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This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

MOBILIZING THE MICHIGAN PUBLIC: PROPAGANDA
DURING WORLD WAR I AND THE POST-9H1 WAR ON
TERRORISM

presented by
FRANK VINCENT KAMINSKI, JR.

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for the

Master’s degree in Journalism

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”IVWL'CUw—fi
Major Professor’s Signature
August 17, 2004

Date

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MOBILIZING THE MICHIGAN PUBLIC:
PROPAGANDA DURING WORLD WAR I
AND THE POST-9/11 WAR ON TERRORISM
By

Frank Vincent Kaminski, Jr.

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

School of Journalism

2004

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT
MOBILIZING THE MICHIGAN PUBLIC
PROPAGANDA DURING WORLD WAR I
AND THE POST-9/1 l WAR ON TERRORISM
By
Frank Vincent Kaminski, Jr.

Although the interval between World War I and the post-9/11 war on terrorism
saw vast changes in the lives of Americans during war, one aspect of wartime life
remained largely unchanged: the nature of the propaganda directed toward Americans.
Propagandists altered their specific messages in keeping with changes in social mores,
but they conveyed these messages using the same repertoire of techniques (measured here
in terms of “devices” and “characteristics” present in “war propaganda advertisements”
in Michigan newspapers).

A qualitative content analysis supported two hypothesized similarities between
propaganda from these periods: a) that propaganda from both periods offered readers
rationales for supporting their respective wars, and b) that post-9/11 propaganda used
caricature as a means of vilifying U.S. enemies to a lesser degree than did WWI
propaganda.

WW1 and the post-9/11 war on terrorism were chosen because they represent
opposite points in the history of American war propaganda—its outset and its most recent
manifestation. The similarities between propaganda from two disparate periods suggest
that to deal with present and future propaganda—which some scholars contend is an

unethical form of communication—intellectuals and the general public will need to know

what propaganda has resembled in the past.

Copyright by
FRANK VINCENT KAMINSKI, JR.
2004

For Phil.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Three groups of people have helped make this thesis possible.

The first group consists of my professors at Michigan State. Thank you to Eric
Freedman, William McWhirter, Frederick F ico and David Bailey for seeing promise in
my thesis proposal, for serving on my committee and for sharing with me their diverse
array of expertise in journalism history, reporting, newspaper editorial practices, content
analysis and methods of historical research. I am sure that this project has profited
immensely from the variety of backgrounds they represent.

The two remaining groups contributed less directly—but no less vitally—to the
production of this document. One group helped by nurturing my growth as a writer. I am
particularly beholden to Liam McGlynn, Philip Klindt and Tom Chisholm, friends and
fellow men of letters who have always taken care never to let our friendship keep them
from being ruthlessly critical of my work. Their cumulative critiques have brought me a
long way toward finding my voice.

The final group has helped by supporting me in every endeavor I have pursued
throughout life, from drawing to entomology to stunt work to imaginative writing—and
finally, to my present scholarly work. This group consists of my parents and other close
relatives. To them I want to say thank you for all that they have done and continue to do

as I embark headlong on the adventure ahead of me in New York.

_ J5"

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1-4
Propaganda: The “Pseudocommunication” ............................................. 1-2
The Need for a Study of Propaganda ...................................................... 2-3
Theoretical Framework ..................................................................... 3-4
CHAPTER 2
HYPOTHESIS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHOD OF STUDY ......... 5-19
Hypotheses .................................................................................... 5-6
Research Questions ......................................................................... 6-7
Method of Study ........................................................................... 7-18
Research Design ....................................................................... 7-10
Sampling Procedures ................................................................ 10-14
Data Collection ....................................................................... 14-18
Content to be Analyzed and Procedures for ................................... 14-15
Identifying it
Content Categories ............................................................... 16-1 8
Analysis and Interpretation of Results ............................................... 18-19
CHAPTER 3
WORLD WAR ONE NEWSPAPER CONTENT ....................................... 20-79
Portrayal of the Germans ............................................................... 20-29
Ads Stressing Fuel Conservation ...................................................... 30-33
Roles of American Women ............................................................ 33-37
Supporting America’s Military Personnel ............................................ 37-39
Food Production as a Form of Patriotism ............................................. 39-44
What Patriotism is ....................................................................... 44-51
Keeping the American Public in Fighting Form .................................... 51-53
Doing One’s Part Through Education and War Work .............................. 53-56
Enlisting in the “Army of Clothing, Hats, Caps and
Furnishing Buyers” ...................................................................... 56-58
Letting Dollars be Patriots: The War Savings Stamps
Campaigns ................................................................................ 58-62
To “Save and Serve”: Helping Uncle Sam by Doing Without
Non-Essentials ........................................................................... 62-64
Buying “Liberally for Liberty”: The Liberty Loan
Campaigns ................................................................................ 64-67

“A Nation’s Strength is in its Food Supply”: The Food

vi

Conservation Program .................................................................. 67-70

The Red Cross: “An Army Without a Gun” .......................................... 70-76
Miscellaneous Other Themes ............... . .......................................... 76-79
CHAPTER 4
POST-9/11 NEWSPAPER CONTENT ................................................. 80-121
Coping With the Trauma of 9/11 ...................................................... 80-85
Binding up “The Nation’s Wounds”: Ads Enlisting Support
for aid Drives ............................................................................. 85-95
“The Essence of Patriotism” .......................................................... 95-100
Holidays in the Pall of 9/11 ......................................................... 100-102
Relating Terrorism to Political Causes ............................................. 102-103
Peace Drives ........................................................................... 103-105
“We can be Afraid or we can be Ready”: Ads Offering
Terrorism Preparedness Tips ........................................................ 105-108
Linking Illicit Drug use With “Terror” ............................................. 108-109
Tending the Flock ..................................................................... 109-115
Ads in Remembrance of 9/ 11 ....................................................... 115-117
America’s Rescuer/Military Heroes ................................................ 1 17-121
Miscellaneous Other Themes ....................................................... 122-122
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION ............................................................................. 123-143
APPENDICES ................................................................................ 144-217
APPENDIX A
CODING PROTOCOL ................................................................... 145-152
APPENDIX B
FIGURES ................................................................................. 153-217
NOTES ........................................................................................ 202-211
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................... 212-216

vii

 

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1
Approximate ad Totals for World War One Period ............................................. 17
TABLE 2
Approximate ad Totals for Post-9/11 Period ..................................................... 17

viii

LIST OF FIGURES*

FIGURE 1

Our Doughnuts ............................................................................... 154-155
FIGURE 2

Farmers ofAmenca ............................... 156-157
FIGURE 3

Stop the Hun With Your Gold .............................................................. 158-159
FIGURE 4

Help Stop This ................................................................................ 160-161
FIGURE 5

Destruction of Civilization .................................................................. 162-163
FIGURE 6

The Hun’s Mark ................................................................................ 164—165
FIGURE 7

Preparedness ................................................................................... 166-167
FIGURE 8

Patriotic American Citizen ................................................................... 168-169
FIGURE 9

War Savings Stamp logo ...................................................... . ............... 170-171
FIGURE 10

Thrift Stamps as Fighters ..................................................................... 172-173
FIGURE 11

Line Up and Sign Up ......................................................................... 174-175
FIGURE 12

Furnishing the Spade ......................................................................... 176-177
FIGURE 13

Keeping Liberty’s Torch Alight ............................................................ 178-179
FIGURE 14

Lend Him a Hand ............................................................................. 180-181

* Figures include translations of the ads’ text, much of which is illegible because of the poor quality of the
surviving copies.

ix

ram" .l

FIGURE 15

Soldier Potatoes ............................................................................... 182- 1 83
FIGURE 16

Remember the Days ........................................................................... 182-183
FIGURE 17

Waste Nothing ................................................................................. 184-1 85
FIGURE 18

Eat Potatoes, Save Wheat ..................................................................... 184-185
FIGURE 19

One Meal Wheatless on Thursdays ........................................................ 184-185
FIGURE 20

Wheat Flour Substitutes ...................................................................... 184-185
FIGURE 21

Eat Corn, Save Wheat ......................................................................... 184-185
FIGURE 22

Food Will Win the War ...................................................................... 184-185
FIGURE 23

Wheatless Mondays .......................................................................... 184-185
FIGURE 24

Save Sugar .................................................................................... 184-185
FIGURE 25

Long Arm of Mercy ........................................................................... 186-187
FIGURE 26

You and the Rest of Us ........................................................................ 188-189
FIGURE 27

Hometown Newspaper ....................................................................... 190-191

FIGURE 28

Hard to be Thankful ........................................................................... 192-193
FIGURE 29

Peace Demonstration ......................................................................... 194-195

FIGURE 30

Crossroads Community Church ............................................................. l 96- 1 97
FIGURE 31
Firefighter Tribute 1 .......................................................................... 198-199
FIGURE 32
Firefighter Tribute 2 .......................................................................... 200-201

xi

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Propaganda: The “Pseudocommunication ”

Propaganda affects the lives of many people in the United States and other
countries.1 It has many sources, from governments to big corporations to a powerful and
influential individual using the mass media to his or her own ends. Propaganda also
promotes products and advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club. The thrust of
propaganda is that it seeks to cause a reaction on the part of a message’s recipients that is
desired by the propagandist.2 As such, it has much in common with advertising, another
form of persuasion carried out through mass media.

Even so, propaganda differs from advertising in fundamental ways. The first
difference relates to their respective sources: Propaganda serves state-sponsored ends
while advertising serves business-, organization- or corporate-sponsored ends. The state
represents the interests of all; the corporation, those of its profits, shareholders and
clients. The second difference relates to their respective messages. Both propagandists
and advertisers seek to have their claims taken as truth, and both try to conceal the
“communicative frame” in which they operate and which alerts the audience to their
selective, interested positions. But the ultimate purposes of such messages differ
depending on whether a propagandist or an advertiser issues them. For instance,
propagandists ofien have the support of the military and try to effect loyalty to country or
to a people. This is especially the case with war propaganda. Advertisers sometimes give
added publicity to nationalistic programs on the part of propagandists, and they often do
so with imagery and language similar to that of propagandists. But in the final analysis,

they seek to inspire loyalty to only themselves.3

As suggested in the previous statement, sometimes propaganda and advertising
work in conjunction with each other. Studies of war propaganda have shown that ads
ostensibly seeking to promote products have also abetted propaganda campaigns, as when
an ad seeks not only to market a more efficient brand of motor oil but also to advance a
government drive for conservation and thrift. Yet advertisers do not always cooperate in
this manner with propagandists, and any study of propaganda must explore the
relationship between the two.

Propaganda elicits the reactions desired by its makers generally through appeals
designed to bring about uncritical judgments in message recipients.4 Cunningham
describes propaganda as “pseudocommunication.” It is a “pervasive component of
modern society” and the question of whether it is ethical or acceptable still seems to be a
gray area.5 For these reasons, it is crucial that both intellectuals and the public be able to
recognize it and thus better deal with it.6
The Need for a Study of Propaganda

Following is a qualitative content analysis that seeks to deepen the understanding
of present-day propaganda by comparing it to propaganda from the First World War. The
project is thus timely, since the United States presently is at war again. The war on
terrorism provides an excellent opportunity for a study that is both historical—examining
propaganda during two war periods—and externally valid, since the findings relate
directly to present-day propaganda and they thus will prove useful in helping people
today recognize it. This project will also benefit mass media academe by testing the rigor
of recent operational definitions of propaganda developed by communications scholars.

But its influence will extend beyond the communication arts and sciences. Its findings

will inform historians in their categorization of media messages during various wars,
which may lead to the discovery that propaganda has extended far beyond historians’
current conception of it.7
Theoretical Framework

Scholars have approached propaganda from many paradigms, each with its own
assumptions. The assumptions of different paradigms have often been at odds with one
another, working against the creation of one coherent body of knowledge on
prOpaganda.8 This study uses a semantic and ethical approach. That is, it both investigates
the nature of propaganda itself during the two periods under study and seeks to answer
the question of whether such propaganda has been ethical.

The study also compares public opinion, during WW1 and the present, regarding
propaganda—but it takes care not to infer public opinion from the propaganda itself. To
do so would be to commit one of the capital errors of content analysis: to arrive at
conclusions about the effects of propaganda on those exposed to it solely by examining
the propaganda. Fico maintains that content analysis is suited to probing not the
intentions of media-message creators or the effects that media messages have on others,
but only the characteristics of such messages themselves.9 In short, care must be taken in
treating each topic, since some topics call for research methods that are incompatible with
the methods used for other topics. Accordingly, some sections required the application of
separate theoretical frameworks to prevent unwarranted assumptions that would result
from failure to heed the unique needs of each research method. To avoid the impression

that the preceding statements may have created that several research methods will be

employed, it is worth noting here that the study draws on just two methods, content
analysis and synthesis of material from scholarly sources.

It examines language use and pictorial representations in propaganda according to
the classic operational definition by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1937) and a
recent definition by Black (2001).10 The former details the “seven-devices” framework,
representing the seven devices commonly employed by propagandists. These devices

9, ‘6

include “name calling, glittering generalities” and the “band wagon” device (For more
on the six characteristics and the seven devices, see the coding protocol). These devices
represent the chief ways in which propagandists use language, attribute information to
sources and articulate ideals in the creation of propaganda. Black’s definition develops
six characteristics of propaganda, which concern the ways in which propagandists arrive
at the conclusions and messages conveyed by their propaganda. Whether or not a given
media artifact constitutes propaganda will be determined using these two definitions.
World War I propaganda techniques have been well documented in many fields
that have contributed to propaganda research, including communicatiOns, social
psychology, history and semantics. This study expands this body of knowledge through
its comparison of WWI propaganda with present-day propaganda. Although previous
studies have compared WWI propaganda with that of other wars—notably the Second
World War—no studies as yet have used the present war on terrorism as a counterpoint.

Thus, this line of inquiry represents a completely untapped, but potentially rich, vein of

research.

CHAPTER 2
HYPOTHESES, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHOD OF STUDY
Hypotheses

Some of the hypotheses and research questions that follow use terms and phrases
that have special definitions in the context of this study. For these definitions, consult the
coding protocol.‘

Hypothesis 1: Propaganda from both periods focused on ways to induce citizens
to support the respective wars. The rationale for this hypothesis relates to a common
pattern of war propaganda: It is designed to generate public enthusiasm for a war and
thus make the public more willing to contribute to it by enlisting, buying war bonds and
so forth.H

Hypothesis 2: Propaganda from both periods vilified the United States’ enemies.
The rationale for this hypothesis is that according to Doob (1944), war propaganda
invariably portrays a “united enemy country composed of brutes. . .about to rip down all
the evidences of civilization acquired so painfully throughout the ages.”12 Accordingly,
WWI propaganda capitalized on accounts of alleged German atrocities. The present
situation is different in that America’s current enemies—terrorist groups throughout the
world—do not constitute a nation. They are instead transient and opportunistic in nature,
choosing each new haven with a view toward how easily its populace can be enlisted in
the terrorists’ cause. Thus, this study will refer to enemies of the United States as enemy
organizations rather than as enemy nations.

Hypothesis 3: The vilification of US. enemies relied more heavily on caricature

(e. g., exaggerated facial features) and racial stereotypes during WWI than during the

present. The use of caricature in depicting war enemies in propaganda has been
documented in previous studies.13 It follows that in more recent times, with the greater
diversity of the US. population, and thus a greater number of people who would find
such tactics offensive, such disparaging caricature and stereotyping would be less
pronounced than during earlier periods. Such renditions in propaganda from an earlier
period, then, would likely have elicited no objections from most Americans during that
earlier period, though they would offend the majority of the present-day American public.
Indeed, even well into the Second World War, such tactics ran no such risk of adverse
public reaction.14

Research Questions

Research Question 1: How do WWI propaganda and present-day propaganda
compare in their depictions of US. nationalism? This is a crucial question because U.S.
nationalism has been a dominant theme during both WWI and the present war, and
usually figures into any war propaganda. 1 5

Research Question 2: What common techniques does propaganda from both
periods employ? This question could shed light on which techniques have fallen into
disuse and which techniques remain trusted.

Research Question 3: How did propaganda during each period portray various
countries and organizations both involved in the war and resisting U.S. involvement?
Numerous definitions of propaganda discuss the creation of “in-groups,” with which
those exposed to the propaganda are supposed to identify, and “out-groups,” which they
are supposed to reject. In the case of war propaganda, each nation is part of the in-group

depicted in its own propaganda and all enemies of that nation, as well as nations that

refuse to support it, fall into the out-group.16 This research question will shed light on
how the creation of in- groups and out-groups has evolved between WI and the present.
Which aspects of an organization-were cited as justifying its inclusion in an in- or out-
group during WWI versus the present?
Method of Study
Research Design

Content analysis is the most appropriate study method for this project. The study
probes characteristics of media content, and content analysis is uniquely suited to this
task. The chief limitation of content analysis, however, is that while it is ideal for probing
the characteristics of the artifact itself, it is not good for studying the attitudes or
intentions of either the artifact’s creators or its intended audience. Survey research and
experiments are far better choices for the latter. Thus, this project does not draw, from
strict content analysis, any conclusions as to how people reacted to a given artifact of
propaganda, or how the propagandists intended people to react to it. All findings,
conclusions and implications drawn from the content analysis portion of the study
concern only the content of the propaganda itself. That is not to say that the study does
not address at all the effects of, and intents behind, propaganda. On the contrary, such
information is vital in providing background about the propaganda of each period. It is,
however, subordinated to the content analysis. It also, of necessity, is drawn
predominantly from secondary sources, since, for reasons discussed below, the other
major quantitative methods used in mass media research—surveys and experiments——

would prove problematic in this study.

Getting beyond propaganda traits to exploring the underlying motives behind its
creation and its effects on propagandees would require combining content analysis with
survey research and experiments. Surveys administered to propagandists could shed light
on their motives, while experiments that exposed people selected randomly from the
general population to instances of propaganda could show the effect propaganda has on
those exposed to it. Unfortunately, this approach would have had little internal validity
with this project, due to the great time-lapse since the first period under study, WI. The
populations relevant to either an experiment or a survey on propaganda during WWI——
the creators of WWI propaganda and people who were alive during WW1 and can
remember the propaganda in detail—would probably prove impossible to reach. The
samples of such individuals gathered would likely be too small for results to be
generalizable to the broader populations. In addition, because of the great time-lapse, the
individuals in the sample would certainly have a more difficult time of recounting either
their intent in creating propaganda or the effect propaganda had on them than would their
present-day counterparts. In short, although surveys and experiments relating to present-
day propaganda would be feasible, surveys and experiments relating to WI propaganda
would not be.l7

This points to another advantage of using content analysis. No matter how long
the time-lapse between periods under study in a content analysis, the content itself
remains the same. Another advantage is that content analysis is immune fiom sources of
internal invalidity found in surveys and experiments. The validity of a content analysis is
not compromised by history, maturation, experimental mortality or demoralization, all of

which can cause internal invalidity in experiments. And while the potential sample size of

a survey diminishes as members of the population under study die, this risk is greatly
reduced with certain types of content analysis, such as analyses of newspaper content.18
Such is the case with this study, since its units of analysis, newspapers, are permanently
preserved in libraries.

In spite of the advantages of content analysis, there are dangers inherent in using
it to compare media messages representing periods remote from each other in history.
Above all, researchers risk committing the fallacy of analyzing old ads from the
perspective of the contemporary milieu of which they are a part. In the present study, the
potential for this risk is greater when dealing with WWI content than when dealing with
post-9/11 content, since researchers are far removed from the milieu of WWI but are a
part of the one in existence following 9/11. Future scholars will run the same danger in
examining post-9/11 propaganda: Their assessments will inevitably be influenced by
whatever biases have been instilled in them by the physical and social environment in
existence during that future era.

A corollary of this predicament for researchers trying to make sense of media
messages from past time periods is that each such body of content encapsulates aspects of
the culture from its respective era. Thus, the WWI ads in this study are, among other
things, artifacts of life in America during that time. The same is true of the post-9/ll ads,
though, as of this writing, American culture has not changed dramatically enough since
2001-2003 for these ads to be readily recognizable as a time capsule from an earlier time.
Yet a premise of this study is that each sample of propaganda ads is just that, a time

capsule.

What reinforces this sense of encapsulation is that all of the ads sampled here
have been severed from the other newspaper content that originally surrounded them.
Readers during each period experienced the ads as merely one component of their
newspaper-reading experience. They were also exposed to news stories about the
progress of each war—among other subjects of importance at that time—ads that did not
constitute war prOpaganda and images created according to the photojoumalistic idiom of
that era. Here, in contrast, the ads exist in a vacuum, in complete isolation fiom these
other aspects of newspaper content.

Sampling Procedures

Sampling methods included both a nonprobability method and a probability
method. Publications were chosen purposively. Ads from these publications, however,
were chosen differently. Because of their great abundance, which was discovered during
a preliminary scan of the content of WWI-era papers, the WWI ads constitute a
systematic sample with a random start. In contrast, the post-9/11 sample constitutes the
entire universe of propaganda ads run during that period, because propaganda ads were
far less numerous during the post-9/11 period than during the WI period. In both cases,
the unit of analysis was ads; the units of observation, the ads’ characteristics.

This study uses the following sense of the word advertisement: “a public notice,
esp. in print.”19 All such notices appeared in Michigan small-community papers since the
study focuses on the use of war propaganda to mobilize public opinion in Michigan.
Sponsors of the ads examined included the US. government, advocacy groups,
individuals and other advertisers. By focusing on small communities, this study examined

propaganda directed toward the heartland of Michigan, rather than to Michigan’s handful

lO

of major metropolitan areas. These small-community papers were chosen according to
their circulations. According to Editor and Publisher, small-community papers have
circulations of 50,000 or under.20 Thus, every paper in the samples used in this study had
a 2001 weekly circulation of no greater than 50,000. To enhance the comparability of the
two samples, the war-on-terrorism-period papers are as close as possible to functional
equivalents of the WWI-period papers—Le, the town, village, etc. of publication for each
WWI paper is also that of a paper in the second sample, and each sample contains only
daily papers. In other words, both samples represent the same regions of Michigan.

These hypotheses and research questions relate to two populations: propaganda
that appeared during WWI and propaganda from the war on terrorism. The study
examined one sample representing each of these populations. Sample one consisted of
propaganda ads from 20 March 1917 through 11 November 1918; sample two,
propaganda ads from 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003, the date on which
President George W. Bush declared an end to “major combat” in Iraq.

The newspaper samples were chosen as follows. The Library of Michigan in
Lansing contains one of the largest collections of Michigan papers. For this reason, as
well as for its convenient proximity, the study treated its Michigan newspaper holdings as
representative of Michigan papers at large. This collection consists of 46 papers for the
war-on-terrorism period. Although the collection of papers for the WI period is several
times larger, it was limited, in the interest of consistency, to papers belonging to the 46
towns of the war-on-terrorism period. Some of those 46 papers do not satisfy the
stipulations of this study. Three entries were deleted because they were for papers that

had no counterpoints during the WI period—i.e., no paper existed in the same down

11

during the WI period. Others were eliminated because their circulations are above
50,000, they represent a community already represented by another paper or they are
weekly papers rather than dailies. Excluding these papers left a total of 20.

