Doing All You Can, Brother?': Visual Themes of World War II American Propaganda Posters

Author

Justin Rives Nicholas

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

History

First Advisor

Robert Haws

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This thesis is a result of an in-depth analysis of the three thousand plus propaganda posters used in the United States during World War II. The bulk of these posters are housed at National Archives II in College Park, Maryland. The analysis was conducted within the context of several questions. What were the goals of the propagandists? How were those goals visually represented in the posters? What were the visual themes? Why were these goals and themes deemed necessary? How do the goals and themes fit into the overall context of a total war? The concept of being in a total war had an overarching effect on poster production. The propagandists wanted the populace to believe that everything a person did or said, from sneezing to sex, had an impact on the war effort. Therefore posters emphasized the correct v^ay of doing things. In other words, the way in which a person acted or spoke that would be most beneficial to the war effort. The analysis, coupled with the opinions of other scholars on the subject, has revealed a number of patterns. Even with the thousands of posters produced, they could be placed in only a few categories, such as production, recruitment or conservation. The posters were a combination of three factors: goal, visual theme and emotion. For example, a poster might have “produce more war goods 9J as a goal, enemy caricature as a theme and patriotism as the prevailing emotion. There were innumerable combinations, but certain factors were combined with regularity. For example, when emphasizing higher quality production, guilt was the dominant emotion, but when emphasizing more production, patriotism was the dominant emotion. The effectiveness of the posters relied on psychology, artistry and visibility. While the level of impact these posters had on winning the war is still debated, there is no doubt that the images produced, even today, inspire awe and capture the imagination.

Recommended Citation

Nicholas, Justin Rives, "Doing All You Can, Brother?': Visual Themes of World War II American Propaganda Posters" (2003). Honors Theses. 2385.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2385

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