanese, which led to support of Allied cause. Through movies, propaganda messages could be incorporated into entertainment.

Documentary series was created for orientation films of new recruits, the illustration of the danger of axis conquests, and to justify the war and allies. This was called "Why We Fight," which had seven films, including; The Battle of Britain, Nazi strike, The Battle of Russia, Prelude to, the rise of Fascism, Divide and Conquer, the conquest of continental Europe and War Comes to America.

Most films, animations, and movies were aimed at giving training and instructions, building morale, educating the public as well as mocking Hitler.

Magazines and Newspapers

Due to wide circulation, magazines were favored as a dissemination tool for propaganda for supporting war efforts and shaping attitudes. The storylines and themes aimed at helping the war effort by depicting women as heroic in coping with war times and promoting women activities in the army. Magazines included women's magazines like Ladies' Home Journal and other types dealing with different themes (King 527). The newspapers were not to give information that aided the enemy and had to be positive and build morale by removing negative news as well as any useful information which the enemy could use. Such included the weather forecast.

Conclusion

The use of propaganda was a powerful and effective tool used by America in achieving its mission to get its people to support the war efforts and in uniting America. American allies were supported and portrayed as friends while their enemies were hated and displayed as some brutal, vicious villains though this later changed to axis agents. The agencies were successful in carrying out their mission but got dissolved as the war came to an end. Today, propaganda is widely used in social media to promote personal, business, or political agendas by increasing support and influencing people's thoughts and how they perceive such agendas. It has changed the way people perceive different races and cultures and, to some extend, spurred hatred for Blacks, Germans, Jews, and Japanese.

Work Cited

Steele, Richard W. "Clayton R. Koppes and Gregory D. Black. Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits, and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies. New York: Free Press. 1989. Pp. x, 374. $22.50." (1991): 992-993. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1888275

D'Souza, R. "The Surveillance State: A Composition in Four Movements." Pluto, 2019. 23-52. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv893hzw.5.

Giovacchini, Saverio. "Gerd Horten. Radio Goes to War: The Cultural Politics of Propaganda during World War II. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 2002. Pp. xiv, 218. $45.00." (2002): 1248-1248. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pn9kz

Kimball, Warren F. "The Incredible Shrinking War: The Second World War, Not (Just) the Origins of the Cold War: So what the hell were we fighting for, such a long, long time ago?." Diplomatic history 25.3 (2001): 347-365.www.jstor.org/stable/24914121.

King, Samantha. "Offensive lines: Sport-state synergy in an era of perpetual war." Cultural Studies? Critical Methodologies 8.4 (2008): 527-539. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bsvzs.14.

Stahl, Roger. Through the Crosshairs: War, Visual Culture, and the Weaponized Gaze. Rutgers University Press, 2018. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv19x44w.7.