To make a manageable sample, not all 20 papers were be examined. The
following steps systematically reduced the total number of papers to six. The first town,
Holland, was chosen purposively. A chance perusal of the Holland Sentinel during May
2003 revealed some content of interest for the war-on-terrorism period. Further
investigation of other issues from that period yielded equally promising findings. The
reduction of the total towns to 12 began with an alphabetical list of towns represented by
the Library of Michigan’s newspaper holdings for the war-on-terrorism period, with
deletion of every town ineligible for inclusion (for reasons already discussed). Starting
with the Holland entry in this list, every other town among those remaining was excluded
from the sample. Returning to the Holland entry and working backwards, every other
town above Holland on the list was excluded.

This left the following nine towns: Adrian, Benton Harbor, Dowagiac, Grand
Haven, Holland, Manistee, Monroe, Petoskey and Three Rivers. It was later decided to
exclude Holland because it posed an inconsistency with the rest of the sample—the
sample was to be confined to daily papers, and although Holland’s post-9/1 1 paper was a
daily, its WWI paper was a weekly. Two additional towns, Benton Harbor and Dowagiac,
were eliminated from the list close to the end of the research simply because time did not
permit the collection of their papers’ entire propaganda content. Excluding these left the

six papers whose content is examined in the sections that follow.

12

For some of these six towns, the name of the paper remained unchanged from one
period to the next. For others, the name changed. In other towns, the papers from WWI
had ceased to exist by the time of the war on terrorism, which required choosing different
papers for the second period than for the first. The transience of some towns’ papers is
not, however, a threat to validity. Since the focus is on small-communityjournalism—not
the actual newspapers of small communities—ensuring consistency in the circulations of
the newspapers is crucial. Hence the study’s exclusion of all papers with circulations
above 50,000. The following papers comprise the samples.

Newspapers in World War One Sample
Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram

Grand Haven (Mich.) Daily Tribune
Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate
Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier

Petoskey (Mich.) Evening News

(Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial
Newspapers in War on Terrorism Sample
(Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram

Grand Haven (Mich.) Tribune

Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate
Monroe (Mich.) Evening News

Petoskey (Mich.) News-Review

Three Rivers (Mich.) Commercial-News

Why were these dates chosen? These two periods are comparable in a number of
ways. First, each period begins on a date on which the United States declared war. In the
former case, it was the United States’ entry into WWI after the German sinking of five
American merchant vessels.” In the latter case, it was the terrorist attacks on the World
”22

Trade Center and the Pentagon, after which President Bush declared, “We’re at war.

Second, the final day of each period is the date on which the relevant war’s victors

l3

proclaimed the defeat of the enemy. For the WWI period, that date is that on which
Allied victory was declared. For the post-9/11 period, it is the day on which it was
formally recognized that the Iraqi regime had been toppled and that “major combat” was
over. The final similarity between the two periods is that they are almost the same length.
The WWI period is one day shy of 86 weeks, while the post-9/11 period is 85 weeks and
two days.

Data Collection

Content to be Analyzed and Procedures for Identifying it

The study relies on a random sample of propaganda ads from the WI period and
a census of the ads from the post-9/11 period. This was done to ensure samples of more
comparable size than would be achieved through censuses of ads from both periods. The
volume of ads during the WWI period is so great that representativeness is not
compromised by resorting to a random sample. In the post-9/11 papers, in contrast,
propaganda ads are so sparse that a random sample would likely miss a great many ads
and thus yield a misleading picture of post-9/11 propaganda.

It is important to note, however, that when dealing with print publications,
random sampling procedures need to be applied somewhat differently than when the unit
of analysis is news stories. When analyzing stories, it is often practical to randomly select
individual pages of a given edition because of the odds that a randomly selected page will
contain stories. That is not the case with propaganda ads, which appear on only a
minority of the total pages. In magazines they are often interspersed between articles and
short stories, while in newspapers they appear at the end of sections and sporadically on

inside pages. Thus, the majority of randomly selected newspaper pages would not contain

14

these ads. A far more efficient selection method would be to select entire issues—rather
than pages—to examine.

For this, it was practical to employ systematic sampling rather than random
sampling. For each paper during the WI period, an issue was selected at random and
then, for each subsequent week, the same day of the week was included. This initial,
randomly selected issue was chosen thus. Consulting a random number table was a
prerequisite for beginning examination of a paper. The initial issue was chosen according
to the day of the week to which the result of the table corresponded. For instance, before
examination of the Grand Haven Daily Tribune began, the table yielded a 7; and since
the 7th day of the week is Saturday, all Saturday issues of the Tribune were sampled.
Because the process was repeated for each paper, the WWI papers represent several days
of the week during the WI period. The Adrian and Monroe papers represent
Wednesdays; the Manistee and Petoskey papers, Thursdays; and the Three Rivers paper,
Mondays. As for the manner in which the issues chosen were studied, the author recorded
every propaganda ad in every issue, thus amassing a sub-sample of ads taken from the
sample of issues.

That settles the matter of selecting propaganda—but how was the sample
narrowed to the specific category of war propaganda? The empirical measure governing
this decision relied on face validity. For both periods, ads were chosen that somehow

related to the two respective wars.

15

Content Categories

Once the content from both periods was collected, a number of themes became
apparent in propaganda from each period. These themes guided the creation of content
categories.

The content categories for WWI are as follows: portrayal of the Germans, fuel
conservation, roles of American women, supporting America’s military personnel, food
production as a form of patriotism, various conceptions of patriotism, keeping the
American public in fighting form, doing one’s part through education and war work,
enlisting in the “army of clothing, hats, caps and furnishing buyers,” the War Savings
Stamps campaign, doing without non-essentials, the Liberty Loan campaigns, food
conservation, the American Red Cross and miscellaneous other themes. Chapter 3, which
describes the WWI findings, is organized into sections devoted to these themes.

Chapter 4, on post-9/ 11 content, is ordered in a similar manner, albeit according
to a different set of themes: coping with the trauma of9/1l, aid drives, conceptions of
patriotism, holidays in the pall of 9/1 1, relating terrorism to political causes, peace drives,
terrorism preparedness tips, illicit drug use and “terror,” religious perspectives on 9/11,
remembering 9/11, the portrayal of military personnel and Ground Zero rescuers as
heroes and miscellaneous other themes.

The following tables relate to the quantity of content collected. Each shows total
ads for its respective period and the proportions of that total that individual content
categories represent. The figures given are not precise; because of the overlap among

some content categories, arriving at exact totals proved problematic. Consequently, all

16

numbers have been rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Note also that these figures
refer to distinct ads; totals would be higher if repeats were counted.

Table 1 — Approximate ad Totals for World War One Period

Total Ads .................................................................................. 885
Portrayal of the Germans .................................................................. 15
Ads Stressing Fuel Conservation ......................................................... 15
Roles of American Women ............................................................... 15
Supporting America’s Military Personnel .............................................. 55
Food Production as a Form of Patriotism ............................................... 30
What Patriotism is .......................................................................... 25
Keeping the American Public in Fighting Form ....................................... 10
Doing One’s Part Through Education and War Work ................................. 10
Enlisting in the “Army of Clothing,

Hats, Caps and Furnishing Buyers” ...................................................... 9O
Letting Dollars be Patriots: The War Savings Stamps Campaigns ................. 100
To “Save and Serve”: Helping Uncle

Sam by Doing Without Non-Essentials ................................................. 50
Buying “Liberally for Liberty”: The Liberty Loan Campaigns ..................... 190
“A Nation’s Strength is in its Food

Supply”: The Food Conservation Program ............ ' ................................ 1 70
The Red Cross: “An Army Without a Gun” ............................................ 35
Miscellaneous Other Themes ............................................................. 75

Table 2 — Approximate ad Totals for Post-9/11 Period

Total Ads .................................................................................. 430
Coping With the Trauma of 9/11 ......................................................... 10
Binding up “The Nation’s

Wounds”: Ads Enlisting Support for Aid Drives ...................................... 30
“The Essence of Patriotism” .............................................................. 10
Holidays in the Pall of 9/11 ................................................................ 5
Relating Terrorism to Political Causes .................................................... 5
Peace Drives .................................................................................. 5
“We can be Afraid or we can be

Ready”: Ads Offering Terrorism Preparedness Tips .................................. 10
Tending the Flock .......................................................................... 30
Ads in Remembrance of 9/11 ............................................................ 40
America’s Rescuer/Military Heroes ................................................... 280
Linking Illicit Drug use With “Terror”

and Miscellaneous Other Themes ........................................................ 02

As these tables illustrate, the volume of sampled propaganda ads decreased by

about one-half from the first period to the second. Without the artificial construct of a

17

systematic sample for the WWI period, however, the decrease would undoubtedly appear
to have been several times greater than that. If the six-sevenths of the WWI content
overlooked in this study had been included, it stands to reason that the post-9/11 sample
would contain about one-fourteenth as many ads as the WWI sample. Following are the
figures that guided this calculation. Eighty-six issues from each WWI paper were
sampled, for a total of 516 issues. But in the second period, the number of issues
examined from each paper jumped to 598, and total issues sampled to 3,588. Thus, the
post-9/11 sample contains about seven times as many issues as the WI period, even
though they represent nearly equal time-spans.

Analysis and Interpretation of Results

This study’s content is presented in terms of the themes that became apparent
after the content was collected. In the initial presentation of findings, WWI content and
post-9/11 content are in separate sections. In a subsequent chapter, the two periods are
analyzed against each other in terms of their content.

Generally, support for this study’s hypotheses confirmed past studies’ findings
about propaganda at large, but extended them to the comparison between WW1 and the
post-9/ 11 war on terrorism. Hypotheses one and two, for instance, represent well-
documented aspects of propaganda, but have never before been examined in this study’s
body of content. The support found for hypotheses one and three reveals some
similarities between propaganda during WI and propaganda during the present war on
terrorism. However, the lack of support for hypothesis two also provided valuable
insights. It shed some light on how propaganda changed between WW1 and the present in

its portrayal of US. enemies. The study’s research questions probe promising lines of

18

inquiry, among them the relationships between the era of a propaganda ad and how it
portrays U.S. nationalism.

This study affords only a partial glimpse of the total extent of propaganda during
both periods. Future studies should examine not only propaganda that took the form of
advertisements but also propaganda embedded within news stories, opinion columns and
news broadcasts. What sort of government propaganda exists in less blatant forms than
the ads examined in this study? To what extent have electronic media supplanted print
media as vehicles for propaganda? Aside from using the mass media, what are the
govemment’s present-day strategies for disseminating propaganda now that the heyday of
the poster is over?23 Such questions will need to be dealt with in any firll investigation of

the propaganda during both periods.

19

CHAPTER 3
WORLD WAR ONE NEWSPAPER CONTENT
Portrayal of the Germans

An important front in the US. propaganda effort during WWI was its
“indictment” of the German government, according to George Creel, who headed the
govemment’s prOpaganda machine during WWI, the Committee on Public Information
(CPI)24 But even before President Woodrow Wilson created the CPI in mid-April of
1917, the propaganda of European Allied nations, systematically infiltrated into the
United States during the first two and a half years of the war, had primed the American
public to hate the German government. According to Bruntz (1938), by the time the CPI
was formed, “certain circles in America” had come to loathe “German militarism,
German Junkerism, and the Hohenzollem dynasty” as intensely as England and France
did.”

These circles believed that Kaiser Wilhelm 11, head of the Hohenzollem dynasty,
along with his militarists, imperiled democracy, and that if American democracy were to
be preserved, America must join England and France in fighting the Kaiser.26 President
Wilson, whose eloquence on America’s ideals in the war made his speeches perfect
fodder for American propagandists both at home and in Germany, described the threat
from Germany thus: “It is a war against all nations. . .The challenge is to all mankind.” He
took care, however, not to include the German public at large in his denunciation of its
leaders.

...we have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them

but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their
government acted in entering this war.27

20

The thrust of the resultant propaganda messages, disseminated both in America
and at the fighting front, was that the war was one “for the liberation of humanity—
Gerrnan humanity included—from the clutches of unprincipled autocracy.” A vital aim of
America’s involvement in the war, expressed in Wilson’s speeches and reiterated in
American propaganda, was to effect a democratic government in Germany, with which
the Allies would make “a just and lasting peace.” No phrase better embodied this ideal
than Wilson’s famous proclamation that America’s intent in entering the war was to
“make the world safe for democracy.” American propaganda disseminated in Germany
took the form of pamphlets. It assured the German people that it was not they but their
Junkers who were the enemy and that they must either turn against their warmonger-
leaders or surrender to them.28

Americans during WWI were easily taken in by such government-sponsored
platitudes and hyperbole because they lacked our contemporary sense of perspective
concerning propaganda. They could not critically examine propaganda as we do today
because they had never encountered it before, much less acquired any foundations from
which to understand it.29 Never before WWI’s outbreak in 1914 had any nation seen
propaganda as “a govemment-institutionalized element in the fighting of a war.” Indeed,
the CPI represented the US. government’s first overt propaganda agency.30

Propagandists soon discovered that stories of supposed atrocities committed by
German militants were the most effective way to mobilize Americans’ sentiment against
Germany. According to Beard and Beard (1949), propagandists contended that “the

Germans had committed nameless and shocking deeds, crimes against humanity, offenses

21

 

not justifiable in the name of war, horrors not usually incident to armed conflicts”3 I But
above all else,

the Germans did what no other Christian people would do, namely, employed the

submarine, a new instrument of warfare, against unarmed merchant vessels,

sending cargo, crew, and passengers alike to the bottom of the sea.32

The CPI used the gamut of media in creating this picture of German “Huns,” as
they came to be disparagingly called.33 Perhaps most famous are the atrocity posters
displayed in such public places as post offices, train stations, stores and movie theaters.
But the CPI also released its own pamphlets and resorted to public speakers, the news
and, of course, advertising as vehicles for atrocity propaganda.

Regarding the latter, it is crucial to note that advertising was more than just one
tool in the propagandists’ arsenal—it was also a medium in the midst of dramatic change.
Prior to its use in the CPI’s propaganda campaigns, modern advertising was still in its
infancy. It was not viewed as a respectable profession but as a business whose
practitioners were suspect in the eyes of all America. The work of the CPI, however,
changed this. Conceived as an effort to advertise American nationalism, it enlisted the
expertise of prominent advertising agents. Suddenly, these objects of suspicion were
leading the US. govemment’s effort to mobilize Americans for war. The CPI increased
not only the respectability but also the influence of advertising’s principles in Americans’
dealings with one another. Creel thought so highly of such changes that he was moved to
write, “Had the Committee done nothing else, its existence would have been justified by
the decision that gave advertising the dignity of a profession and incorporated its

dynamic abilities in American team-play?“

22

It was the posters, however—particularly those used to promote the Liberty Loan
and War Savings Stamps campaigns—that featured the goriest atrocity material. A
common motif was the impassive Hun standing over a recently slain victim (invariably
an unsuspecting, defenseless European civilian) and holding a knife drenched in blood.
Since the CPI often based its newspaper ads on the posters, the ads in this sample
bespeak the same tendency of artists to draw scenes of brutal murder at the hands of
Huns. For a specific example of a newspaper ad derived directly from a poster, see Figure
4. New York City resident Adolph Treidler conceived and created this piece as part of a
War Savings Stamp poster contest held by the CPI during the spring of 1918. Treidler
won first prize for his drawing, which the CPI subsequently used in its poster and
newspaper ad campaigns.35

Rumors of even ghastlier deeds circulated among Americans’ national discourse,
but the public was mercifully spared having to see them in posters or ads. Doob (1950)
notes that

During the first world war, Germans were accused of atrocities ranging from the

amputation of women’s breasts to the use of human corpses for soap. Most but

not all of these tales were exposed afterwards both by Germans and members of

allied countries.36

The CPI’s media strategy was so successful that in some circles one risked being
ostracized as a Hun merely for questioning these claims of Hun atrocities.37

About 15 propaganda ads that focus on Germany appeared in the six Michigan
newspapers between 20 March 1917 and 11 November 1918. These ads generally
condemn the Kaiser and German autocracy and depict German soldiers as heartless

murderers of the innocent. One ad not among the twenty discussed here—because the

Germans are only peripheral to its point—speaks of the “[m]any American ships with

23

many American lives [that] are at the bottom of the Atlantic, victims of German lust for
blood.”38 The German people at large, however, are seen as victims of the Kaiser’s
ruthless program for world domination.

Some ads, however, make no such bourgeois-proletariat distinction and simply

present “Germany” opposed to America, the rest of the Allies and all the values for which
they stood. Given this pervasive tendency to portray all things German as, at best,
. receptacles for Americans’ pity, and, at worst, agents in “the destruction of civilization,”
a Grand Haven Baking Co. ad that lauds Germans for their talent at bread and pastry
making stands out as an anomaly (Figure 1). Two dominant themes become apparent in
the analysis of ads focusing on Germany: German atrocities and the mobilization of the
American public.

The theme of German atrocities arises perhaps most often in the popular

‘6

imagination. These ads rely heavily on Sproule’s name calling” device, most pointedly
in their use of the term “Hun.” While some ads use the plural form of the term, “Huns,”
to refer to multitudes of soldiers, other ads never stray from the generic “the Hun,” as if
they all comprised one uniformly malevolent collective. Alleged atrocities at the hands of
these Huns are portrayed in two ways, viscerally and abstractly. Ads of the former type
feature cartoon-like illustrations of German soldiers physically banning or threatening
defenseless civilians—often women, children or the infirm—presumably among the
populations of our Allies. Ads of the latter type may feature a cartoon drawing of a Hun,
or perhaps an article of Hun regalia or weaponry, but they lack the graphic depictions of

violence prevalent in the other type. Instead of presenting scenes of violence, these ads

purport the Huns’ enmity to the way of life in “civilized” nations. This contrast is often

24

achieved through what Sproule terms “glittering generalities.” Among the glittering

9, 6‘

generalities are “democracy, civilization” and the continued “safety” of Americans and

the citizens of Allied nations, who are supposedly in jeopardy from “German savagery”
and “German military supremacy.”

Among the six Michigan papers, there were three atrocity ads of the visceral kind.
The first one, which appeared in the Adrian Daily Telegram in October 1917, calls on
American farmers to buy Liberty Bonds, lest Hun atrocities hitherto committed overseas
be visited on America (Figure 2). The ad’s most prominent feature is a drawing in which
a terrified man shelters a woman behind him, who is covering her face. Both face a
German soldier threatening them with a gun whose bayonet drips the blood of a slain
man writhing on the ground next to a barrel of fruit. Below this illustration are several
paragraphs of text explaining the dire need for farmers to buy bonds. In the following
excerpts, the propagandists explain the Huns’ nature to the farmers:

But the United States now faces a far more cruel and deadly foe
than it did in ‘61 or ‘76. It faces a foe that stops at nothing, a foe that
tortures wounded soldiers and poisons wells and butchers women and girls
and innocent babes.

And to fight this foe we’ve got to have more than food and men
and guns. We ’ve got to have MONEY. We’ve got to have billions and
billions of dollars—or else we’ll LOSE THIS WAR and the Prussian
fiends will do to American farms what they did to the farms in France and
Belgium. They’ll destroy our orchards and growing fields as they
destroyed the farms and growing fields of France and Belgium. They’ll
poison our wells as they poisoned the wells over there. And on those farms
that they don’t destroy they’ll make Americans work as slaves under
guard of German guns to fill the granaries of Germany and to fill the
coffers of Berlin.

Not only that, but they’ll torture our wounded soldiers and torture
our wives and mothers and violate our girls and butcher our babes,
because that’s the Kaiser’s idea of making war. That’s why we appeal to
every farmer in America to buy US. Government Liberty Bonds and buy
AS MANY OF THEM AS HE POSSIBLY CAN.

25

The second visceral ad appeared six months later in the Daily Telegram (Figure
3). This ad draws an analogy between American soldiers and purchasers of Liberty
Bonds. American soldiers, the ad asserts, are preventing the Huns’ spread to America by
creating a “barrier” out of the bodies of slain German soldiers. So, too, must American
citizens “[p]ile your bonds on the barrier of dollars we must put up between our
American soldiers and the enemy.” In the drawing that comprises the bulk of the ad, three
sacks of gold coins stacked on top of one another signify this barrier. These sacks
separate a Hun grasping a slain woman and a bloodied sword and an American soldier
brandishing a rifle with bayonet and sheltering a mother and her two children. The sacks
are labeled, in ascending order, “1‘” Liberty Loan,” “2nd Liberty Loan” and “3”. Liberty
Loan.” The title above the textual portion of the ad reads, “Stop the Hun With Your
Gold!—”. The ad employs one glittering generality. It is the following slogan-like phrase
near the top left comer of the illustration: “Let’s Keep the Glow in Old Glory.” The ad’s
portrayal of German soldiers as fearsome brutes becomes apparent in these excerpts:

[American soldiers] are fighting and bleeding and dying right now to save

your home and my home from the iron heel of German domination, to

save your family and my family from the fearful atrocities that devastated

the unhappy little countries of Belgium, Serbia and Poland and all the

other lands that have been overrun by these barbarians. . .Let us not loll in

soft and easy plenty over here while our boys are making a barrier of

bodies against the largest, the deadliest, the most terrible army in the

history of the world.

The final visceral ad is the simplest. Appearing in the Manistee News-Advocate in
June 1918 and sponsored by the National War Savings Committee, it merely juxtaposes a
drawing of a towering Hun—with a blood-drenched dagger in one hand, a rifle in the

other and facial features blackened by shadow—with the message “HELP STOP THIS”

(Figure 4). The text across the bottom of the page reads: “BUY W.S.S. on June 28th &

26

KEEP HIM OUT of AMERICA.” Perhaps more than any other atrocity ad, this one
epitomizes the fourth propaganda characteristic identified by Black, “[a] reduction of
situations into simplistic and readily identifiable cause and effect relationships, ignoring
multiple causality of events.” It implies that to buy War Savings Stamps would keep
Huns out of America, ignoring the complex host of other factors that surely bore on who
would win the war. Indeed, it fails even to acknowledge that the War Savings Stamps
effort was only one in an arsenal of campaigns, such as Liberty Loan Bonds and the thrift
and conservation drive, which helped to combat the Huns.

Five ads portray German atrocity abstractly. The two examples discussed below,
which turn Hun weaponry and a Hun’s handprint into objects of fear and loathing, are
representative. Titled “The Destruction of Civilization,” the earliest of these two ads
appeared in the Grand Haven Daily Tribune and the Manistee News-Advocate.39 It shows
“[a]n oflicial photograph of the club with which the German armies finish of?" wounded
soldiers. 32,000 of these were recently captured by the Italians” (Figure 5). The two
paragraphs directly below this spiked club explain that German soldiers’ adoption of such
brutal methods in battle is a model, in miniature, of what a threat they are to the
continued existence of civilization. This impression is strengthened by the following
simile used to describe the Huns’ weapon: “The club pictured above. . .might be the
weapon of a savage cave man of five thousand years ago.” The ad thus suggests that the
German armies, if left unchecked, threaten to reduce the rest of the world to a caveman-
like state of existence. Several abstractions, or glittering generalities, serve to illustrate
what hangs in the balance. The ad demands the purchase of Liberty Bonds to “Save

Civilization, Save America, Your Own Family and Your Own Home.” Buying bonds is

27

“the most direct blow that can be struck at German military supremacy.” Ultimately,
buying bonds means “VICTORY.” Finally, the ad asserts that Americans’ purchase of
Liberty Bonds, coupled with American soldiers’ steady defeat of German soldiers, is
“America’s Answer to German Savagery.”

The second abstract portrayal of German atrocity ran twice, once in the Manistee
News-Advocate and once in the Grand Haven Daily Tribune (Figure 6). Although the two
versions are slightly different, both feature the image of a handprint and, to the left of the
handprint, the words “The Hun—His Mark!” Both versions contend that if Americans are
not militant enough in buying bonds of the Fourth Liberty Loan, the German mark will
“conquer the American dollar.” The Daily Tribune version states that every purchase of a
bond “safeguards your home, your business—all you possess, and all you hope to have.”
The ad in the Manistee News-Advocate, in contrast, closes by underscoring how
appreciative American soldiers overseas will be if bond purchasers redouble their efforts,
as well as how imperative it is for Manistee County to fill its quota of bond purchases.
The two versions of the ad appear to be sponsored by different companies local to the
respective communities, and thus the ad likely was a government ad adapted for the
purposes of different newspapers.

The second of the four themes in ads focusing on Germany, the mobilization of
the American public, inspired four ads. The earliest of these ads is an attack against
pacifism. A poem titled “THE REASON” and written in iambic pentameter and with end
rhymes, it appeared on the front page of the Manistee News-Advocate on 3 May 1917.
The poem’s speaker gives “Mr. Pacifist” permission to oppose U.S. involvement in the

war, but points out that the very reason why one is able to preach pacifism is that

28

America’s forefathers fought for freedom of speech. The poem thus dismisses any
argument for pacifism as groundless and, by extension, encourages readers to support
America’s involvement in the war. On the front page of its issue of 4 October 1917, the
News Advocate ran a second ad that fits the theme of mobilizing the American public.
Sponsored by the Manistee County Savings Bank, it lauds saving money as patriotic and
scores “the man who wastes” as “an enemy of his country.”

The Adrian Daily Telegram ran the third ad. This ad calls on Americans to help
root out German spies in the United States by serving in the American Defense Society.
The title reads: “TO WIN THIS WAR GERMAN SPIES MUST BE JAILED[.] WILL
YOU HELP PUT THEM IN JAIL?” To serve in the American Defense Society, the ad
goes on to assert, is to “stand by the man at the front.” Occupying the bottom half of the
ad are a list of the society’s advisory board members and a membership form, to be
mailed with a check in the appropriate amount, depending on the level of membership
desired. The final of the four ads, which appeared in the Three Rivers Daily Commercial
on 24 June 1918, is directed at American advertisers.40 It begins with the contention that
“Germany is gloating over what it is pleased to term ‘a disastrous decrease in American
advertising.”’ For evidence of this claim, it quotes two paragraphs from an editorial in the
Berlin T ageblatt. In this passage, the writer argues that if America—which it terms “the
despised Yankee nation”—intends to “win the war and force Germans out of foreign
markets,” it would do well to increase the extent of its local and foreign advertising, as

Germany has done to advantageous effect.

29

Ads Stressing Fuel Conservation

It was not enough simply to hoard resources in short supply. That is a message
repeated over and over in calls for conversation by both the CPI and local businesses—
which the CPI’s Division of Advertising encouraged to connect their products to the
national cause of winning the war.41 Rather, one needed to use resources wisely, as
efficiently and with as little waste as possible. This logic was applied to every resource
made scarce by war conditions, from food to fuel to the time spent washing clothes to the
money spent on the clothes in the first place.42

In a series of pamphlets and ads disseminated through the print media, the US.
Fuel Administration made exacting requests of the public concerning acceptable levels of
fuel consumption, often including specific figures as to the amount of fuel these measures
would save. A 1918 pamphlet titled Use and Conservation of Natural Gas, for instance,
advised readers, “The 2,000,000 housekeepers in the United States who use natural gas
could save at least $36,000,000 worth of gas annually if their cooking appliances were

d.”"3 Another pamphlet, titled Lessons in Coal Saving, observed,

properly adjuste
“Violently boiling water is no hotter than water just boiling. Use simmering burner when
possible.”44

If the ads in this sample dealing with fuel conservation are any measure, local
businesses were glad to promote the Fuel Administration’s aims. All six Michigan
newspapers canied ads whose sponsors—for the most part utility and house-fumishing
companies—linked their services or products with the government’s fuel conservation

program. About 15 ads stress the need to conserve fuel. According to these ads, every

measure taken to conserve the scarce commodity of coal is a sign that one is doing his or

30

her bit, being a “true patriot” or otherwise abiding by the slogan “Save and Win the
War.” Ads thus urge housewives to use electrical appliances and oil ranges and cookers
whenever possible. Nor were individual American citizens the sole targets of these ads;
places of business also were asked to help conserve fuel. In early 1918, the government
issued a fuel conservation order, remarked on by one ad in this sample, requiring that
businesses abstain from lighting their store windows and signs on Thursday and Sunday
nights. These were to be “lightless nights?“ During the previous month, National Fuel
Administrator Harry Garfield had ordered all stores in the portion of the United States
east of the Mississippi River to remain closed for a five-day stretch.

The theme of the previous two ads is continued in an additional 28 among all six
papers. In these ads, businesses inform their customers of changes in their hours of
operation and other aspects of their services forced by the latest government mandates
aimed at resource conservation. For instance, in an ad in the Petoskey Evening News on
22 August 1918, an automobile insurance company informs readers, “Automobile
Factories Will Turn to Munition Plants BY JANUARY 15‘, 1919.” Another case in point
is the following message on the front page of many issues of the Manistee News-
Advocate during the fall and winter of 1918: “This newspaper has enlisted with the
Government in the cause of America for the period of the war.” Lastly, also in the News-
Advocate (on 24 January 1918), a local grocer informed patrons, “The government has
asked all retail grocers to open and close their places of business at specified hours.” The
Three Rivers Daily Commercial was alone in publishing no ads of this kind.

A theme of many ads is that no fuel-saving tip is too trivial; every effort adds up

little by little. For instance, an ad in the Adrian Daily Telegram during the onset of winter

31

in 1917 requests that families reduce their burning of coal by never letting the
temperature inside their homes exceed 68 degrees. Another ad from the Daily Telegram
in late October of that same year instructs homeowners on how to better insulate their
attics so that less heat escapes during the fall and winter and thus less coal is burned. The
ad attributes this recommendation that attics be better insulated, which was issued by the
National Committee on Coal Conservation, to “Uncle Sam”: The ad’s title reads, “Uncle
Sam tells you how to SAVE COAL.”46

Electrical companies used several appeals to promote the use of electricity. First,
they often directed their messages at housewives. A common strategy was to convince
housewives that daily chores take less time with electricity, leaving more time for “war-
time duties” such as war jobs, volunteer work for the Red Cross and maintaining war
gardens. Second, electrical companies evidently tried to dispel doubts on the part of
potential patrons as to the viability of using electricity. For instance, the presence of
electrical outlets in the home was still something of a novelty——two ads in the Three
Rivers Daily Commercial sponsored by the Michigan Gas & Electric Co. assure readers
that outlets can be installed without damage to walls, woodwork or decorations.

A third approach was to represent electricity in metaphorical terms. A Michigan
Gas & Electric Co. ad from the 5 August 1918 issue of the Three Rivers Daily
Commercial describes electricity as a “helping hand” to US. armies in France, to the
problem of labor shortage in our nation and to the operation of factories, farms, railroads
and steamships. The ad represents this helping hand visually through an illustration in
which a muscled arm reaches down from the top of the frame, grasping the hand of a

soldier and helping him climb up a ravine. An array of smaller drawings shows several

32

other applications of electricity—farming, clothing, shoemaking, railroading, shipping
and manufacturing.

In its juxtaposition of “Preparedness in The Nation” with “Preparedness in The
Home,” a Monroe Gas, Light & Fuel Co. ad in the 2 Ma).l 1917 issue of the Monroe
News-Courier is perhaps the least convincing of the nineteen fuel-conservation ads. It
achieves this bizarre comparison through an illustration of a housewife saluting, with her
kitchen equipment in the background, alongside an illustration of soldiers standing at
attention (Figure 7). It then goes on to suggest that because preparedness is “the
watchword of the Nation,” having adequate kitchen equipment and being ready to
prepare food for unexpected guests is as important as ensuring the nation’s military
preparedness.

Roles of American Women

Women during WWI were uniquely suited to helping the government in its war-
related campaigns. Their role as homemakers enabled them to greatly augment the
govemment’s conservation efforts. If women were only informed as to how to maximize
“economy” in the home, the government propaganda reasoned, slight changes to their
everyday routines would go a long way toward curtailing the waste of foodstuffs, energy
in the home and the materials needed to make clothing. Moreover, the propagandists
insisted, truly patriotic women would be glad to take such conservation measures. It was
their obligation.47

As Agriculture Secretary David Houston explained it in his 5 May 1917 appeal to
the women of America:

Every ounce of food the housewife saves from being wasted in her home—all
food which she or her children produce in the garden and can or preserve—every

33

garment which care and skillfirl repair make it unnecessary to replace—all lessen ‘
that household’s draft on the already insufficient world supplies.48 Liv

So instrumental was women’s cooperation in this home conservation drive that
propagandists likened them to soldiers: “the fact that ‘food will win the war,’ and that
every woman had been drafted into the ranks of the Army of American Housewives, sank
deeply into the consciousness of every loyal American woman.” President Wilson abetted
the creation of this metaphor through his own statements about the importance of
enlisting women in the campaign. According to Wilson, “Every housewife who practices
strict economy puts herself in the ranks of those who serve the nation.”49

All six papers featured ads centering on the roles of American women in the war.
Women’s role in the home was the one stressed most often. Although some ads mention
or allude to other contributions that women were making toward winning the war, such as
holding war jobs and volunteering for the Red Cross, these other roles are peripheral to
the homemaker role.50

Only one of the approximately 15 ads that focus on American women is an
exception to this rule. This outlier—an ad for Bliss-Alger College in Saginaw,
Michigan—claims, “Uncle Sam Wants Business Women.”5 1 The ad outlines several
types of positions that need to be filled: “Thousands of Stenographers, Bookkeepers, and
Typists Needed.” It goes on to quote a salary range (“$1,000 to $1,200 Offered First
Year”) and to describe these job opportunities as presenting an “Unusual Opportunity for
Advancement.” The two papers to carry this ad, the Manistee News-Advocate and the
Petoskey Evening News, ran it once and 15 times, respectively, during the late summer
and early fall of 1918. This lone appeal to the college- and business-minded among

America’s women is the exact opposite of the other twelve ads fixing on American

34

women, whose thrust is affirrning women’s roles as mothers, conscientious cooks and
housekeepers.

The first subset within the larger category of ads focusing on women is predicated
on such traditional female roles. Ads in this subcategory purport to know what “the
American woman” wants most. For instance, an ad for Mazola cooking oil in the
Petoskey Evening News on 31 January 1918 begins, “The American woman demands
quality—even when she thinks most about economy.” The thrust of this ad is that while
Mazola helps the “thrifty housewife” observe economy while cooking, since “not a drop
of Mazola is wasted,” it also satisfies her desire for a hi gh-quality cooking oil, being
purer and more wholesome than butter, lard or suet.

The second ad to generalize about American women at large is a home appliance
company’s ad in the 10 October 1917 issue of the Adrian Daily Telegram for a range
touted as catering to American women’s compulsion to practice economy. According to
this ad, “Every American Woman Demands Economy: That’s Why Every Woman in
Lenawee County Is Going to Buy a South Bend Malleable Range from J .A. Dillon, Jr.”

A third instance of an ad spelling out the desires of American women is an ad for
the Petoskey Housefumishing Company on the front page of the 13 September 1917
issue of the Petoskey paper. “Every Housekeeper Is Figuring These Days HowShe Can
Economize,” the ad begins. “That’s why this store, with its tempting offerings, continues
to be busy when the Summer season has almost gone.” The logic of this ad is that the
inexpensiveness of the store’s products helps serve the aim of economy by saving

housekeepers money.

35

Two additional ads, in the Three Rivers Daily Commercial and the Petoskey
Evening News, respectively, show this same tendency not to dictate the proper concerns
of women—which would be more tenable because it would not pose the same demands
of verifiability—but to assert, with no evidence, that they are precisely in line with the
actual concerns of “every woman.” This tendency fits the following characteristic of
propaganda found by Black: “The utilization of unverified and perhaps unverifiable
abstract nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and physical representations rather than empirical
validation to establish its truths, conclusions or impressions.”

The second subset of ads that fix on American women consists of those in which
women are described as “helping win the war” simply by fulfilling their duties to
conserve cooking materials, energy and time; to can surplus food to avoid spoilage; and
in general to carry out household tasks with as much efficiency as possible. The US.
Food Administration itself ran an ad in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 7 August 1918 in
which a woman prepares some sort of baked good using wheat substitutes.52 The written
part of the ad reads simply: “In her Wheatless Kitchen she is doing her part to help win
the war Are you doing yours? UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION.” The
Grand Haven Daily Tribune’s tribute, on the eve of Mother’s Day 1918, “To the Woman
Behind the Man Who Carries the Springfield” is the only other ad that equates women’s
sacrifices with progress toward Allied victory in the war. It calls the American mother
“the hope of the race, the hope of the world, the hope of civilization” and paints a sort of
thumbnail sketch of the typical American mother:

The woman with the streaks of gray creeping into her hair, is quiet and perhaps a

little sad faced. She may be unassuming and not inclined to push forward. She

may be doing her bit in a small way for the Red Cross, and she may give of her
small store to the Y.M.C.A. and the Knights of Columbus. She may also have

36

taken something from her bit stowed away in the bank against a rainy day to buy
Liberty Bonds. And she has never said much about it.

Sometimes the promotion of wartime roles for women was subtler and less direct.
Ads that ostensibly capitalize on the efficiency of kitchen cabinets, clothes washers and
other appliances, but which also often contain assumptions about American women, are a
case in point. Four ads follow the strategy of pointing out a product’s efficiency and then
remarking that this efficiency will better enable housewives to. conserve materials, time,
energy and money—in short, to heed President Wilson’s dictum, articulated more
explicitly in other ads, that “Home economy is the nation’s greatest need.”53 Another ad
uses a slightly different scheme for avoiding blatant platitudes about the need for women
to economize and avoid waste. In the manner of dramatic writing, it shows rather than
tells. It explains the need for help from mothers and daughters in a specific drive to can
surplus vegetables and fruits that would otherwise spoil.
Supporting America ’s Military Personnel

This section does not attempt to give a complete characterization of members of
the American military during WWI as presented in propaganda ads. Like a mosaic, this
portrait of US. military personnel is dispersed among various other themes explored in
the WWI portion of this study, and it is only when all of the WWI material is examined
from a remove that the whole picture forms; individual sections contain only the
components. Undoubtedly the main things to be said about soldiers so far is that they are
brave, selfless and acting as the saviors for nations that would otherwise succumb to the
Kaiser. But the ads examined in this section show a different side to these dauntless

defenders of democracy. The approximately 55 ads described here show that sometimes

'37

the strategy was to portray soldiers and sailors (none of the ads focuses on marines) as
vulnerable and dependent on the support of their families.

It may be that propagandists were inclined to attribute this sense of vulnerability
to servicemen partly because of the unprecedented nature of fighting conditions. As Creel

(1920) observes, “for the first time in our history, soldiers of the United States were

sailing to fight in a foreign land, leaving families three thousand miles behind them.”54

They needed to be comforted, reminded of home and sent trinkets with which to pass the
time and keep their minds off their trying circumstances. Writing “cheerful letters” to

relatives in the armed forces was particularly important in keeping up their morale,

according to the CPI’s suggestions to advertisers.55

No ad better illustrates this side to the characterization of servicemen than one in
the Manistee News-Advocate’s 15 November 1917 issue soliciting contributions to a fund
for members of the military, and containing the following'poem:

Today Manistee Soldier and Sailor
Boys Everywhere,
Are looking and watching us back home—
What are they saying?
This is it—
“What are you people doing for us,
We have left our good homes,
Our mother and father—our friends
For this life of a soldier—
It’s a hard life—
But we will make the best of it
If you help—”
If we help?
That is—Make their life easier by giving them the
things the “Y” stands for—
A bit of home—
A warm room—
A bright light—
A good magazine—
A bit of music—

38

A bit of companionship-—

A bit of some one [sic] who cares—

That ’3 what the boys want

That '3 what the “Y" gives and does—

Give and give freely—gladly.

If you think you can’t afford it—

just look across to Europe and imagine yourself over there.
Call up one of the “Y” canvassers and

give her your bit or sign the following...

Other advertisers, hawking a myriad of products—including toiletries, Kodak
film, laundry soap, foot powder, chewing gum, smoking tobacco, beverages, fountain
pens, picture frames, bank accounts, popular music, Christmas cards and gifts, and even
subscriptions to the very papers in which the ads appeared—echoed the points in this
poem. Above all, most of these ads stressed that such amenities would give military
members peace of mind, or simply a sense of distraction or a reminder of loved ones back
home, in an otherwise harsh environment.

Food Production as a Form of Patriotism

That World War I saw a dire food shortage—the “most serious food situation the
world has ever faced,” according to one ad—placed intense pressures on American
farmers, as well as on anyone with enough land to plant a “war garden,” to make their
fields produce as much as possible.56 Indeed, while lauding agricultural production as
patriotic, this same ad admits, “The Michigan farrn-business man is now being put to the
test.”57 Ads portrayed American farmers as vital to feeding not only the American
population, nor even merely the US. military oversees, but millions upon millions of
soldiers from our Allies as well. This notion, as with so many in WW1 propaganda ads in
general, derived directly from President Wilson’s message to American farmers that they

needed to feed America as well as “a large portion of the people of Europe.”58

39

Ads, pamphlets and other forms of propaganda helpfully provided farmers and
housewives with exact figures on the number of Allied fighters dependent on the United
States for food and how much it cost to feed them each day.59 The logical next step,
however—figures as to how much each farmer would need to produce to do his or her
share toward filling this deficit—never appears in the newspaper ads examined here.
Perhaps the propagandists deliberately avoided setting parameters for the food production
of individual farms, for fear that farmers who reached such a threshold would then feel
that they could slack off. Instead, farmers were to be driven ever harder and left to
imagine that their efforts still were not good enough.

On 9 May 1917, President Wilson created the US. Food Administration, a
temporary organization charged with meeting the food supply emergency. Herbert
Hoover headed the organization, which was composed entirely of volunteers. One
function of the Food Administration has been discussed already: to eliminate waste and
out food consumption. Ads previously examined illustrate the sort of appeals—almost
exclusively directed toward housewives—used in urging readers to prevent the
squandering of food. The only other thing worth noting here is that Hoover opted to make
compliance voluntary. He did not believe that Americans would buy into a compulsory
rationing program such as existed in many European countries. “Although Americans can
be led to make great sacrifices,” Hoover pronounced, “they do not like to be driven.”60
The CPI’s Division of Advertising provided publicity for the campaigns of both the Food
Administration and the Department of Agriculture.61

Another major objective of the Food Administration was to stimulate farm

production. Hoover enabled farmers to increase production through incentive prices for

40

farm products and the maintenance of farmers’ labor and equipment. But most
importantly, in light of the ads examined in this section, the Food Administration
appealed to farmers’ sense of patriotism.62 Farm labor was a particularly acute problem—
its shortage was one of the biggest barriers to greater increases in farm production, a
theme reflected in the appeals of some of the ads.63

Interestingly, the ads in this sample that were created as part of the Food
Administration’s campaign focus predominantly on food production as opposed to the
elimination of waste. A chief theme of these ads, Allied fighters’ dependence on the
enterprise of American farmers, is perhaps best illustrated by two ads, one sponsored by
the Food Administration and the other by the Canadian government. The former refers to
wheat, meat, fats and sugar as “the fuel for fighters.” “Victory is a Question of Stamina,”
according to this ad, which appeared in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 13 March 1918
and the Manistee News-Advocate on 11 April 1918. Similarly, the second ad, which ran
10 times in the sampled Manistee News-Advocate issues during the late summer and fall
of 1917, predicts that “the combined fighters in France and Flanders and the combined
harvesters in America will bring the Allied victory nearer.”

Approximately 30 ads from all six papers focus on the contribution of farmers and
planters of war gardens to winning the war. Although the majority of these ads were
sponsored by companies connected in some way with agricultural production, such as
milling and farm equipment companies, several ads were sponsored by banks and by
government organizations at both the state and federal level—namely the Food ‘

Preparedness Committee in Lansing and the US. Food Administration.

41

Appeals to American farmers to redouble their food production account for one-
sixth of the roughly 30 ads. While some ads name specific foods whose production must
be stepped up (“More Wheat for America and Her Allies,” “Restock the World’s
Barnyard,” “Uncle Sam Says ‘Raise More Poultry’”), others simply exhort farmers to
increase their yields in general. To comply with these demands, the ads insist, is to be
patriotic and to do “your bit” and “your duty to your country.” As an added incentive,
many of the ads point out that, in addition to being patriotic, the increasing of yields will
be profitable. Hence the following slogan coined by the Amendt Milling Company:
“Never before have the combined incentives—Patriotism and Profits—been more
harmoniously blended, or more generously repaid.”38 This appeal arises again in an ad for
fertilizer in the 12 September 1917 issue of the Daily Telegram. According to this ad, it is

The opportunity of a life-time to grow wheat at a profit. Uncle

Sam guarantees you a price above $2.00 for the 1918 crop, as well as for

the 1917 crop. It is your opportunity to make money as well as your

patriotic duty to sow every available acre with wheat.

Two ads speak metaphorically of farmers as fighters themselves. The first, in the
Daily Telegram on 9 May 1917 for the Associated Banks of Adrian, is titled “Enlist For
God and America, Mr. Farmer!” The second takes the form of a celebratory poem in the
Manistee News-Advocate on 10 May 1917 titled “The Farm and Garden Brigade.” It
contends that while the actual fighting of our men overseas is vital,

But back of their labors we find our good neighbors

Without whom no war could be made,
The plowers and growers, the reapers and sowers,
The farm and the garden brigade.

One ad suggests that, just as each county was expected to fill a certain quota of

Liberty Bond sales, there was also competition among counties when it came to food

42

production. A Hankey Milling Co., Inc. ad in the 3 May 1917 issue of the Petoskey
Evening News begins: “FARMERS, ATTENTION! The soldiers on the firing line and
civilians at home depend on you for food supplies. Show the people that Emmet County
is ‘alive to the situation.’”39

A final appeal used in ads encouraging greater food production was to readers’
sense of fear as to the consequences of failing to produce to their farms’ utmost.
Interestingly, only one ad employed this potentially powerful tactic. An ad in the 26
September 1917 Petoskey Evening News, written by a member of former President
Theodore Roosevelt’s Rural Life Commission, warns that “[w]e cannot think of losing
this war. We cannot run the risk of an agriculture controlled by a headstrong, unmoral
state, such as would be imposed on us if Prussia were to succeed.”

The importance of growing war gardens, another variation on the theme of
stepping up food production, appeared in ads in only two of the six newspapers, the
Manistee News-Advocate and the Monroe News-Courier. Ads given over to this theme
account for only about one-fifth of the ads dealing with food production. One of these
six, a simple ad for garden seeds titled “Now is the time to Plant Your War Garden,”
appeared in the News-Courier on 15 May 1918. The notion that fulfilling patriotic duties
at home can be interchangeable with fighting in the war reappears in the remaining five
ads. For instance,an ad for seeds on 12 April 1917 begins, “We Can’t All Fight[.] We
can, however, nearly all grow something in the food line, and whatever we produce to

feed ourselves will be just so much added to the general food supply.” The diction

sometimes used to describe war gardens further supports this interchangeability—a small

43

ad in the masthead of the News-Advocate’s issue of 12 April 1917 instructs readers,
“America Needs Food; Enlist Your Vacant Lot as a War Garden.”
What Patriotism is

The portrayal of patriotism is one of the few themes in World War I propaganda
that is difficult to discuss as a discrete entity, in complete isolation from other
propagandistic themes. Earlier discussions of fuel conservation, food production and the
roles of women have shown that these other themes were often linked with various
conceptions of the meaning of patriotism. Examples include bank ads that describe
people who save money as patriotic and those who waste it as traitors; ads for electrical
appliances that help housewives show patriotism by saving coal; and ads that ask farmers
to be patriotic by increasing their production of foods needed by US. and Allied tr00ps.

This sense of diffusion about the theme of patriotism finds support in Vaughn’s
(1980) assessment of the CPI’s mission. According to Vaughn, although advocating
patriotism was an integral part of the CPl’s work, the organization’s conception of
patriotism was multifaceted—among its features were the themes evident in this sample:
resource conservation, the roles of American women and the Liberty Loan campaigns.
The CPI promoted, and encouraged firms that advertised in newspapers to promote, the
notion that participating in these various campaigns was part of being a patriotic
American citizen. In short, the propagandists were long on specific deeds that Americans
were to carry out to be patriotic but short on explanations as to what such deeds added up

to—in other words, how one defines patriotism."4

44

In spite of the tendency for patriotism to dovetail with other themes, a distinct
group of ads can nonetheless be said to treat patriotism as the dominant theme. Among
the six papers, about 25 ads lend patriotism this dominance.

These ads offer numerous suggestions as to how readers can show their
patriotism, the most obvious of which is displaying the American flag. The WWI sample
contains one ad directly encouraging readers to fly the flag. It, was sponsored by a store
claiming to have “a most excellent stock of flags” and it ran in the Manistee News-
Advocate on 5 April 1917. Occupying he top half of the ad is a drawing of two American
flags pointing toward opposite edges of the page, their masts croSsed in the shape of an
X. In the V of empty space above the spot where the flags’ masts converge is the message
“Unfurl Old Glory.” Beneath the two flags is the following set of instructions:

Display The Flag
In these stin'ing times with our country on the verge of entering the most
sanguinary war the world has ever seen, it behooves every man, woman and child
to display their patriotism and loyalty on every possible occasion.
And there is no better way of doing this than unfurling “Old

Glory” over your home or place of business.

We have a most excellent stock of flags, silk or cotton materials—all
sizes—at any price you desire to pay.
The Racket

A second ad explains why the sense of patriotism produced by waving the flag is
important. “Do you realize the ipmortance [sic] of showing your loyalty, your whole-
hearted endorsement of the government?” asks this ad in the Petoskey Evening News on 4
April 1918. It continues, “Every flag flown adds to the enthusiasm and to the success
with which our war work is dispatched.” According to this logic, every additional

American flag displayed hastens Allied victory.

The two patriotic appeals examined above represent attempts to rally, goad or

45

otherwise convince readers to accept propagandistic programs. In contrast, one finds in
the next group of ads attempts not at persuasion but rather at provocation. Instead of
urging readers to be patriotic, loyal American citizens who love their flag and are
committed to helping their government, ads in this group call into question readers’
patriotism, their loyalty to their flag and their country and their cooperation with the
govemment’s war drives. In short, the previous ads sought to inspire and encourage
readers, but these ads seek to challenge readers to prove their fortitude and frighten them
into line.

The clearest example of such calling into question is an ad in the Manistee News-
Advocate on 14 June 1917 titled “Are You a Patriotic American Citizen?,” which
declares it “time to prove whether you are, or are not, a patriotic American citizen”
(Figure 8). The visual component of the ad is an illustration at the top in which an eagle
perches, wings spread, on a white shield with a cross in its center. In addition to being the
eagle’s perch, the shield serves as the juncture of six American flags, not yet unfurled,
that protrude to both sides, three of them to the right and three to the left. Like a setting
sun winking the horizon, all but roughly the bottom one-third of a gray circle dotted with
stars is visible behind the eagle, the bottom portion being behind the shield. Five
paragraphs of text comprise the portion of the ad below the drawing—the first sentence
of which was quoted above, and the rest of which reads:

Some men are patriotic but not yet American citizens; they love this land,

as intensely as if they had been born here. Some men are American

citizens who are not patriotic; they’re obstructing, rather than helping the

nation at this time. There’s a third group who are neither patriotic nor

American; we’ll leave them out.

Now, it isn’t fair for any of us to question the quality of another

man’s patriotism; some may fight for the country on land or sea or in the
air. Some may farm for the country, and for the benefit of a starving

46

world. Some may finance the country, by the use of money. And many

others, who are able to do none of these, can serve in factory, store, office,

home; can give of time and labor and subscriptions to the Red Cross work;

there are many ways of doing your part.

Nobody has a right to say that you are not fully doing it; you have
to judge of that for yourself. We raise the question; it’s a question each of
us should ask himself--

Am I a patriotic American citizen?

This is the sort of ad that Black’s conception of “in-groups” and “out-groups” was
made for. It identifies three groups of people in America—patriotic American citizens,
foreigners who are nevertheless patriotic and those in America who are neither citizens
nor patriots (German spies, perhaps? The speaker refers to them as little as possible, as if
repelled). Further, the ad clearly indicates which of the three are in-groups and which are
out—groups. Though reticent about the out-group, the speaker expounds somewhat on the
other two. The speaker operationally defines patriotic foreigners who are not yet
Americans as people who “love this land, as intensely as if they were born here.” No
operational definition is given for patriotic American citizens, but the speaker implies
that a vital part of being one is “doing your part” to help win the war. Moreover, that the
question of whether or not one is a patriotic American citizen is posed not once but three
times—one time prominently in the title—implies that it is the weightiest of all the
questions raised by the ad. Thus, the in-group composed of patriotic American citizens is
the most desirable and the one with which readers should identify, the second in-group is
well-intentioned and the third is unmentionable and unworthy of consideration.

The tone of the ad is somewhat subdued—it does not go to great lengths to vilify
the out-group, and it stresses that one can be a patriotic American citizen in many ways,

and that no one has the right to question whether another person is doing enough—but it

is nonetheless one of challenge. The final thing to note about the ad is that it was

47

sponsored not by the government but by a local business, Harry J. Aarons: “The Home of
Hart Schaffner & Marx Clothes.” Consequently, this ad is also a model of the degree to
which advertisers at large contributed to the govemment’s own efforts in the
dissemination of propaganda during World War I.

Another ad in the same vein had appeared in the News-Advocate two months
earlier, on the front page of the 5 April 1917 issue. This time, the call for Americans to
prove their patriotism and citizenship came from a local organization; the ad was issued
by the Manistee Board of Commerce. By its nature, the ad thus also has a more local
character than the previous one, which spoke of Americans as a whole without making
distinctions between different communities. Indeed, its title is “Appeal to Citizens of
Manistee.” Two paragraphs of text comprise the remainder of the ad:

War having been declared and a call to arms issued, the people of the
United States are once more to undergo the crucial test of citizenship and
determine whether they are still competent to protect themselves and really
entitled to the rights and privileges of a free government. In this test each man
will be judged according to his service. In a large measure, the duration and
success of this undertaking will depend upon the loyalty and patriotism of the
people and their willingness to perform such services and make such sacrifices as
the exigencies of war demand. In times of great national peril there should be no
unequal distribution of the burdens, no favoritism, no slackers, and no attempt to
impose on each other or profit from the nation in her distress. Every citizen has a
task to perform for his country and should take pride in its accomplishment.

Therefore, the Manistee Board of Commerce appeals to every citizen to
fully recognize his duties and obligations as an American citizen and
ungrudgingly aid and support the president and others charged with the duty of
leadership and unite as one man in the nation’s defense; to display the national
colors as a symbol and patriotism and declaration of his intention to do his best to
uphold the honor and dignity of the nation and preserve its government and
institutions inviolate.

Although the third ad under study also represents this method of creating in- and
out-groups, it uses the method only marginally. As a result, it suggests that perhaps

propagandists sometimes thought that in- and out-groups were best used sparingly. Aside

48

from the closing line “Be an American through and through,” this ad—in the Monroe
News-Courier on 2 May 1917 and issued by the Monroe Chamber of Commerce—
consists of a simple catalogue of patriotic measures that the National Defense Committee
had asked all Americans to take, such as cultivating war gardens, saving money and
seeding as much land as possible.“

Four additional ads throughout the World War I period (three of them in the
Manistee News-Advocate and the remaining one in the Monroe News-Courier) followed
this pattern of creating in- and out-groups in the course of questioning readers’ patriotism
and citizenship.

The remaining 13 ads on the subject of patriotism fall into a third category: those
that elaborate on familiar definitions of patriotism. A case in point is an ad for the
Manistee County Savings Bank, which expands on previous conceptions of patriotism to
anive at one that includes the traits that compel one to open a savings account. Titled “If
You Would Be Patriotic Save Money Regularly,” it ran in the Manistee News-Advocate
on 17 May 1917. According to this ad, saving money is patriotic because

The thrifi of its citizens is a nation’s greatest strength in time of peace or war.

Huge sums will be needed to carry out agricultural, industrial and commercial

plans during war-time and in the re-building period that follows the restoration of

peace.

This money will have to be provided largely out of the savings of the American
people.

Are you preparing to do your part by accumulating systematically in a savings
account now?

If not, let’s talk the matter over today.

An ad for the Lenawee County Savings Bank, which ran in the Adrian Daily

49

Telegram on 28 March 1917, uses exactly the same line of reasoning, though worded
differently. Another Manistee County Savings Bank ad, on the front page of the News-
Advocate on 28 June 1917, reiterates that “To Be Thrifty Is To Be Patriotic,” but asks
readers to revise their view of thrift. “THRIFT means more than simply saving money. It
means earning more by greater personal efficiency and economizing more by making
every dollar go as far as possible in purchasing things of greatest need.”

A third ad, from the 25 October 1917 issue of the News-Advocate, asks, “Be
Patriotic: sign your country’s pledge to save food,” and includes an actual food pledge
card to be cut out and mailed to the US. Food Administrator.66

Other ads in this third group variously peddle music, boys’ and men’s clothes and
candy as patriotic.

Another way to be patriotic, according to three ads, was to observe special
occasions set aside in recognition of some ideal related to the war. Thus, a Lenawee
County Savings Bank ad in the Daily Telegram explains the absence of its usual ad by
reminding readers that President Wilson had declared that day (24 October 1917)
“Liberty Day.” Similarly, a Liberty Loan ad in the News—Advocate on 4 October 1917
begins, “AMERICANS, LET US MAKE IT GLORY MONTH.” Lastly, another ad in the
News-Advocate, on 22 November 1917, declares, “There has never been so much to be
thankful for.” The initial year of US. involvement in the World War, this ad argues, had
enabled Americans to “appreciate our blessings in greater measure than ever before.”

A subtler variation of this redefinition of patriotism consists of ads in which a
department store announces its “‘Made-in-America’ Week” sales events. Two such ads

(one of which was run twice) appeared in the Petoskey Evening News during the spring of

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1917. All three were full-page ads sponsored by Fochtman’s Department Store, which
saw the sales event as proof that it was itself patriotic: “This Store Answers the Call of
the Nation to Keep the Factory Fires Burning by Inaugurating a Store Event of Unusual
Importance.”
Keeping the American Public in Fighting Form

The previous section mentioned several ads that tout the purchase of products as
promoting patriotism. A corollary of this strategy is advertising products as helping
consumers do their bit toward winning the war. Consequently, among all six papers
during the World War I period, about 10 ads claimed that purchasing a certain product
helped hasten Allied victory by keeping Americans healthier. The logic of this appeal is
aptly summed-up in an ad for Scott’s Emulsion, a popular tonic-food of the day, in the
Three Rivers Daily Commercial on 28 October 1918. This ad asserts that “A Nation’s
Safety depends upon more than wealth or the power of its mighty guns. It rests in its
robust children and in its strong, vigorous manhood.” An earlier version of this ad ran in
the Daily Commercial’s issues of 7 October and 4 November 1918. It begins, “Fight to
Win! The Nation demands strong men—strong women and robust children. Wisdom
suggests that every proper means of safeguarding the vital forces and building up of
resistance, be utilized.”

Another variation on the theme that to keep up one’s health was to help win the
ear was directed solely at women. This variation can be found in an ad for Lydia E.
Pinkharn’s Vegetable Compound, a medicine for women’s ailments. The equation of
women with soldiers is clear from the ad’s command “ATTENTION! Sick Women” and

its illustration of a woman giving a salute. “To do your duty during these trying times,”

51

the ad asserts, “your health should be your first consideration.” The Monroe News-
Courier and the Adrian Daily Telegram carried this ad on 16 January and 18. September
1918, respectively.

Like a zoom lens zeroing on one detail of a scene, another ad takes a microcosmic
look at the need to maintain one’s health. “Kill Germs and Save Human Life,” reads the
ad line. The first three of 17 paragraphs relate the killing of germs to the war:

The menace of militarism, the horrors of war and the toll of death taken in
all frightful accidents is as nothing compared to the danger of unseen deadly
germs,

Even in war itself the toll of human life taken outright by the whizzing
bullet, the bursting shrapnel, or the piercing steel is less than that caused by the
unseen deadly germs that attack the wounded and the well alike.

Human life will be lengthened and human happiness increased when we
learn better to guard ourselves against the danger of the ever present germs of
disease.

This ad appeared five times in four of the papers during the summer and fall of
1918—the Three Rivers Daily Commercial on 24 June, the Grand Haven Daily Tribune
on 26 October and 2 November, the Petoskey Evening News on 8 August and the
Manistee News-Advocate on 5 September.

Protecting oneself and one’s loved ones by buying insurance was another way in
which Americans could do their duty, according to two ads. The first ad, for an insurance
company in Three Rivers named Showalter, suggests that just as merchantmen provide an
“insurance of safety” to unarmed vessels from the merciless U-boats, so “dear reader”
should insure against the unexpected accident by taking out an insurance policy. This ad
ran in the Daily Commercial on 26 March and 2 April 1917. Another ad, for the Grand

Haven chapter of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, informs young men

who are about to enlist that the time in which they can still take out a life insurance policy

52

is short. The title reads: “Here is Another Duty Young Man!” The Grand Haven Daily
Tribune used this ad three times in the summer of 1917, on 30 June and the 7'h and 14’h of
July.

Doing One’s Part Through Education and War Work

All but one of the papers, the Three Rivers Daily Commercial, published ads that
present the activities of pursuing a college degree and working in “essential industries”—
such as manufacturing, shipbuilding and clerical work—as ways of doing one’s part to
help hasten the end of the war. About 10 ads fall into this category.

An ad extolling college attendance as a “patriotic duty” is an apt example of
Black’s claim that propaganda relies unduly on “authority figures and spokespersons,
rather than empirical validation, to establish its truths, conclusions or impressions.” This
ad, a simple box of text without any imagery, begins with the title “YOUR PATRIOTIC
DUTY.” The rest of the ad follows:

PRESIDENT WILSON says a decline in college attendance
“would be very much against public interest.”

SECRETARY OF WAR [Newton D. ] BAKER says: “To the extent that
college men are disqualified (for army service) or are too young, their major
usefulness lies in remaining in college.”

OTHER ARMY, NAVY, NATIONAL AND STATE OFFICERS
strongly urge boys under 21 and girls to enter and stay in colleges.

College Education a Patriotic Duty

It fits for the highest service to the Country during and after the
Great War.

“THE NUMBER OF BOYS AND GIRLS ENTERING
COLLEGES THIS FALL OUGHT TO BE MUCH LARGER THAN
USUAL,” says United States Commissioner of Education Claxton.

COLLEGE PEOPLE LEAD THE WORLD MORE THAN EVER
BEFORE

Will you Lead or Follow?

You will be most patriotic by fitting yourself to take the places of
the leaders who will be lost in the war.

HILLSDALE COLLEGE
Was conspicuous in the War of 1861-65. Many of its students over

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21 have now gone to the front. Will you take their places in college. [sic]
For free catalogs and other information write to the President or

Secretary of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan

Several things become apparent when one examines this ad’s use of quotes. First,
in keeping with Black, the quotes are by high-ranking authority figures—in this case,
President Wilson, Secretary of War Baker and other “officers” in the army and navy, and
at the national and state levels. Second, and also true to Black, this reliance on quotes by
authority figures comes at the expense of empirical validation. Nowhere in the ad’s
argument does one find a shred of empirical evidence.

Lastly, the argument seems contrived when one notes the gaps in logic between
the authority-figure quotes and the conclusions regarding the importance of college
attendance. Further, this sense of contrivance often reflects Sproule’s transfer device. For
instance, although the ad states several times that attending college is patriotic, not one of
the officials quoted uses that term to describe college attendance. Wilson’s remark that a
drop in college attendance “would be very much against public interest” could be taken
entirely out of context, for all the reader knows. There are any number of reasons why a
decline in the number of college students could act against the public interest, plenty of
them bearing no relation to the war or to patriotism. The Secretary of War’s statement
regarding young men who are unable to serve in the army—that “their major usefulness
lies in remaining in college”—also could be missing its original context. Indeed, one
senses that the status of the source—as the US. Secretary of War, and thus, by extension,
a credible source on which activities best serve the war effort—is alone meant to

persuade us that attending college is patriotic. Such dependence on the public’s respect

and reverence for the source in persuading readers to accept the advertiser’s proposition

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smacks of Sproule’s transfer device—i.e., Hillsdale College is transferring the authority
of Secretary Baker to the notion that attending college is patriotic in the hope that Baker’s
authority will be enough to convince readers of this notion’s viability.

This ad appeared a total of six times in two of the papers. It ran in both the
Petoskey Evening News and the Manistee News-Advocate on the following dates: July 5’h
and 12th 1917 and 22 August 1918.

The other three ads encouraging college attendance are a good deal less tenuous
in their conclusions. Their method is to avoid any claim that going to college is patriotic
and simply point to a legitimate demand in the employment market. They mention the
same dearth of stenographers and typists in government offices used by the Bliss-Alger
College ad in urging women to pursue business careers (discussed in a previous section).
These three ads, two for Brown’s Business University and the third for the Detroit
Business University, appeared in the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Three Rivers Daily
Commercial sporadically throughout the World War I period.

Every one of the six ads encouraging Americans to work in essential industries
reflects a sense that the war had forced dramatic changes in the nature of the economy,
including an unprecedented demand for industrial production, and that it was the patriotic
duty of workers to adjust to these changes. An ad in the Manistee News-Advocate on 15
August 1918 sponsored by the United States Employment Service, for instance, calls on
every man working in industry (as opposed to serving in the military) to maximize his
efficiency by ensuring that he is “do[ing] the work he can do best.” In other words,

“[t]here must be no square pegs for round holes. .

55

Shipbuilding was among the industries where workers were in great demand. The
American International Shipbuilding Corporation ran an ad in the Grand Haven and
Manistee papers on January 12 and 17 1918, respectively, that outline the need for “an
Industrial Army Corps many thousands strong” to serve as erectors, bolters, riveters,
caulkers, pipe fitters, machinists, carpenters and so forth on steel ships.

Another, related appeal focused not on specific industries but on business at large.
Thus, the final two ads in this group use the slogans “Business Must Continue” and
“Don’t Forget Business!” It was necessary to keep business going as usual, these ads
reason, because the taxes from business pay for the expense of war. The first of these two
was a jewelers’ ad in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 23 May 1917; the second, a brief
argumentative piece attributed simply to one Phil A. Grau, in the Monroe News-Courier
on 18 July 1917.

Enlisting in the “Army of Clothing, Hats, Caps and Furnishing Buyers”

In her study of visual prOpaganda in the Ladies ’ Home Journal between April
1917 and November 1918, Joanne Karetzky makes a revealing point about the changes in
Americans’ understanding of thrift forced by the serious shortages of fuel, food, rubber,
manufacturing materials and man- and womanpower. “Once war had been declared,”
Karetzky observes,

it was no longer enough to present an item attractively; it was also necessary to

prove how the product (or its manufacturer) contributed to the war effort.

Therefore, the theme of ‘thrift’ is repeated in advertisements throughout the war

years, often in the most unlikely of places."7

Advertisers in this sample similarly marketed everything from soap to gas ranges

to automobile tires to winter blankets as helping hands, so to speak, in Americans’ efforts

to conserve. About 90 such ads appeared among all six papers throughout the World War

56

I period. Through these ads, a myriad of companies explain how their stoves save gas;
their laundry detergents, time and labor; their breakfast beverages, sugar and fibers; their
kitchen cabinets, food and unnecessary steps; their tires, otherwise wasted rubber; and
their clothes, the scarce commodity of money.

Another theme is that buying merchandise of high quality, even if doing so does
not, initially, seem much like thrift, saves considerable money over time. A department
store ad in the Monroe News-Courier on 16 May 1917 speaks metaphorically of those
who buy merchandise before prices increase as joining “the Army of Clothing[,] Hats,
Caps and Furnishing Buyers.”

As if to suggest that this sort of hyperbole eventually wore thin—and that some
advertisers believed the only way to catch customers’ attention any longer was to
contradict it—the Detroit Edison Co. wryly admitted, “We do not expect to Win The War
by selling you an Electric Heater.” The ad continues:

We are selling these heaters on the same basis that we sold them a year
ago.

They add just a tinge of comfort on these cold-warm days when the
furnace is out.

They will make the bath room comfortable when you take your weekly

Saturday night plunge.

They will warm your shins after you have taken off your “heavies.”
The purchase price is reasonable and the operation cost is reasonable.
Call at our office and look them over.

This ad ran in the Monroe News-Courier on 27 March 1918.

Clothing stores paid for 26 ads among the six papers stressing the economy of
their clothing fashions. These ads assert that the stores are helping to win the war by

selling good quality, durable garments. Recall the rationale that “true economy” in

spending means saving money in the long run. Stores that touted their clothes as likely to

57

last longer than run-of-the-mill clothes invoked this rationale unfailingly. Buying longer-
lasting clothes, these ads contend, would help readers conserve money—and of course,
conservation of everything possible, including money, was the watchword. The logical
conclusion to be drawn from these premises is that people who bought clothes advertised
as being economical were “true patriots.”

Economy is also the thrust of another category of ads. These ads, which appeared
during the winter of 1917, stress the need for people to confine their Christmas gift
purchases to “useful” and “practical” things and to do their Christmas shopping early this
year, both in the name of wartime economy. The reasoning behind restricting Christmas
gifts to practical items was that in this time of crisis, spending money on frivolous things
was out of the question (Some ads even called it nothing short of treason). As to buying
early, various ads gave a number of explanations. A common one is that the costs of gift
items would increase as Christmas drew closer, and consequently if one bought early one
would be more sparing of money. But in fact, this imperative was based on a request by
the federal government that people shop early to avoid traffic congestion, and thus

1.68 All six papers carried ads of this sort, which total 39.

needlessly wasted fue
Letting Dollars be Patriots: The War Savings Stamps Campaigns

Ads promoting the War Savings Stamps campaigns were among the most
abundant of any type of war propaganda, with about 100 different ads—and many more
than that if one counts the repeats—appearing among the six papers during the World
War I period. They use several of the appeals apparent in other ads examined thus far,

including the equation of buying W.S.S. with being patriotic, with joining the troops in

combating the Kaiser or with protecting American and Allied soldiers. Even so, the

58

 

majority of the W.S.S. ads are simple affairs that forego these or any other propagandistic

appeals. Instead, many contain simply the message that one should “Buy War Savings
Stamps.” More often, however (in 54 of the total of 100 ads), they are even simpler than
that, consisting of nothing more than the W.S.S. logo (Figure 9). It is as if the
propagandists believed that publicity alone, without any attempt at persuasion, were
enough to compel readers to buy the stamps. It was, after all (as ad upon ad reminded
readers) their “patriotic duty.”

The use of personification figures importantly in several campaigns, including
those for W.S.S., Liberty Bonds and food conservation. In the W.S.S. ads, the most
common way of using personification is to portray dollars spent on stamps as “patriots”
or soldiers. An ad issued by the National War Savings Committee (and run in the Grand
Haven Daily Tribune on 9 March 1918 and the Monroe Evening News on 26 June 1918)
begins, “Let Your Dollars Be Patriots!” According to this ad, there exist three classes of
dollars. The first type, patriotic dollars, seems to be the most desirable. Further, the use of
the word “let” in the above quote conveys the sense that being patriotic is the first instinct
of every dollar, and that it is only the pettiness of some human beings that makes some
dollars stray from this noble path. The two remaining, undesirable types of dollars are
described in the ad’s concluding paragraph: “Idle dollars are SLACKER dollars, but
dollars spent for unnecessary articles, the production of which require labor and materials
which the government needs to save the lives of our fighting men, are TRAITOR
dollars.”

Slacker dollars, of course, require slacker owners. Hence an ad in the Three

Rivers Daily Commercial on 1 July 1918 announcing a “Patriotic Meeting,” the aim of

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which will be to determine the reason why Three Rivers had failed to meet its War
Savings Stamps quota—i.e., who among the city’s population “should be placed in the
patriotic class and who should go in the slacker class and reported to Federal
Authorities.” Another condemnation of hoarders took the form of an ad in the Grand
Haven Daily Tribune on 20 April 1918 titled “The Treason of Hidden Gold!” It argues
that those who hide gold may as well be “wishing for American defeat.” Three firrther
ads, in as many papers, continue this theme that participation in W.S.S. campaigns should
go unquestioned, and that those who failed to take part were to be ostracized. Seventeen
ads use glittering generalities such as “The Plain Duty of Every American,” “every loyal
American,” “A Country worth fighting for is a Country worth saving for,” “War Savers
are Life Savers” and “YOU can put 25 cents to work for Uncle Sam” to describe what it
meant to buy stamps.6o

A second example of the use of personification is a full-page ad in the Petoskey
Evening News on 11 April 1918. It describes W.S.S., Liberty Bonds and Thrift Stamps as
if they were soldiers in the war (Note that although the following quote does not refer
directly to W.S.S., they are mentioned earlier in the ad; for a full copy, see Figure 10):

The Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds you buy in this campaign will fight

on every front. It will munition the guns of Britain, feed the soldiers of

Belgium, strengthen the magnificiant [sic] army of the fighters of France,

hold the lines of the Italians in Italy, and supply the American army with

all of its needs for victory.

Wherever the German strikes, he will find an Americen [sic]

Thrift Stamp and the American Liberty Bond. Your bond and my bond

will be resisting him, so buy more Thrift Stamps and Bonds, and then

more stamps and Bonds, as they are the badge of a true American.

Also in the Evening News was an ad that asks, “Is Your Money Fighting for Your

Country—or Is It Fighting for the Kaiser? United States Thrift Stamps Save Lives and

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Shorten the War!!!” This ad appeared in the Evening News issues of June 6th and 13th
1918 and 22 August 1918.

Other ads stop short of personification in their use of figurative language. Rather
than speaking of inanimate objects (as with dollars and stamps in the previous examples)
as people, they refer to ordinary Americans as belonging to an army, even though they
were not doing any fighting. One such ad depicts a vast group of men, women and
children lining up before a booth labeled “BUY W.S.S. HERE” (Figure 11). This ad ran
in the Manistee News-Advocate on 20 June 1918 to bolster support for a massive W.S.S.-
buying spree to be held eight days later. June 28’“, according to this ad, was to be
“National War Savings Day,” the day on which the public would “[e]nlist as a war saver
in the great ‘army that stays at home’—the second line of defense behind our boys in the
first line trenches.” Another ad for National War Savings Day, in the Adrian Daily
Telegram on 26 June 1918, begins with the title “Every Family a Family of Fighters!”

An ad titled “Buy War Saving Stamps!”70 in the 14 and 21 February, 1918, issues
of the Petoskey Evening News is remarkable not only for implying that purchasers of War
Savings Stamps belong to an army, but also for its treatment of history. Its selective
discussion of some of the contributions of presidents Washington, Lincoln and Wilson
gives it a claim for propaganda according to Black’s fifth characteristic of propaganda (A
time perspective characterized by an overemphasis or underemphasis on the past, present,
or future as disconnected periods rather than a demonstrated consciousness of time flow):

GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY, GAVE

US THIS REPUBLIC; the Great Lincoln from ‘61 to ‘65 preserved it; President

Wilson, with the boys behind the guns, and you and I with our cash will win this

war for Democracy and perpetuate this Republic.

We cannot all join the colors to go forth and fight for our country and our
flag. But we all can buy United States War Saving Stamps.

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Yet another ad implies that to buy War Savings Stamps is to engage in battle with
the German enemies. “Halt The Hun,” reads the title of this ad in the Manistee News-
Advocate on 6 June 1918. The ad. continues, “Provide the boys with the things they need
to make short work of him. . .[These things] cost money—hunks of it.” Seven other ads,
though not expressing it as blatantly, similarly suggest that W.S.S. buyers were battling
the Huns.

To “Save and Serve”: Helping Uncle Sam by Doing Without Non-Essentials

Just as propaganda encouraged Americans to find employment in essential
industries, so it also urged consumers to confine their purchases to essential goods.
Indeed, according to a Monroe State Savings Bank ad in the Monroe Evening News on 25
September 1918, the government even forbade banks to issue loans for non-essentials.
While such measures likely would have proved an effective deterrent to larger purchases,
Americans were still free to spend their pocket change as they wished. Perhaps because
of this freedom, a total of about 50 ads in all of the papers throughout the World War I
period condemned the purchase of non-essentials, no matter how trivial, as wasteful
spending. Some ads went even further than that, calling spendthrifts traitors to America.
Thus, the one ad suggesting that readers take a “much-needed vacation” from war
preparation stands out in stark contrast.”

Thirty-nine of the 50 ads devoted to the theme of saving money during wartime
are for banks encouraging readers to either deposit money systematically into a savings
account or begin a thrift club account. According to these ads, people who save
systematically are showing their patriotism, letting their dollars fight and being “loyal,”

“true” and “good” Americans. Perhaps in an effort to bolster the public’s trust in banks,

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Adrian’s Lenawee County Savings Bank ran two ads devoted to showing how prepared
the bank was for the challenges posed by the Great War—how “Old reliable,
conservative, safe; always ready to perform a personal service for our customers and a
patriotic service for the country” it was, according to one of the ads.72

The antitheses of the saintly savers, the slackers, are the main subject of another
three ads (in addition to the 39 ads pushing savings account deposits). The dominant
theme in these ads is that being a slacker is to be averted at all costs. “A Wise Man Says,”
begins an ad for the Lenawee County Savings Bank in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 27
June 1917, “‘Extravagance rots character; train youth away from it.” Another Lenawee
bank ad in similar vein ran in the Daily Telegram on 18 September 1918. This ad implies
that anything running counter to the bank’s efforts to assist the government in its
financial program (as, of course, failing to open a savings account would do) reflects
selfishness on the part of those responsible. The entire ad reads as follows:

All Selfish Motives must be put down—lost sight of—until we have won the

war. The above was the key-note of the session of 150 bankers last week in

Adrian. These men formed Group 9 of the Michigan Bankers’ Association: and

their patriotic resolve was in keeping with the large amount of work they do in

connection with the govemment’s financial program.

Still another ad seeks to find pathos in the plight of those who cannot help but
spend. Explains a Manistee County Savings Bank ad in the Manistee News-Advocate on
10 May 1917,

The Spendthrilt

No man ever becomes a spendthrift at a single leap, or by intention. The wasteful

habits which he allows to grow become so fixed that, struggle as he may, and
wish as hard as he might, he cannot change his nature.

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An ad in the News-Advocate several weeks earlier, on 14 March, had already
taken the logical next step by advising that children be taught the habit of thrift early in
life by collecting thrift stamps.

The theme of “slacker dollars” described in the previous section is reprised here,
though in a different context. Instead of relating slacker dollars to the W.S.S. campaign,
these ads relate them to the message that money should be placed in savings accounts. An
ad for the Manistee County Savings Bank in the 14 June 1917 Manistee News-Advocate
titled “Enlist Your Dollars In the War” asks, “In this time of our country’s crisis an idle
dollar is as much a ‘slacker’ as an idle man. Are your dollars doing their duty?” A
Monroe State Savings Bank ad in the Monroe Evening News on 4 September 1918
instructs readers, “SAVE the way they are fighting—to the limit of your financial
ability. . .the money in your savings account is fighting before it goes into Liberty
Bonds...” An ad for the Peoples Savings Bank in the Grand Haven Daily Tribune on 11
August 1917 professes, “A savings bank deposit helps the nation and is indispensable to
the individual.” The slogan “SAVE and SERVE” appears in several ads for the Monroe
State Savings Bank. Three additional ads use this dollar-as-warrior metaphor.

According to other ads, merely getting a good deal on some department store
merchandise was enough to “do your bit.” Two such ads, in the Petoskey and Manistee
papers in early 1918, insist that their special bargains help shoppers get the most of what
money they cannot avoid spending.73
Buying “Liberally for Liberty”: The Liberty Loan Campaigns

No WWI campaign received more publicity in the form of advertising than did

the Liberty Loan campaigns. A total of about 190 distinct Liberty Loan ads (the total is

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higher than that when one counts the repeats) ran among the six papers. Moreover,
newspaper advertising was but one small part of the publicity strategy. The overall
method was to make knowledge of the Liberty Loan campaigns ubiquitous among the
public, as witness the efforts of just one organization, The Woman’s Committee of the
Liberty Loan, which,
in addition to its continuous newspaper publicity, circularized millions of women
on farms and in factories, and conducted a campaign through the schools of the
country that was designed to make every child in the United States conversant
with the primary facts of the Liberty Loan. Besides this, the Committee has
adopted posters, buttons, dodgers, placards and various special ideas intended to
promote general knowledge of the purposes and benefits of the Loan."
This predominance is in keeping with the paramount importance of the Liberty
Loan campaigns. The money obtained through these drives was vital to financing the
war. It had to be raised one way or another. If the government had not instituted a
voluntary war bond program, it would have exacted the money through taxes. The
advantage of bonds, as ads continually stressed, is that they were a good investment; they
earned interest at a rate higher than at any savings bank and were exempt from taxation.75
The Liberty Loan ads in this sample employ most of the appeals covered thus far.
They call participation in the Liberty Loan campaigns a patriotic duty that will bring
victory nearer. They also equate it with battling the Huns (A particularly pointed example
of this metaphor is an ad depicting two members of the military—one Army, the other
Navy—brandishing shovels, along with the message “‘The Army and the Navy will dig
the Huns’ Grave, but—We Must Furnish the Spade’” (Figure 12). Perhaps more
powerfully than any other ads, the Liberty Loan ads articulate the danger allegedly posed

by the idleness of slackers who refuse to do their bit. According to the ads, these slackers

jeopardized both the survival of “our boys” at war and the continuation of prosperity and

65

freedom in America (in keeping with Black’s contention that propaganda tends to
“igno[re] multiple causality of events”). The ads also reprise the metaphor of dollars as
fighters and create Black’s in- and out- groups (Those who buy bonds, for instance, are
for “Liberty,” while those who do not are for “Prussianism,” and are thus to be
detested).7‘5 Like the W.S.S. ads, many Liberty Loan ads also stress, as an added
incentive, what a great investment bonds were, at a better interest rate than a savings
bank could offer and “the best security in the world.”77 Finally, like the other ads, they
assign their programs catchy slogans such as “Buy Liberally for Liberty” and “A Liberty
Bond in Every Home.”78
Grant these similarities to ads in other sections, and only one trait—aside from
their great volume—significantly distinguishes the Liberty Loan ads from others. This is
their use of allegorical drawings to make their points. The following analysis of these ads
termed “allegorical” relies on a specific conception of allegory, resulting from the merger
of definitions one and three in Oxford’s entry for allegory. These definitions are:
“Description of a subject under the guise of some other subject of aptly suggestive
resemblance” and “An allegorical representation; an emblem.” Put another way, an ad in
this analysis is considered allegorical for possessing the same traits that make a discourse
or narrative in literature allegorical—but the examination will include not only the
written word but images as well.79
The first instance of allegory is an ad titled “Take Your Choice—Prussianism or
Liberty.” It consists of two columns of text next to an illustration of the Statue of Liberty

and, in the bottom left comer, a mail-in application for Liberty Bonds. The phrase

beginning paragraph two of the text, “The mad dog of Europe,” alerts the reader to the

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presence of allegory. Europe, the reader is told, is a mad dog that “has taken on human
form, and has called to his aid the sum of human knowledge, the secrets of science, the
resources of a great empire, and the power of all its people...

[This dog has] taken on human form for inhuman purposes. He is running amuk

[sic] among our children and our neighbors’ children. . .He murders children,

rapes women, and enslaves men, none of whom have done him any harm; and

with the same brutish satisfaction he mutilates great works of art, sinks hospital
ships loaded with wounded, and out-pirates the pirates of the Spanish main.”

The Statue of Liberty, that quintessence of allegory, is the subject of one of the
ads (Figure 13). Although it required no imagination on the propagandists’ part, since it
had already been long well-known what the statue stands for, the ad nonetheless
effectively argues for the urgent need for America to keep “alight the torch of Liberty and
democracy throughout the world,” through the continued purchase of bonds. The
Manistee News-Advocate ran this ad on 4 April 1918.

The final allegorical ad describes the average American soldier (the ad refers to
him as “YOUR Boy,” seemingly to personally involve the reader) as both “the Symbol of
Fighting America” and “the Symbol of the Liberty Loan” (Figure 14).

“A Nation ’s Strength is in its Food Supply”: The Food Conservation Program

The food-conservation drive was the second-most-publicized World War I
propaganda campaign in the Michigan newspapers under examination. It accounts for
about 170 ads—fewer than the Liberty Loan campaign ads by only one-tenth. This
prominence seems fitting in the light of the severe food shortages discussed at greater

length in the section on the campaigns to increase farm production and the cultivation of

war gardens.

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Ads devoted to food conservation suggest four chief ways of making food go
further. The first is substituting other foods for those that were in short supply, and which
were especially needed by members of the American and Allied armed forces because of
their “concentrated nutritive value.” These foods included wheat, beef, pork, dairy
products and sugar.80 Corn and potatoes were to be eaten instead of wheat—and “maple
sugar, syrups, honey and molasses”8| instead of sugar—whenever possible. In addition to
the dozens of ads recommending such substitutions, 11 ads went one step further by
including specific cooking tips and recipes that supposedly made it easier to practice
economy in the kitchen.

Second, at the behest of the US. Food Administration, dozens of ads declared
certain days of the week “Wheatless” days, during which no meals were to contain wheat.
On Mondays, which were totally Wheatless days, no wheat was to be eaten at all.
Thursdays, on the other hand, were “one meal wheatless” days, and thus only one meal of
the day had to use alternatives to “BREAD, CRACKERS, PASTRY or BREAKFAST
FOODS CONTAINING WHEAT.”82 I

Another way to help conserve food was to can as many surplus fruits and
vegetables as possible, before they could spoil. Ads stress the need for housewives to
become proficient at canning, and to do their canning with the same fighting spirit as
American soldiers were displaying on the warfront (Indeed, one ad tells readers, “Back
up the cannon by using the canner.”83) The final food-conservation measure was buying
all food products, cabinets, gelatin molds, appliances—and anything else involved in

preparing meals—with a view to economy.

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Like the Liberty Loan ads, food conservation ads draw on familiar themes. Just as
ads previously examined emphasize the need to funnel monetary resources to where the
fighting was taking place, so the food conservation ads repeatedly tell readers to save
scarce foods “for the man who fights.” Twenty-one ads convey the imperative of saving
food for American and Allied fighting men. A new variation on the personification of
dollars as soldiers also appears. This time, various foods are referred to as waniors. A
total of 11 ads, almost evenly divided among the six papers, either speak of food as a sort
of collective army doing battle (as in the oft-repeated slogan “Food will win the war”) or
refer to individual foods as fighters (as in a cartoon drawing of a bipedal potato charging
with rifle and bayonet, titled “LET- POTATOES FIGHT”84) (Figure 15). Saving vital
foods for Allied military personnel was also portrayed, in four ads, as weakening the
enemy.85 Other ads take a different tack in their message that saving food brings victory
nearer. Fourteen ads forgo any mention of soldiers, or even of the World War, and simply
state that to conserve food is to help the US. government or to “serve Uncle Sam.” Only
the Monroe paper did not carry these latter ads.

Yet another theme is that to abide by food-saving tips is to spare the United States
from destruction. An ad that appeared once in the Grand Haven Daily Tribune and twice
in the Three Rivers Daily Commercial states, “A NATION’S STRENGTH IS IN ITS
FOOD SUPPLY.” In another ad, in the Monroe News-Courier on 21 August 1918, the
command is to “Can Food and Preserve the Nation.”

Further, just as hordes of companies, stores and businesses capitalized on the fuel
conservation drive with dubious claims as to how their products helped prevent waste, so

the cereal, beverage and other food companies that came to exploit the food conservation

69

program were myriad. F ifty-one ads for groceries and other household products center on
the ways in which buying these products helped promote economy.

Another method shared with ads already covered is the condemnation of people
who fail to comply. According to six of the ads, anyone who did not do as much as
possible toward observing the four food-saving measures outlined above was abetting the
Kaiser, and was thus a traitor to the United States.

A final similarity to the Liberty Loan campaign is the large proportion of ads that
consist of one simple line—ads so brief that they could have served merely as a quick
reminder rather than an attempt at persuasion, much less an argument. About 40 of the
170 food conservation ads are of this type. Among the commonest ad lines are “EAT
CORN SAVE WHEAT,” “MONDAY ALL MEALS WHEATLESS” AND “FOOD
WILL WIN THE WAR” (Figures 16-24). Another group of ads (numbering twelve
altogether and appearing in all but the Monroe and Adrian papers) relies on appeals a bit
more elaborate than simple reminders, though these appeals are still far fiom fully
developed arguments. The method of these ads is to issue commands, with little or no
attempt to justify them. Among their messages are “Save The Waste AND Win The
War!,” “CAN TODAY,” [sic] “HELP HOOVER BY EATING ‘BON TON’ BREAD”
and “Save a loaf a week, Help win the war.”8"
The Red Cross: “An Army Without a Gun ”87

The final duty of Americans, as expressed in propaganda ads, was membership in
the Red Cross. About 35 plugs for the Red Cross ran among the six papers (three of them
appearing twice). These ads, then, are hardly the most plentiful. Even so, as a whole they

are unique, making the most extensive use of poetic verse and religious allusions. In their

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characterization of the Red Cross in feminine terms, they are also symptomatic of a
conception of gender roles that would be archaic by the time of the post—9/11 period. In
keeping with the stereotype that women are by their nature nurturing, this purveyor of
mercy is variously referred to as “the Big Sister of our Fighting Men,” “The New Joan of
Arc” and “the arms of the mothers of the world. . 3’88 The one exception to this rule is a
poem titled “The'Red Cross Man,” which, as its title hints, pays no heed to the Red Cross
Woman. The poem appeared in the Monroe Evening News and Courier on 22 May 1918
and the Grand Haven Daily Tribune three days later. Each stanza is a tribute to the
heroism of Red Cross workers, and is followed by the refrain “A Red Cross Man.”
Moreover, these ads are no less vehement, for their small number, on the point that
helping the Red Cross was an absolutely necessary duty. Indeed, a news story on the Red
Cross contends that abject poverty was the only excuse for not joining.

The predominantly feminine character of the Red Cross ads represents a deviation
from the ways in which women were portrayed in ads belonging to other themes. As the
section on the roles assigned to women by WWI propaganda at large shows, for the most
part women were portrayed as vulnerable; the men fighting to protect them generally
receive the dominant role. But in many of the Red Cross ads, the situation is reversed, in
keeping with Shover’s (1975) observation concerning women in the poster equivalents of
these ads. According to Shover, poster tributes to women’s contributions to the Red
Cross lend women a deceptive sense of strength by juxtaposing them with enfeebled men.
“[T]he figure of strength,” writes Shover,

is the woman while the men—bandaged and passive—are clearly the helpless,

appealing figures of sympathy. The men against whom the women appear strong,
however, are ‘half men’ bereft of their vigor, their virility”89

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The ads in this sample give women the same “maternal and nursing functions,” as
Shover terms them, as do the posters.90
The Red Cross ads’ most noticeable similarity to other ads is perhaps their use of
two related devices: Sproule’s glittering generalities and what Black terms “unverified
and perhaps unverifiable abstract nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and physical
representations.” The phrases “the Big Sister of our Fighting Men,” “The New Joan of
Arc,” etc. illustrate this use of abstractions to attribute supposedly feminine qualities to
the Red Cross.
“The Red Cross Spirit” is another unverifiable entity used in the portrayal of the
Red Cross. The phrase is used in a poem titled ”The Red Cross Spirit Speaks” in the
Grand Haven Daily Tribune on 11 May 1918 and the Monroe Evening News and Courier
on 29 May 1918. From the title and the first-person account of deeds on the part of the
Red Cross, it is clear that the “Red Cross Spirit” is the poem’s speaker. The full poem
follows:
I kneel behind the soldiers’ trench
I walk with shambles’ smear and stench
The dead I mourn
I bear the stretcher and I bend
O’er Sammy, Pierre and Jack and mend
What shells have torn
I go wherever men may dare, I go wherever woman’s
care
And love can live
Wherever strength and skill can bring
Surcease to human suffering
Or solace give.
I am your pennies and your pounds;
I am your bodies on their rounds

Of pain afar;
I am you, doing what you would

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If you were only where you could—
Your avatar.

The cross which on my arm I wear,
The flag which o’er my breast I bear,
Is but the sign
Of what you’d sacrifice for him
Who suffers on the hellish rim
Of war’s red line.

An ad attributed simply to “Gas Company,” in the Petoskey Evening News on 20
December 1917, uses two abstract nouns similarly impossible to corroborate. It consists
of a two-column-wide box containing the statement “The Red Cross Brings The Breath
of Heaven Into The Hell of War. Your Dollar Might Save Fifty Lives.” What makes
verification impossible is that figurative language, by its nature, cannot be verified.

The “Long Arm of Mercy” is yet another wholly abstract name given to the Red
Cross. The phrase appears in a 15-paragraph encomium to the Red Cross in the 16 May
1918 issue of the Evening News (Figure 25). According to this ad, the Red Cross is “the
Long Arm of Mercy”; “the Kindness of Mankind—organized”; “the best antidote we

9’, u

know to the bane of war , the Love and Pity of all men made supremely efficient”;

as, u

“Humanity united in Service , the expression of those human sentiments that some day
will put an end to War”; “the impulse of Love, striving to overcome the impulse of
Hate”; “Mercy’s co-operation struggling against War’s rivalries”; “the Angel of God
whom the fury of men cannot banish from the Earth”——and who “pours the oil of Help
and Pity into the bitter wounds of the World.” The author makes no attempt to explain
how the Red Cross can be all of these things, nor even the meaning of each. For instance,

how can it be at once divine and a manifestation of the traits of mortals—on the one hand

an “Angel of God”; and on the other, the kindness, love, pity and humanity possessed by

73

human beings? Further, what are these “human sentiments” that will allegedly eventually
“put an end to War”? Each subsequent description clouds rather than elaborates. Since
this text clearly does not hold up to critical account, it must logically have been meant to
be read uncritically. This suggests that the ad likely is a case of what Sproule describes as
a propagandist using glittering generalities in an attempt to “make people form a
thoughtless judgment under the influence of an emotional impression.”

Two ads represent another of Black’s characteristics of propaganda: the creation
of in-groups and out-groups. The very title of one of these ads is telling: “YOU AND
THE REST OF US.” Appearing in the Petoskey Evening News on 23 May 1918, this ad
calls for greater public participation in the Red Cross Drive (Figure 26). The ad’s first
two paragraphs of text describe the drive as off to a “mighty good start” but still having
“a long way to go.” Paragraph three establishes the out-group and the reasons why those
who belong to it are to be disdained: “And—the plain truth is that if YOU don’t give now
what YOU ought to give, YOU are holding this campaign back—nothing short of holding
up the effort to get life-saving, home-saving help to starving, dying peOple.” The second
ad elaborates further on this theme that to stint in one’s donations to the Red Cross was to
let soldiers be murdered. According to this ad, which ran on the front page of the Three
Rivers Daily Commercial on 25 June 1917,

Those of you who have not made an offering for this most worthy cause—

one in which about one percent of the collection goes for overhead and

executive expense, in which the newspapers of the country have donated

thousands and thousands of dollars worth of space without one cent of

charge for advertising—won’t you, who have held back, give at least one

dollar to relieve and aid some suffering soldier on the battlefield, some

mother’s boy who is fighting your battle and mine, who has made the

supreme sacrifice for his country—will you weigh your dollars against his

life will you say[,] ‘we didn’t ask for this war’ and then rest back and
allow him to suffered unaided—or depend upon some one more liberal

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than yourself to care for him and do your duty. . .Just take this straight

home to yourself. Think it over. reason [sic] it out. You who are for

peace—isn’t this about the only thing in the whole terrible war in which

you may have a part in keeping with your conscience? Think how you

would like to suffer the awfulness of a lonely night, or night and day or

even longer under the open sky, terribly wounded, because some man’s

ONE DOLLAR stood between you and aid—isn’t it mighty selfish not to

GIVE, GIVE and GIVE AGAIN?

As with ads in the Liberty Loan and War Savings Stamps campaigns, some Red
Cross ads are simple sidebars in ads ostensibly promoting other businesses.

A final similarity between the Red Cross ads and others covered thus far is that
some ads reflect an effort to explain the organization to readers who may still have been
unfamiliar with it. As previous discussions have shown, other propaganda ads made
similar attempts to spell out to the public the workings, and the necessity, of Liberty
Bonds, War Savings Stamps and other war drives. During the period of 1917-1918 under
study, the Red Cross was only decades old, and, to judge from the tone of some of the
ads, still had an air of novelty about it. Indeed, it had never enjoyed anything approaching
its grth following the outbreak of WWI in Europe (Between 1914 and 1918, the
number of local chapters went from 107 to 3,864)”

Nine of the Red Cross ads make such attempts at explanation. The attribute of the
Red Cross most commonly stressed is its altruism. As Secretary of the Navy Josephus
Daniels put it—in an ad in the Three Rivers Daily Commercial on 27 May 1918—“The
Red Cross recognizes neither party, nor race, nor creed. It is world-wide in scope and
humane in purpose. It has no political nor economic ends to serve. It only asks where it
can be helpful to men and women in distress...” Another ad in the Manistee News-

Advocate nine days earlier uses personification to illustrate the Red Cross’s altruism:

“This is what the Red Cross says to you: ‘Give of your safe and secure substance and I

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will sooth pain. . .For myself I ask no recompense. My reward is my conscience. My
applause is restoring man to his family.”’ An ad from the News-Advocate during the
previous summer—on 21 June 1917—points out that giving to the Red Cross is an even
greater show of one’s patriotism than buying Liberty Bonds. Whereas the bonds are an
investment for their purchasers, pledges to the Red Cross are simply donations—and thus
they offer a chance for one to display one’s “downright, unvamished patriotism.” The
remaining two ads in this group of nine that seeks to spell out the purposes of the Red
Cross are markedly different in character. They refrain from the other ads’ use of florid
language and simply relate with dispassion the practical details about the Red Cross, such
as its status as a “semi-govemmental agency,” its reliance on volunteer labor and the
types of relief it provides."2

Miscellaneous Other Themes

Each of the approximately 75 remaining ads from the WWI period (not counting
the five repeats) is covered here for one of three reasons: 1) some ads do not fit neatly
into any previous categories, 2) some ads represent a new theme but are insufficient in
number to justify creating a new category and 3) some ads represent a new theme but are
too great in number, and with too little variation from one ad to the next, for a coherent
account to be written from them.

Ten of the 75 pieces that do not fit nicely into the previous sections are ads for
political causes ostensibly unrelated to the war, such as bids for political office or
woman’s suffrage campaigns, but which the propagandists connect with war aims. These
ads appeared among the Adrian, Grand Haven, Manistee, Monroe and Three Rivers

papers.

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Another 16 are ads for military enlistment. The first one, sponsored by the
Michigan War Preparedness Board and appearing on 20 June 1917 in the Monroe News-
Courier, encourages eligible young men to join the Michigan National Guard. The ad’s
title is “Michigan’s Battle Flags.” It features a drawing of a soldier holding a battle flag
next to a display of three other flags. The ad begins with a description of some of the
battle flags in the Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, which had been brought back by
Michigan regiments from the Civil and Spanish-American wars. Just as it opens with the
image of a flag, so it closes by instructing potential recruits to join the National Guard,
serve in the Great War and thus bring the next installment of Michigan Flags “back to
take their honored place in the Capitol rotunda.” The effectiveness of this ad rests on its
use of Black’s abstract physical representations.

The second enlistment ad, which ran in the Manistee News-Advocate on 11 July
1918, relies on Sproule’s “name calling” device by suggesting that those who refuse to
enlist in the military are traitors. The ad’s title is “Are You Worthy To Be Called
Americans?” The remaining 14 military enlistment ads appeared in the Adrian, Manistee,
Monroe, Petoskey and Three Rivers papers during the spring through summer of 1918.
All but six of them employ this same method of describing young men as obligated to
serve in the military, and as traitorous if they do not. These six exceptions capitalize
instead on the travel and adventure young men are sure to enjoy by enlisting in the Navy
or the fringe benefits of joining other branches of the service.

A somewhat related theme is the bravery and physical endurance of servicemen.
The reason why ads belonging to this theme are described here is that it is one of the few

themes that dovetailed to such an extent with other themes that giving it a separate

77

section would have made for excessive repetition (as the analysis to now has shown,
patriotism was to a lesser extent also such a theme). Thus, here one finds the three ads
orphaned by the fact that, unlike the rest of their kin, they do not combine the theme of
servicemen’s bravery with other themes.

The first one, published in the News-Advocate on 30 May 1918, is an ad for a
brand of iron “tonics” (or what today would be called supplements). In this ad’s argument
for the need to have a “tenpenny” nail’s worth of iron in the blood to function at peak
performance, it speaks of the brave “boys today fighting in France for country and
freedom.” Lastly, the same company had run two similar ads in the News-Advocate
earlier that month—on May 2 and 16, respectively—both attributing soldiers’ ability to
“go ‘over the top’ on the fighting front” to the iron in their blood.

Judging from ads for various entertainments, ranging from fiction to plays to
films, as well as ads for non-fictional works such as biographical books, film
documentaries and sermons, the experience of fighting the First World War—and its
opposite, spying on the tyrants whom the US. military opposed—were common
inspirations for works of both fiction and nonfiction. Ads for these works that fix on the
military personnel and their enemies account for 26 out of the 75 examined in this
section. Among the popular film, play and book titles are “The Kaiser—The Beast of
Berlin,” “My Four Years in Germany,” “Fighting in France,” “Pershing’s Crusaders” and
“One More American.” Others among these entertainments and works of nonfiction
inspired by the war, however—again, gauging from their ads—focused on aspects of
fighting the war other than the actual fighting of the soldier boys. These remaining 10 ads

tout their musical plays, films and so forth, most of which deal directly with the war, as

78

patriotic, and to be enjoyed by all “true Americans.” All six papers included these ads for
other works dealing in some way with the war.

The final five ads are simpler, their use of propagandistic appeals quieter. They
are, in order of appearance, a roster containing the names of employees of a single
company who had enlisted in the war; the text of President Wilson’s appeal to the
Y.M.C.A. in the fall of 1917 to redouble its “patriotic and practical wor ”; an ad for the
War Chest Fund run by the Manistee County War Preparedness Committee; and two
brief, one-line demands for contributions to Monroe County’s Patriotic League Fund

drive during the spring and summer of 1918.93

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CHAPTER 4
POST-9/ 11 NEWSPAPER CONTENT
Coping With the Trauma of 9/11

A consistent theme in ads throughout the period between 11 September 2001 and
1 May 2003 is that the 9/11 terrorist attacks had traumatized Americans.94 About 10
distinct ads—the total comes to about 45 when one includes the repeats—sought to
address this sense of trauma. These ads appeared among four of the six papers—all but
those in Grand Haven and Three Rivers.

The ads address the national trauma in a myriad of ways. Some of them express
sympathy or pray for the victims and their families. Others laud the firefighters and
police officers of New York City for heroically rescuing thousands who would have
otherwise perished. Still other ads direct their messages to the public at large, advising
people on how to deal with stress brought on by the attacks. A couple of ads even serve
as vehicles for public expressions of grief. Written by local primary and secondary school
students, they offer these children a chance to vent their own feelings Of sorrow and
bewilderment over the attacks. One ad focuses on the plight of a subculture within the
larger American population—Americans of Middle Eastern descent—following 9/11. It
condemns a rash of hate crimes against these Americans committed by those who
responded to the national trauma with violence, and who associated Middle Eastem-
Americans with the terrorists who committed the attacks. Finally, two ads pertain to
professional conferences held in Michigan during the springs of 2002 and 2003,
respectively, aimed at helping to inform a range of professionals on how to offer support

to victims and those suffering from trauma.

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Two ads belong to the first sub-theme listed above, the consoling of those who
suffered losses because of the attacks. Edward Jones sponsored the first one, which ran
six times in the Manistee News-Advocate between 17 and 22 September 2001. It reads, in
whole: “Along with all the associates of Edward Jones, we extend our deep sympathies to
the families of the victims of the terrible events of September 1 1. Our thoughts and
support are with the nation’s leaders as they guide us through this difficult time.”
Although at first glance this ad seems to be an expression of heartfelt compassion, there
is also an insidiousness (if perhaps a latent one) to the message. In the ad’s assertion that
the nation’s leaders are to be supported and trusted in this time of national crisis, one
senses the way being paved for another brand of propaganda, one possessing what Black
calls “[a] heavy or undue reliance on authority figures and spokespersons, rather than
empirical validation, to establish its truths, conclusions or impressions.” Indeed, in the
weeks and months following 9/11, numerous commentators, intellectuals and
academicians would come to express the view that one’s freedom to question America’s
leaders had been nullified. The condemnation of public figures who dared to speak out
against the Bush administration’s program, from writer Susan Sontag to the country band
the Dixie Chicks, was proof, to some, that one could not do so without reprisals.95

The second attempt to comfort the victims and their loved ones was an ad
sponsored by St. Joseph Cemetery in the Monroe Evening News on 21 September 2001.
Against the backdrop of an American flag buffeted by wind appears the following
message:

ATTACK ON AMERICA The worst attack in US. history struck New

York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC. on September 11, 2001. On this

terrible day thousands of lives were forever changed. May God be with all
of the victims and their families in this time of great sorrow. Our hearts

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and prayers are with them. But let us remember also to thank God for all

those precious lives saved, and for those who have sacrificed so much to

save them.

The second sub-theme, the comforting of those suffering from stress caused by
the attacks, appears in two ads. The first of these reflects the Petoskey News-Review’s
attempt to promote itself by portraying the hometown newspaper as a vital institution in
American society, and thus appealing to people’s desire for a return to normalcy.
Twenty-six issues of the News—Review from 8 November 2001 through 29 April 2003
carried an ad beginning with the claim “The words ‘Hometown Newspaper’ Have taken
on new meaning” (Figure 27) Below this heading is a reproduction of a photograph in
which a woman holding a young child looks at the viewer with a contented smile while
an American flag waves in the background. Five paragraphs of text comprise the

remainder of the ad:

During these challenging and uncertain times, communities have become closer
and many people are turning homeward for a sense of normalcy.

The Petoskey News-Review is here to provide you with essential news and

information, but also events, recreation and other diversions that our nation’s

leaders have urged us to seek out.

You can rely on the News-Review for the most complete local news, sports and

entertainment coverage, in addition to details about the ongoing War on

Terrorism.

We will continue to be your steadfast partner as we have been for over 125 years.

You can reach us at (231) 347-2544.

In keeping with its more voluntary mission, the Red Cross did not engage in
blatant self-promotion. Its ad provided instead a simple message of comfort and a list of

measures that readers could take on their own to help ease their distress. Titled “What to

Do if You Are Feeling Stress From the Tragic Events of September 11,” this ad appeared

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in the Manistee News-Advocate four days after the attacks. “It is absolutely normal,” the
ad asserts,

to feel strong and painful emotions following an event like the terrorist attack.
The American Red Cross has been on the scene from the beginning providing
disaster support in the form of blood, food, shelter and mental health counseling
to all individuals affected. Here are some helpful tips in dealing with the extreme
mental and emotional stressed caused by this event.

What Can I Do?

0 Avoid viewing repeated 0 Return to your usual routine

media coverage of the event. 0 Find a peaceful, quiet place to
0 Talk it out! Reflect and gain perspective.
0 Ask for help if you need it. 0 Do something that could
0 Listen to other people help others—make an
0 Be especially kind to others appointment to give blood,
0 Spend time with your family take a first aid or CPR class.

For more information about how you can help, contact your local American Red
Cross chapter or visit www.redcross.org.

The ad mentioned earlier in this section as condemning attacks against Middle
Eastern-Americans is at once a condemnation of such race hatred and a call for solidarity
on the part of all Americans, regardless of ethnicity. The ad in the Adrian Daily Telegram
on 14 October 2001 begins with an attempt to establish a sense of fellow feeling among
Americans of all ethnic backgrounds, and thus a sense that the impulse to punish certain
Americans because they come from the same countries as the terrorists is a misplaced
one. Indeed, the ad goes on to argue, it has turned some Americans into terrorists
themselves. “We Are All Saddened—We Are All Angry,” the ad begins, “Over the
Attack on America and Our Freedoms.” It continues,

Many people have come to America seeking freedom. However, in the wake of

the terrorism, there have been reports locally and nationally attacks [sic] on

people believed to be from the Middle East. Houses of worship have been

vandalized and children have been threatened schools [sic]. Acts of hatred and
violence will only divide our country and destroy our freedoms.

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LENAWEE COUNTY COMMUNITY LEADERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS

URGE YOU TO RESIST ENGAGING IN HATE CRIMES AND

DISCRIMINATION

NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO STAND AS NEIGHBORS—REGARDLESS

OF WHERE OUR FOREFATHERS ORIGINATED OR WHEN WE ARRIVED

IN THIS GREAT NATION.

Following these lines of text is a three-column list of the ad’s sponsors and
endorsers. The ad’s final line reads: “DON’T LET THE TERRORISTS WIN—
SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY[.] STAND UNTED WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS
IN THIS CHALLENGING TIME.”

The first of the 9/11-related conferences mentioned at the beginning of this
section concerned the ways in which the news media “hand[le] catastrophic events and
the victims of those events,” according to an ad for the event in the Petoskey News-
Review six times between 5 and 20 March 2002. Titled “Victims & the Media: Lessons
Learned from September 11, 2001,” it was a free public forum sponsored by the News-
Review and held at Petoskey’s North Central Michigan College on 27 March 2002. The
panel consisted of News-Review journalists and was moderated by an expert on the
subject of victims and the media. A half-hour panel discussion opened the event,
providing

An in-depth look at media coverage during and after the September 11 terrorist

attacks. What lessons have we learned? What are the 5 phases of news coverage?

Issues facing local med and concerns with how victims are handled in the media.

A questions and answers session was the second and final part of the event.

The 10‘h Annual Living With Grief Teleconference, held on 30 April 2003, was in

a similar vein, except that its focus was not limited to the role of the media during “a

public tragedy” (to use the ad’s term for 9/11). Its scope extended instead to “the wide

84

range of professionals who offer emotional support to those in need.” The teleconference
was a national event moderated by ABC News’s Cokie Roberts and shown live, free to the
public, at the Manistee Intermediate School District and Technology Center, courtesy of
several humanitarian organizations that included the American Red Cross and Hospice of
Michigan. It was advertised locally in the Manistee News-Advocate on 17 April 2003. Its
aim, according to the ad, was to “examine the factors defining a public tragedy and offer
advice on how to support our communities and help those coping with loss.”
Binding up “The Nation ’s Wounds”: Ads Enlisting Support for Aid Drives

In the time following 9/11, Newspaper advertising appears to have been regarded
as an effective means of soliciting financial aid for those whose lives had been devastated
by the attacks. Between 9/1 1 and 1 May 2003, all six papers carried ads requesting
support for various relief funds. About 30 different ads of this type appeared. The total
comes to 82 when one counts the repeats. Thirty-five of these 82 appeared in the
remaining weeks of September 2001, 29 during October, five during November, seven
during December, one during March 2002 (on the eve of the six-month anniversary of
9/11) and the final five during late summer through fall of 2002 (in recognition of the
one-year anniversary of the attacks). Thus, one notes an arc in the level of publicity given
to these disaster funds over time—a burgeoning of ads followed by a quick tapering off,
perhaps in tandem with the steady “bind[ing] up” of “the nation’s wounds,” as one
United Way ad phrased its work in helping those afflicted by 9/11.96

Almost every ad promoting a 9/11 relief fund takes one of two forms: a direct
appeal for donations from the fund itself or a business touting itself as helping relief

funds through contributions of its proceeds—e.g., “help us help the Salvation Army?”7

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The majority of the ads are of the latter type, sponsored by local businesses that had
joined forced with a handful of relief efforts such as the Twin Towers Fund, the United
Way September 11 Fund and the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund.

A common theme in these ads is that to patronize such establishments was to
show a sense of solidarity in the face of calamity. According to some ads, businesses and
their patrons needed to band together to show their support of victims. An ad for
Pancone’s Auto Repair in Monroe is a case in point. Run three times in the Monroe
Evening News on 25-27 September, the ad announces Pancone’s intention to donate $10
of the proceeds from every $30 “oil, filter and lube special” to the Red Cross and to
accept empty soft drink cans as part of the “Tower 98 ‘Can the Van’ program,” which
firrther contributed to relief efforts by donating money from returned cans. The final,
resounding paragraph reads: “Together we can show our support for the victims of this
terrible tragedy.”

That a theater company sponsored the next ad for examination attests to the
breadth of types of organizations that felt called upon to make this gesture of support.
Sponsored by Three Rivers High School’s Performing Arts Center, this second ad
announces the opening of the musical Unforgettable: The Nat King Cole Story on 9
October 2001; it appeared in the Commercial-News three times between 27 September
and 2 October. Beneath a still from the play and information on playtimes and admission
is the Performing Arts Center’s somewhat self-conscious pronouncement that an
unspecified percentage of the show’s proceeds will go toward helping 9/11 victims. In a
rectangular box taking up roughly the bottom third of the ad and to the right of a drawing

of an American flag appears the following message:

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We wish to inform you that the Producers will be donating a percentage of
performance fees to The Twin Towers Fund which has been established to
directly assist victims of the attacks and their families as well as the families of
fallen rescue workers.

We are dedicating the tour’s performances to all those lost in this
immeasurable tragedy. . .and to the unconquerable enduring spirit of this great
country.

The third example links the purchase of hearing aids with doing one’s patriotic
duty. According to the ad, buying from Precious Sound Hearing Aids results in two
positive ends at once: “Better Hearing; Help for Our Nation.” In the ad, Precious Sound
promises to give the Red Cross $50 of the proceeds fiom each unit bought. The Monroe
Evening News carried this ad five times in late October of 2001.

One of the newspapers appears to have been more deeply involved than the other
five in the promotion of relief funds. In addition to being the paper in which nearly half
of the 82 ads—35 of them—appeared, the Adrian Daily Telegram was also the only
paper to coordinate its own relief fund. Named the “Rebuild America Fund,” it was to
benefit three larger funds in New York, Washington and Pittsburgh charged with helping
the United Way and the families of firefighters, paramedics and police officers who died
in the World Trade Center. Between 19 September and 21 October 2001, the Daily
Telegram ran 20 plugs for the fund—participation in which was touted, in language
reminiscent of the World War I slogan “Do your bit,” as “Doing your part for your
country.”98 These ads further echo the First World War in their inclusion of honor rolls
listing the names of local residents who made contributions (all but three ads include such
lists), as well as one ad’s tallying of the total amount of money raised. These tactics are

similar to those used in encouraging people to take part in the World War I Liberty Loan

campaigns. Recall the Liberty Loan Badge of Honor printed in some ads, as well as the

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figures as to how far each community had gone toward meeting its quota of loan
subscriptions.

Only four advertisers went beyond the use of catchy slogans and knee-jerk
appeals and attempted more searching explanations of their views on the war on
terrorism. The lengthiest and most well-thought-out is a half-page ad, consisting entirely
of text, sponsored by the employees of Mathews Ford Oregon and published in the
Monroe Evening News five days after the attacks. The text of the ad follows:

An Open Letter
From the employees of Mathews Ford Oregon
“What Can I Do?”

Each of us, and all of us, have undoubtedly looked deep within
ourselves in the aftermath of the terrorism and asked, “What can I do?”
During our employee council meetings at Mathews Ford in Oregon, Ohio,
we have asked that question collectively, and we would like to share our
employees’ response with you. It came in two main parts.

The first part of our response involves support for the victims in New
York, Washington, and the families throughout the nation whose loved ones were
on board the hijacked airliners. Our employees will honor the victims and their
families, and all the rescue workers and their families, as true American heroes.
We will honor the firefighters, police officers, medical teams, and volunteers who
risked so much and have given so much. We will adOpt a family to support
financially with each employee donating a day’s pay, or a half day’s pay, or an
hour’s pay each according to their ability. We will coordinate efforts with the Red
Cross to conduct a blood drive at our company, even if our blood cannot be given
quickly enough to save one of the actual victims. We will give our blood in their
memory, so that lives will be saved in their names. We will offer vehicles for the
transportation needs of those traveling to the terrorism sites to render relief and
rescue.

The second part of our response is to support the cause of freedom and
liberty. Our company will distribute a large number of American flags to
symbolize the strength of American unity. We will dedicate advertising air time
as a “memorial of silence” to honor the victims and to support our President and
the leaders of our federal, state, and local governments. We will rededicate
ourselves to the principles of freedom, democracy, and personal liberty under law.

Those principles include our American free market economy, as seen by
the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Much of the strength of our
democracy is found in our national commerce and industry, and this means that
the way we perform our jobs is actually a weapon of democracy. As each of us
individually does her best or his best for the economy, all of us collectively will

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grow stronger. Therefore we will personally rededicate ourselves to our jobs as a
weapon against the terrorists. We also call upon all who read these words to do
the same, to join the war against terrorism by maximizing the powerful weapon of
commerce in the place where they work. Through excellence and productivity in
our jobs, each of us can actually strike a major blow against the craven cowards
whose blind hatred encompasses American free enterprise, American freedoms in
general, the American way of life, and all Americans simply because we are
Americans.

Finally, we are resolved to recognize the majesty and power of “American
unity in diversity.” Our strength derives from the principles of freedom that we
hold in common and also from the diversity that we bring to the defense of those
principles. We are strong because we are different, but also because, despite our
differences, we are exactly the same in heart, in dreams, and in our dedication to
the principles of freedom, justice and liberty. We are the same because we love
America, we care about one another and we stand together against all enemies.

Some commentators have suggested that our enemies chose two airliners
as weapons because of the symbolism of their names, American and United. If
that is true, what a fatal mistake for those enemies. Now they are about to learn
something of the reality behind the symbols. They will learn what it means to face
the determination of Americans who are United. They will learn the meaning of
righteous wrath. They will learn firsthand what the American colonists meant
when they said, “Don’t Tread on Me.” They will learn something of the
determination expressed by our 16‘h president, Abraham Lincoln, who vowed that
liberty and justice shall not perish from the earth. Not then, and not now. Together
we can strike back against terrorism by redirecting the power contained in the
names of the “weapon” airlines selected by our enemies, for we will demonstrate
the power that flows when we stand together, United as Americans.

God Bless America

The remainder of the ad lists the employees of Mathews Ford Oregon.

The first propaganda device employed in the ad is Sproule’s glittering generalities
device. Glittering generalities are later complemented with instances of another, closely
related device of Sproule’s: “name calling.” Based on Sproule’s premises that glittering
generalities and instances of “name calling” are “labels” given “without clarification or
analysis,” and that they are used to “make people form a thoughtless judgment under the
influence of an emotional impression,” the following phrases can be identified as

glittering generalities and cases of “name calling” in the ad. The glittering generalities

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are: “true American heroes,” “the cause of freedom and liberty,” “the strength of

’9 6‘

American unity, the principles of freedom, democracy, and personal liberty under law,”

9, 6‘ ’9 6‘

“a weapon of democracy, American f‘ree enterprise, American freedoms in general,”

9, 6“ 9’3 66

“the American way of life, American unity in diversity, the principles of freedom,
justice and liberty,” “righteous wrath,” “‘Don’t Tread on Me,’” “liberty and justice” and
“United as Americans.” The ad’s use of “name calling” consists in its description of the
terrorists, or “our enemies,” who, the ad claims, were “craven cowards” compelled to
attack America out of “blind hatred.”

The way in which the ad uses the phrases listed above fits perfectly with
Sproule’s contention that a propagandist applies “name calling” to that which “he would
have us condemn and reject” and glittering generalities to the program which he or she
would have the public accept. The “name calling” phrases listed above serve to portray
the terrorists as utterly devoid of courage, as hating Americans blindly and as doomed to
failure, being no match for American unity or economic might. Further, the ad claims that
the wrath to which Americans will soon submit the terrorists is “righteous,” which,
conversely, makes the terrorists’ purposes unrighteous and the terrorists deserving of
annihilation. Part of the difficulty of identifying more specifically these “craven cowards”
who are our “enemies” surely lies in the fact that the ad was written so soon after the
attacks, when little was known about the perpetrators, their motive or to which
organization they belonged.

This sense of vagueness arguably weakens the piece’s central argument. Consider,

the only perpetrators to whom Mathews Ford Oregon can point with any certainty are the

19 hijackers who themselves committed the crime. How, then, can those 19 terrorists

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possibly be “str[uck] a major blow” by Americans’ “excellence and productivity in our
jobs”—they’re dead!99 The absurdity becomes even more pointed in the final paragraph,
with its litany of things that the enemies of ours who chose airliners as weapons will soon
learn about Americans’ character. Again, the terrorists who killed themselves can learn
none of these things, which suggests that the writers of the ad are referring to some
broader group to which those terrorists belonged, and which planned the attacks—but
which the propagandists cannot, try as they might, pinpoint any more finely than as
simply our “enemies,” who hate us for our freedoms, our way of life, etc.

Just as the ad attaches the two phrases identified earlier as examples of “name
calling” to the enemies whom it would have the reader condemn, so it associates the
program of Mathews Ford Oregon with the glittering generalities identified previously.
For example, in the course of outlining its intent to help victims by honoring those lost,
donating money to surviving family members and giving blood to the wounded, the ad
uses the generality “true American heroes.” Moreover, the ad states that the second phase
of Mathews Ford’s program, making use of American flags and advertising air time, will
serve several ends denoted by the generalities “the cause of freedom and liberty,” “the
strength of American unity” and “the principles of freedom, democracy, and personal
liberty under law.” Thirdly, in its call to the public for a mobilization of American

9’ 66

commerce, the ad invokes the generalities “a weapon of democracy, American free

9, 66

enterprise, American freedoms in general” and “the American way of life.” The
vaguest part of Mathews Ford’s plan is its resolve to “recognize the majesty and power of

‘American unity in diversity.”’ It never explains how it will give such recognition,

resorting instead to nothing but generalities: “‘American unity in diversity’” and “the

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principles of freedom, justice and liberty.” The final four glittering generalities—
“righteous wrath,” “‘Don’t Tread on Me,’” “liberty and justice” and “United as
Americans”—appear in the discussion (examined previously) of what the ad claims
America’s enemies are about to find out about the country’s resolve.

In addition to these two devices of Sproule’s, the ad contains three of Black’s
propaganda characteristics. The first of these is the creation of in-groups and out-groups.
The ad makes an out-group out of America’s craven enemies bent on the blind slaughter
of Americans, and soon to face Americans’ wrath. The in-group consists of the diverse,
freedom- and liberty-loving, yet formidable, group known as Americans, who are
destined to triumph over the cowards who oppose them, and any one of whom is to be
lauded simply for dying while battling our cowardly enemies.

Another propaganda trait as conceived by Black, the reliance on authority figures
rather than empirical validation, appears in the paragraph predicting what terrorists will
soon learn about Americans in the course of their incipient “righteous wrath.” In quoting
the American colonists’ slogan “Don’t Tread on Me” and indirectly quoting President
Lincoln’s conviction that liberty and justice will not die, the ad implies, with no evidence
aside from these quotes, that the spirit of these historical figures is still alive and at work
in America’s leadership.

The third of Black’s characteristics used in this ad is the “reduction of situations
into simplistic and readily identifiable cause and effect relations, ignoring multiple
causality of events.” The ad equates increasing one’s productivity on the job, and thus
bolstering U.S. commerce, with dealing a blow to the power of the terrorists. What

Justification does the ad offer for this ludicrous oversimplification of a complicated

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process? It reasons that carrying out one’s job with excellence and productivity weakens
the terrorists because it increases the influence of the things about Americans that the

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terrorists hate

 

American free enterprise, American freedoms in general, the American
way of life, and Americans simply because we are Americans.”

Interestingly, the ad avoids one thing that would further mark it as propaganda
according to Black: the use of a time perspective that under- or overemphasizes the past,
present or future “as disconnected periods rather than a demonstrated consciousness of
time flow.” Although the ad does delve into history in its mention of the American
colonists and President Lincoln, in doing so it does the opposite of that which Black takes
fault. Instead of treating colonial America or the years of the Lincoln administration as
“disconnected periods,” it suggests, in its implication that the words of the colonists and
Lincoln still have importance today, that those two periods form one unified continuum
along with the present time.

The note of compassion on which the previous ad begins—the aching on the part
of everyday people for a way to help those suffering, even though they are hundreds of
miles away, embodied in the title “‘What Can I Do? ”’—-reappears in two other ads. On
28 September, The Honor State Bank sponsored an ad in the Manistee News-Advocate
titled “Yes, we ga_n do something.” By way of explanation, the ad goes on,

On September 11, we watched television coverage of the terrorist attack on

America—in horror and with a feeling of helplessness. How could we reach out

from Northern Michigan to help those victims? We wanted to join and support

those who put their own lives at risk to rescue occupants of the buildings.

The Honor State Bank is collecting and matching funds for the Uniform

Firefighters Association

We are accepting donations at every one of our branches for the AF U (Uniform

Firefighters Association) Widows’ and Children’s Fund. The Widows’ and
Children’s Fund has no administrative fees, so every dollar of your contribution

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will go directly to the families of the fallen firefighters. In addition, we will match

50 cents for each dollar of those donations up to a total of $15,000. Both residents

and businesses can make donations at any of our branches until October 31, 2001.

Add your personal note of sympathy

We will also have sympathy cards available at all of our branches should you

wish to offer your personal condolence. These cards will accompany the funds

sent to the widows and children. This is our chance to join Americans across the
nation, as we support the families of these fallen heroes.

God bless our nation and all the people in it.

As Mathews Ford Oregon did with its ad, this bank describes its ad as one
business’s answer to the question of how its employees could help those in need in the
wake of the terrorist attacks, those who risked their lives to save others and the families
of those heroes. Also like the Mathews Ford Oregon ad, this ad presents a favorable view
of the United States, though a somewhat more subdued one. It uses the term “hero” to
describe the rescue workers and expresses a desire for Americans to unite, evidenced in
the phrase “our chance to join Americans across the nation.” Yet the subdued quality
results f‘rom the ad’s reticence concerning those who committed the attacks. It does not
say a word about these terrorists, or indeed about any so-called “enemies” of America.
Although it acknowledges the tragedy of the attacks and the need to support its victims, it
refrains from polemicizing about matters of righteousness or unrighteousness. Thus, it
suggests that although numerous businesses appeared glad to help with relief, not all of
them wanted to use their ads as a chance to express any particular interpretation of or
philosophy regarding 9/ l 1.

This tone, supportive but refi'aining from judgment on the attacks themselves,

appeared twice again. It reappeared first in an ad for Monroe’s Dundee Golf Club, which

was offering free holes and cart rides to customers who participated in Dundee’s Red

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Cross donation program. The ad ran five times in the Monroe Evening News between 17
and 22 September. Its writer, presumably an owner of the business, gives the most
personal account of grief any advertiser felt in response to the attacks—and yet prefers
trusting in God to condemning the terrorists: “[God] will guide our president, all his
advisors, and the leaders of the world to do what needs to be done.” The final
reappearance of this restrained tone took the form of a Red Cross ad in the News-
Advocate that ran three times during the first week of October. Note in particular the
creation of an in-group out of those Americans who are helping with relief‘, and who are
to be thanked by “All of America.”
In the heart of this tragedy, your love shines through.
In our darkest hour, hope prevails.
Americans are as strong as they are diverse. And now more than ever, we
need to continue to share that strength with each other. The American Red
Cross would like to thank and acknowledge all those who make a
difference during this terrifying time.
We honor those brave firefighters and police who put the lives of others before
their own, the medical personnel who give lifesaving assistance to victims and
survivors, and all the disaster relief workers who continue to give us hope. We
thank those who donate their lifesaving blood and are makingthe commitment to
continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead. We are grateful to all those who
sponsor blood drives, make financial contributions and lend their support in any
way they can to those in need.
All of America thanks you.
“The Essence of Patriotism ”
Although this section alludes to dozens of ads containing patriotic appeals, it
recognizes only about 10 of them as fitting the definition of war propaganda. In many of
the others, referred to only in passing, the patriotic appeals are rudimentary—they may

inspire a thrill of patriotic pride, but they do not propose an argument or request any

course of action on the part of readers.

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What did it mean for Americans to be patriotic in the days and weeks immediately
following 9/11? Three advertisers represented by the post-9/1 l newspaper content
attempted to answer this question. A Michiana Snax, Inc., ad in the Three Rivers
Commercial-News on the first anniversary of 9/11 declares, “Red, White and Blue are
more than just colors, they symbolize our unity as Americans.” If the surge in American
flag sales right after 9/11 is any measure, this first conception of patriotism is one that
many Americans had taken to heart (On the day of the attacks, the retail store chain Wal-

Mart reported a 1,800-percent increase in nationwide American flag sales over a year

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earlier). The Three Rivers Press, in an ad in the Commercial-News on 26 October

2001, suggested that a prerequisite for patriotism was the purchase of certain stationary
products. The ad features an illustration of the Statue of Liberty beside a bulleted list of
office-related items under the heading “Patriotic Products.” But the most fully developed
and well-thought-out answer came from the Rev. Dan Gilmore, pastor of the Three
Rivers Missionary Church, in an ad titled “The Essence of Patriotism,” in the

C ommercial-News on 27 October 2001. Reverend Gilmore responded to his own prompt
thus:

What a blessing to see all the flags displayed at our homes,
businesses, schools, and churches since our national tragedy. Old Glory is
also seen in our cars and bicycles, and even our clothes. With genuine
gratitude in their voice people are talking about the great privilege of
living in America and being heir to the greatest experiment in liberty the
world has ever known.

There is irony in the fact that it takes great suffering and tragedy to
make us appreciate how blessed we are to be Americans. Liberty is a
precious and delicate treasure. Most of the world can scarcely dream of
the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy in America. Realities we take for
granted are only fantasies for most of the worlds[’] inhabitants.

With these truths in mind, we must realize that we hold a grave
obligation as American citizens. The Lord Jesus said, “Unto whomsoever
much is given, of him shall be much required. ” (Luke 12:48) It occurs to

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me that there must be substance to our affection before it is truly patriotism. The
bible clearly informs us that “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a
reproach to any people. ” (Proverbs 14:34) If we would help our nation in its hour
of trial we must repent of our sin and “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world.” (Titus 2: 12) It is not enough to say we love our country, it must
be proven by our life. Dishonesty, idolatry, sexual immortality, strife, hatred and
the like are not only the enemy of righteousness, these evils are the enemy of our
liberty.

“OUR CONSTITUTION WAS MADE ONLY FOR A MORAL
AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. IT IS WHOLLY INADEQUATE FOR THE
GOVERNANCE OF ANY OTHER.” ——John Adams.

We need true patriots in these troublous times. Men and women

who stand firm and strong on the side of right and truth. God give us

citizens whose lives are fortified by the steel of righteousness, who will

not turn from the holy light of freedom. God help us to stand firm on that

sacred ground. God help us to be patriots indeed!

Reverend Gilmore’s demand for a more substantive nationalism—a sort of social
responsibility theory of patriotism—was the proverbial lone cry in the wilderness.
Indeed, the Petoskey Chamber of Commerce’s litany of freedoms for which 9/11 had
given Americans new appreciation, though heartfelt and personal, is nothing if not
symptomatic of the “irony,” remarked on by Gilmore: that it takes great suffering and
tragedy for Americans to appreciate their privileges. The ad, written by chamber of
commerce coordinator Tammy Alvaro and run in the Petoskey News-Review on 25
September 2001, describes how the small things about everyday life in Petoskey
suddenly seem vital in the light of Americans’ renewed gratitude for the freedoms that
these things bespeak—yet the ad never goes beyond this simple listing of Americans’
freedoms to advocate a new way of looking at patriotism.

The remaining ads are even shallower in their simple equation of displaying the
flag and other national emblems and buying certain products with being a patriot. Scores

of advertisers featured photographs shot with American flags in the background. Perhaps

for the sake of variety, some advertisers used other American emblems in place of

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American flags. All told, advertisers in the six Michigan papers carried about 30
illustrations of the Statue of Liberty, 20 of Uncle Sam, one of the Liberty Bell and one of
America’s national bird, the Bald Eagle. Other advertisers resorted to slogans instead of
emblems. Thus the phrase “God Bless America” was inserted into about 30 ads; and
“United We Stand,” into about 10 ads. Two additional ads used slight variations on “God
Bless America”—“God Bless You All,” in a tribute to members of the selective services;
and “God Bless the USA,” emanating from the Statue of Liberty’s torch.1°‘

Except for the Three Rivers Press’s seemingly arbitrary designation of stationary
items as “patriotic products,” the claims of most advertisers who labeled their wares
patriotic had face validity—Le, the products directly related to 9/11 or America’s
response to or memory of it. The most obvious variation of these ads are those in which
stores and companies announce their latest shipment of American flags, a new edition of
car flags that readers could send away for or chances to receive free American flag kits
with one’s next store purchase or subscription to cable TV service, among other flag-
related marketing schemes. A slight twist on this variation is an ad for flags and “flag
pins” in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 8 November 2001:

Limited supply of commemorative U.S. Flags and Flag Pins available at‘/2price

to help America’s united campaign[.] Each flag and flag pin is a historic

collectable inscribed with “America United Sept. 11, 2001” and “Operation

Enduring Freedom Oct. 7, 2001”

A tiny figurine becomes a receptacle for patriotism in another ad, which ran in the
Daily Telegram on 8 November 2002. The production of this “special edition” I.M.
Hummel, the ad tells us, is no small event: It represents the “First Time the American

Flag Appears on a M.I. Hummel.” Mader’s, a major I.M. Hummel store in Milwaukee,

Wisconsin, sponsored the ad. Lastly, a pair of coins are billed as “A Tribute to the Unity

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of America” in a First Savings Bank ad that appeared four times in the Three Rivers
Commercial-News in late August and early September 2002, and once more on 17
December 2002. In the accompanying illustration, the two coins are shown to be
inscribed with the messages “WE WILL NEVER FORGET SEPTEMBER 11, 2001” and
“ONE YEAR MEMORIAL 9-11.” In the first coin, one of the folds of a gigantic
American flag passes between the twin towers; in the other, rescue workers stand amid
those eerie shards of debris—like mechanical stalagrnites towering into the air—at
Ground Zero during the cleanup. All of these products, from the Hummel to the coins, are
clearly advertised and marked both as part of a 9/11 remembrance campaign and as
attempts to bolster a sense of patriotism.

Vehicle dealerships, on the whole, had another approach to patriotism. In all six
of the communities represented by the papers under examination, dealerships held
patriotic sales events—the commonest name for these events was “Keep America
Rolling,” though Ford used the line “Ford Drives America.”'02 The Kool dealership in
Sturgis, Michigan, in an ad in the 8 October 2001 Three Rivers Commercial-News,
explained the rationale for lowering prices thus:

DUE TO RECENT EVENTS, GM IS TRYING TO HELP THE

AMERICAN PUBLIC BY MAKING IT A LOT EASIER AND A LOT

LESS COSTLY FOR YOU TO GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A NEW

2001 OR 2002 GENERAL MOTORS CAR OR TRUCK. GENERAL

MOTORS HAS TEAMED UP WITH KOOL CHEVROLET,

OLDSMOBILE, CADILLAC TO “KEEP AMERICA ROLLING”...

Ford reasoned along similar lines: “In light of these challenging times, we at Ford

want to do our part to help move America forward.”103 The logic behind such schemes,

then, is similar to that of the First World War’s “Business Must Continue” and “Don’t

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Forget Business” ads. Even during time of strife, it was crucial for Americans to continue
consuming in order to keep the economy healthy.
Holidays in the Pall of 9/11

It was often remarked, in the months following the terrorist attacks, that they were
the ultimate proof that the world can change in a single day, or even in a single moming.
The examination of post-9/11 newspaper content up to now has shown some of the areas
of life into which this sense of living in a changed world extended. Another important
mainstay of life in America—our annual cycle of holidays—was likewise a little different
on this particular year. One notices in ads addressing various national holidays a sense
that these special days had taken on new significance in the light of 9/1 1. Generally, such
ads either portray the holidays as being cast in a depressing pall from the recent loss of
thousands of innocent lives, or assert that Americans’ obligations in celebrating these
holidays were greater now than ever because those lost needed to be remembered. About
five ads fit this category.

A case in point is a Carr Communications ad in the Manistee News-Advocate on
12 November 2001 in recognition of Veterans’ Day. The ad tells readers, against a
backdrOp of stars and stripes, that Veterans’ Day 2001 is to be an occasion to remember
not only those “who have fought for freedom” but also “the tragic loss of those who so
recently lost their lives.” Between the two Veterans’ Days in the post-9/11 newspaper
sample—Veterans’ Day 2001 and 2001—45 additional ads (when repeats are counted)
similarly captured this sense of present-day importance for the holiday. The American
Legion had sponsored a Veterans’ Day ad in the Daily Telegram a day earlier—and in the

Petoskey News-Review three days earlier—that is notable not only for relating Veterans’

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Day to the war on terrorism but also for relating it to the First World War. Its basis for
comparing the war on terrorism with WWI is that a convention of the earlier war, Blue
Star Banners, had been reprised in the new war. “Since World War I,” the ad explains

a Blue Star Banner displayed in the front window of a home told others that a
family member was serving in the armed forces.

Once again, American men and women are being called to war. They are our

nation’s newest veterans, fighting to wipe out the seeds of terrorism. Each of them

leaves a family behind. Every neighborhood has someone serving.

As we steel ourselves for a long and difficult war, the sight of Blue Star Banners

in homes will remind us of the personal sacrifices being made to preserve our way

of life.

An ad in observance of the first Memorial Day after 9/11 suggests that since some
US. servicemembers had already died fighting the war on terrorism, their sacrifice
should be honored as part of Memorial Day 2002. These remarks about the war on
terrorism appear in a section of the ad outlining all of America’s wars: “We are in a war
against terrorism at home and overseas. Today, American service members are putting
their lives on the line against a worldwide threat. Some have already lost their lives.”
This ad ran in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 20 May 2002. Leading up to Memorial Day
2002, the Grand Haven Tribune, Monroe Evening News and Three Rivers Commercial-
News each ran a different ad similarly endorsing the recOgnition of today’s military
personnel along with those of past wars.

On Christmas Eve, an auto clinic ad in the Three Rivers Commercial-News
proclaimed, “This Holiday Season ends the year with gratitude and thanks, for our

personal freedoms in America. PM Auto Clinic of Three Rivers joins you & our

community in the hope for a great new year and world peace.”

10]

Also telling is a Thanksgiving ad in the Adrian Daily Telegram on 23 November
2002. Though appearing well over a year after the attacks, the ad, titled “When it is Hard
to be Thankful,” takes pains to show sensitivity toward those still suffering because of
9/11 (Figure 28). The ad counsels readers,

In recent history, sad circumstances have befallen our nation. Our country
has faced tragedy as well as political and economic challenges. As Thanksgiving
Day approaches, some of us may also face personal challenges. If we focus on
these, then we miss the message of Thanksgiving.

Instead, let us think about what God has given us. The Holy Spirit is
always there, ready to fill our soul to overflowing when it is devoid of spiritual
food. We must remember that our Creator is always in control even in the worst
of circumstances. How many times have our personal and national trials been
used by God to ultimately become a blessing?

These were the only holiday-related ads that made such references to the terrorist
attacks or their fallout. In short, it seems that there was a subtle awareness that Americans
needed to go about holiday Observances a little differently in a post-9/1 1 world.
Relating Terrorism to Political Causes

Judging from about five ads among three of the Michigan papers—those in
Adrian, Monroe and Three Rivers—the post 9/11 sensibility examined in the previous
section extended to another constant in American culture: political campaigns. Three of
these five ads represent attempts by candidates for political office to use the issue of
terrorism in their election platforms. These three ads, written by candidates for the
Michigan Legislature and appearing during late September through fall of 2002, address
the war on terrorism and the need to keep America’s borders secure as priorities in the
candidates’ platforms.

The first of these ads, published in the Monroe Evening News on 20 September

2001 as part of state Representative Randy Richardville’s re-election campaign, is the

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most cunning in incorporating 9/11 into its message. Rather than obtrusively mentioning
the war on terrorism as a part of Richardville’s platform, the ad puts the emphasis almost
entirely on the readers. “A message to the citizens of Monroe County,” it begins, and then
goes on to discuss how the terrorists who committed the attacks were “defeated” by the
very show of American nationalism and solidarity that they inspired, of which the people
of Monroe County were the outstanding exponent. Thus, ostensibly it reads as nothing
more than a stirring tribute to the spirit of the great people of Monroe County, a noble
gesture by their state representative—until one reads the fine print at the bottom edge of
the ad: “Paid for by the Committee to Re-elect Randy Richardville.’”04

One of the remaining two ads deals with terrorism in purely practical terms: US.
Representative John D. Dingell, in an ad in the Monroe Evening News on 11 and 15
November 2001, explains to constituents that he is temporarily unable to receive mail at
his Washington, DC, address due to the anthrax threat. The final ad, a message from
Right to Life of Michigan in the Three Rivers Commercial-News on 22 January 2003,
makes a comparison between the tragedy of 9/11 with what the organization sees as the
loss of a generation of children by “the 1973 abortion decisions” based on the fact that
they both represent “attacks on the sanctity of human life.”
Peace Drives

The section dealing with holidays in the light of 9/1 I examined several ads that
voiced the need to honor the servicemembers in the war on terrorism but remained silent
on the issue of whether the war in which they were engaged was a righteous war. Not all

advertisers showed such reserve. An organization known as Northern Michigan People

for Peace sponsored two ads in the Michigan papers under study stoutly opposing the war

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in the Middle East. The first appeared in the Petoskey News-Review on 17 January 2003
and announced the upcoming Petoskey Peace Demonstration: “A march for Peace in
opposition of war in the Middle East” (Figure 29). The main propaganda device used in
the ad is Sproule’s “band wagon” device. Under the heading “NO WAR IN OUR
NAMES” is a list of hundreds of names. The vastness of the list easily evokes the
“everybody’s doing it” feel of which Sproule writes. Also notable is the ad’s use of
symbolism. There are five peace symbols, one of them superimposed over the image of
the planet Earth—a juxtaposition that loudly communicates the group’s vision for the
world. The second ad, which ran on 14 February 2003 in the News-Review, is almost
startlingly free of any propagandistic tinge. It simply announces the logistical details of a
peace demonstration to be held the following day.

The final ad belonging to this theme refrains from explicitly opposing the Iraq
war but nonetheless takes it upon itself to question whether it is a well-grounded war.
This willingness to second-guess the judgment of America’s leaders was in open defiance
to the president’s consistent “with us or against us” rhetoric concerning the war on
terrorism, by whose logic to question the president is to be in league with the terrorists.105
Monroe County Community College sponsored the ad in question, which ran five times
in the Evening News during late November and early December 2002—well before the
beginning of war with Iraq, but at a time when the prospect of wars beyond the one in
Afghanistan was in the air. The ad provides information on a panel titled “This Means
War.” Held on campus on December 5, the event was presented by student government.
“Should the United States Invade Iraq?” the ad asks. “This will be the topic discussed

and debated by a panel of international experts, representatives from local organizations,

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and MCCC students.” A list of panel members and logistical information concerning the
event follows.
“We can be Afraid or we can be Ready”: Ads Offering Terrorism Preparedness Tips

Despite the prevalent View among US. politicians, commentators and much of the
public that no one could have predicted or stopped 9/11—and despite this view’s logical
corollary that no one could possibly be expected to predict or avert the next attacks,
which the Bush administration continually insisted were a given—numerous ads
nonetheless assured the public that there was no reason to fear another attack as long as
people took a few simple contingency measures.106 About 10 ads have to do with
preparing for further terrorist attacks. The Monroe and Adrian papers are the only ones
that did not carry such ads; the remaining four papers carried at least one ad each. They
use several of Sproule’s devices and contain several of Black’s propaganda
characteristics.

About two-thirds of these ads were released as part of the Department of
Homeland Security’s READY program. They all ran during late March through mid-
April of 2003 in the Three Rivers Commercial-News—and thus it seems that the
Commercial-News was the only one of the six papers that offered advertising publicity to
the READY program. The ads contain some general tips on how to prepare for another
terrorist attack but refer readers to READY’s Web site and a 1—800 number for more
specific scenarios involving biological, chemical and radiological assaults. Although two
of these are simple, one-paragraph ads that make little use of propagandistic appeals,

three others are of interest.

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The first of these three is a rich. ad from the perspective of propaganda analysis. It
uses three of the propaganda traits outlined by Black and one of the devices posited by
Sproule.107 Appearing in the Commercial-News on 21 March and 4 April, it begins,
“TERRORISM FORCES US TO MAKE A CHOICE. WE CAN BE AFRAID. OR
WE CAN BE READY.” First, this title reflects the creation of an out-group (those who
are afraid) and an in-group (those who are ready). It also creates “simplistic and readily
identifiable cause and effect relations.” By its logic, fear and readiness are the only
possible responses to terrorism. Further, fear and readiness are presented as binary
opposites: One cannot be simultaneously afraid and ready nor unafraid and unready,
since the premise on which the ad is predicated is that being unafraid is a necessary and
sufficient condition for being ready. Further evidence of this absurd simplification of
situations can be found in the three-step preparation procedure advocated by the ad: Step
one is to “make an emergency supply kit”; step two, to “develop a family
communications plan”; and step three, to “leam how to respond to the different types of
terrorist threats.” These three simple steps are supposed to make the public feel prepared
and unafraid in the face of an enemy responsible for a catastrophic attack that according
to many could never have been prepared for. Lastly, the title relies on a spokesperson
rather than empirical evidence (It consists of a quote by Lai Sun Ye of the Office of
Emergency Management).

The ad’s use of one of Sproule’s devices, glittering generalities, is far subtler. The
words “afraid” and “ready” are arguably glittering generalities because they likely were

intended to make readers act on what Sproule calls an “emotional impression’ in this

 

case, panic (The panic is aroused through the reasoning that if one does not take the steps

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prescribed, one is unprepared for the next attack). What further reinforces this sense that
“afraid” and “ready” are being employed as glittering generalities is the logo-like use of
the word “ready” at the bottom of the page, in all-capital letters and enclosed by a
rectangular outline. The phone number and Web address listed are another claim for this
use of the two words: l-800-BE-READY and www.ready. gov.

The second ad, which ran on 26 and 27 March, describes the three preparedness
steps outlined in the previous ad in greater detail, but employs a less involved
propagandistic method. Indeed, the only one of Black’s characteristics carried over from
the last ad is the reliance on an authority figure. The topmost feature of the ad is a
photograph of Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, with a caption identifying
him as such. Beneath the photograph is a title containing quoted material, though no
attribution from which to determine whether or not Ridge supplied the quote: “You’ve
probably wondered, ‘Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves from the threat of
terrorism?’ Here’s your answer.” None of Sproule’s devices appear in this ad.

The third piece, which appeared on 3 April, hinges on Sproule’s transfer and
“band wagon” devices. The American flag photograph that occupies the top half of the ad
is clearly an attempt to transfer Americans’ reverence, and perhaps their newfound
enthusiasm, for their flag to the govemment’s terrorism readiness program. Underneath
this photo is the question “You’ve flown the flag. Now what?” One finds in this title a
novel twist on the “band wagon” device. Instead of encouraging readers to form a
bandwagon, the ad assumes that readers have already done so, and supplies a reminder of
this fact. It then presents a new bandwagon on which readers should begin focusing their

energies:

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In the months since September 11‘“, 2001, we have all witnessed a powerfirl
resurgence of the American spirit. But now, in a climate of new threats, it’s clear that
patriotism alone is not enough. We must also learn to protect ourselves and our families
against future terrorist attacks.

There are three steps toward readiness. These steps are fairly simple and
inexpensive. And they work.

Several paragraphs on the three steps follow.

Another ad, while not purporting to advise readers on how to be prepared,
nonetheless indicated concern over the issue of terrorism preparedness. In its issues on 5
and 12 July 2002, the Petoskey News-Review advertised a conference to probe the
question, “How safe are we as a nation?” The event featured experts on security policy
and national defense and was organized by the Claremont Institute and held at North
Central Michigan College in Petoskey.

Because the theme of preparing for future terrorist attacks figures only
peripherally in the remaining two ads in the total of eight that deal with the subject, these
two are not examined in depth. An announcement for a free community presentation on
bioterrorism at the Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, the first ad mentions the
issue of preparation in passing, as part of a bulleted list of subjects to be covered during
the presentation. As for the second ad, sponsored by the American Red Cross, it states
matter-of-factly, as a small part of a larger argument, that Americans worried more than
ever following 9/11 that their personal safety was in jeopardy from unforeseen
disasters.108
Linking Illicit Drug use With “Terror”

Five months after the terrorist attacks, the White House Office of National Drug

Control started a controversial ad campaign that linked the purchase of illicit drugs with

the support of “terror,” as the ads phrase it. The campaign used television as well as the

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print media and began with two Super Bowl ads. The ads were roundly dismissed as
groundless. Arianna Huffington of the Detroit Project, which parodied the ads by creating
a series of ads of its own linking SUVs with terrorism, called them “dreadful” and a

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“complete waste of taxpayer money. As of this writing, however, the ONDC stands

by its equation of illegal drugs with terror.110

Only one of these ads appeared in the papers under examination in this study. The
Monroe Evening News carried the ad once on 7 April 2002. It consists of a close-up shot
of a young man’s face, half lit and half in shadow. Superimposed over the young man’s
nose is the following message: “Last night, I met the guys for beers, went out to dinner,
and helped gun down 21 men, women, and children.” The message along the ad’s bottom
edge reads: “Drug money helps support terror. Buy drugs and you could be supporting it
too. Get the facts at theantidrug.com. Get help at the National Treatment Hotline, 800 662
HEL
Tending the Flock

Area churches made 9/11 and the war on terrorism central themes in ads
throughout the period between 11 September 2001 and 1 May 2003. These approximately
30 ads (40 when repeats are counted) have a ministerial quality, like that of parsons
counseling their flocks, as their writers, who represent numerous regions and
denominations, offer a cacophony of views on terrorism informed by their various
religious affiliations. The commonest theme in these ads is that the heavenly Father is

giving signals to His children, if they would only pay attention to these signs and call on

Him for guidance.

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Interestingly, these 40 ads were distributed disproportionately among the six
papers—about half appeared in the Three Rivers Commercial-News. The Adrian Daily
Telegram canied roughly one-third (13) of them. The remaining two papers, those for
Grand Haven and Manistee, ran only two ads apiece.

In one ad, the use of 9/11 comes across as a gimmick. Three days after the
attacks, Crossroads Community Church ran in ad in the Daily Telegram that features a
photograph of the smoking Trade towers in long-shot (Figure 30). The title across the top
reads, “Where is God In A Crisis?” Beneath this title runs the line “Find out this Sunday
at Crossroads Community Church[.] You have never done church like this!” This use of
the tragedy is clearly exploitative, intended only to entice readers to attend to church
service.

Terrorism is peripheral about half of the ads. Three of them merely list it as one in '
a series of topics for discussion at a future gathering. Two ads briefly announce a
program titled “Iraq in Prophesy,” the latest episode of a radio show broadcast regularly

in Petoskey. Eight ads refrain even from speaking terrorism’s name; they simply

,, 66 ,9 66

underscore the “fragile, peaceless overwhelming” and “hopeless” state of a world
now bereft of God, and the need to pray for peace in this godforsaken world.I H
Another seven ads attempt to answer the question of how Americans should
respond to the terrorist attacks. Adrian’s Ogden Community Bible Church remained
noncommittal on the matter. Its ad in the Daily Telegram four days after the attacks
simply asked, “How should we respond to the ATTACK ON AMERICA? You are

invited to join hundreds of others as we dissect this question biblically.” The Christian

Science Churches, also advertising in the Daily Telegram, took much the same tenor. Its

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ad of 26 October 2001 simply announces an event to be held three days later titled “A
Spiritual Response To Terrorism: Muslims and Christians Sharing Their Views” and
gave the names of those who would be speaking.

In contrast to the two described above, the five remaining ads in this group
concerned with finding a proper response to 9/11 express definite opinions and read like
polemics. An ad f‘rom the Adrian Dominican Sisters (which accounts for two of the seven
because it appeared'twice, in the Daily T elegram’s issues of 14 October and 18 October
2001) expounds the organization’s point of view in four paragraphs. In the first
paragraph, the Dominican Sisters condemns the attacks, offers its sympathies to the
victims’ loved ones and says it prays “for the victims and perpetrators of such carnage.”
The second paragraph deals with the persecution suffered by some Americans of Middle
Eastern descent at the hands of Americans who blamed them for the actions of the
terrorists. Associating Middle Eastern-Americans with terrorism is “erroneous” and
threatens their “safety and dignity.” Though conceding that “justice must be done,”
paragraph three asks “government officials and the media to stop the use and publication

,9 66

of inflammatory appeals for vengeance. [P]eaceful settlements,” not “vengeance and
war,” are the answer. The final paragraph suggests that if these calls are not heeded, the
bigotry and killing of innocent people will continue and America may stand to lose
credibility as a moral leader. This ad was an amplification of an earlier one (on 23
September 2001, also in the Daily Telegram) pertaining to the Walk of Compassion that

the Dominican Sisters held as part of its effort to “tap into soul and spirit seeking

compassionate solutions to the violence present in us, our nation and the world.”

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Some religious leaders even contested the Dominican Sisters’ point that America
still had any claim for moral leadership. For example, the Embassy of Heaven argued that
9/11 was God’s wrath against America for descending into a Sodom-and-Gomorrah state
of existence through, among other things, its concessions to the viability of abortion and
homosexuality.‘ ‘2

This view did not, however, make it into any of the newspaper ads in this sample.
Indeed, two of the ads examined here stoutly reject the possibility that the attacks were
the work of God. In an ad in the Three Rivers Daily Commercial on 13 October 2001,
Seventh-Day Adventist pastor Harry C. Hartmann draws on biblical excerpts in his
argument that since God “is Love,” and since God “does not always step in to prevent the
results of evil,” he could not have had a role in the “savage, ruthless acts of these
terrorists.” The second ad dismissing the possibility of God’s involvement in 9/11 was
written by the Rev. Don Fry’s and published in the Commercial-News on 6 July 2002. Its
premise is that God was not “behind the attacks on our country that day,” and that God
had brought some good out of those events. Fry argues that this good could be found in
Americans’ renewed appreciation for their freedoms and their general sense of “good
feelings” toward one another in the wake of the tragedy. How long these positive
outcomes would last, however, was up to the American people. For they would last as
long as people continued to pray and treat one another with “respect and honor.”

The final ad in this subcategory dealing with Americans’ proper response to the
terrorist attacks takes a critical look at the sense of nationalism embodied in the uncritical

reiteration of the phrase “God Bless America.” The writer of this ad in the Manistee

News-Advocate on 6 October 2002, “John” of the Manistee Christian Fellowship,

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challenged readers, “Let us think together, then, if God did bless America, what would
these blessings look like?” The remainder of the ad describes how the lives of Christians
and sinners alike would change for the better as a result of God’s blessings. Implicit in
this ad is the suggestion that many Americans were repeating such sayings
sycophantically, with little thought or reverence. Another ad makes this point far less
subtly. Writing more than a year after 9/11 (on 5 October 2002 in the Commercial-News),
pastor Greg Buchner of Wakelee United Methodist Church opined, “We’ve stopped
asking those hard questions and challenging what we believe in exchange for the one-
liners like ‘United We Stand’ and ‘God Bless America’ which make us feel good to say,
but often don’t reflect how we treat on [sic] another.”

Several ads strive to find meaning in Americans’ suffering and fear following
9/11. One ad explains them simply as signs that a cataclysm was at hand. Appearing in
the Three Rivers Commercial-News on 5 January 2002, it begins with the premise that
“We are living in the last days of this earth’s history. The Bible predicts a time of
incredible untruth at the end of time (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). People will be deceived
for one basic reason; they do not love the truth.”

Other ads are more hopeful. The Rev. Valerie McElroy, pastor of A Word In
Season International Ministries, in an ad in the Daily Commercial on 29 September 2001,
acknowledges the catastrophic nature of the terrorist attacks but assures readers that as
long as Americans look to God the nation will “rise, regroup and make a come back.”
Indeed, in an earlier ad (published in the Commercial-News four days after the attacks)
McElroy expresses this conviction even more strongly: “In times of crisis the true

strength of a nation will rise. . .We will begin to see that in the midst of our healing we

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will rise and be strengthened like never before.” In another ad in the Commercial-News
on 28 September 2002, McElroy contends that because America stands for the freedom to
worship God, “[n]o weapon formed against us shall prosper.” While these latter ads focus
on the fate of America, the scope of Hartmann’s ad on the eve of 9/1 1 ’s first anniversary
(in the Commercial-News’s issue of 24 August 2002) is much broader. Rather than
focusing on the recovery of America, he reminds readers that in spite of the violence in
the world today, there is a “better world ahead” in the afterlife. Yet another pastor,
writing in the Commercial-News eleven days after the start of the year 2002, sought
guarantees that 2002 would truly be a “happy new year.” He concludes that it can prove a
“year of joy and blessing” as long as people trust in God.

According to a series of ads by McElroy in the Commercial-News, in the time
following the attacks, God was giving signs that a period of redemption was drawing
near. An ad on 16 February 2002 argues that the great fear “gripping the hearts” of
Americans—“fear of terrorists, fear of air travel, fear of what’s going on with the
economy”—were the realization of a prophecy in the book of Luke that redemption will
follow a period of “the distress of nations. And men’s hearts failing them for fear...” A
sort of continuation of this ad, also written by McElroy and used in the Commercial-
News’s 8 March 2003 issue, further explores this sense of fear. McElroy recounts
encountering a stranger in a department store. The other lady was debating whether to
buy duct tape as protection against another terrorist attack. Right at that moment, the
Father instructed McElroy, “Tell her to ask Me”; and McElroy told her that “her Father

said to call home.”

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A final ad focusing on this distress felt in a post-9/11 world is the Rev. Glenn G.
Grant’s piece in the 29 March 2003 issue of the Commercial-News encouraging readers
to do all they can to reach out to all those who will suffer as a result of the incipient U.S.-
led war in Iraq. In a similar vein, an ad published in the Commercial-News on 26 April
2003—within a few days before President Bush declared major combat over in Iraq—-
used the end of the war as a springboard for an insightful discussion about the nature of
war and peace.

Ads in Remembrance of 9/11

The anniversaries of 9/11 have thus far been occasions for solemn
commemoration on the part of communities across the nation. Americans have shown
such a strong desire to remember, honor and respect those lost during the terrorist attacks
that there has even been room for debate as to whether September 11 should be made into
a national holiday called “Unification Day.”113

That some papers were still advertising extra copies of their 11 September 2001
issues weeks after they came out is one index of the public’s need to remember. In one
such ad, run several times in late September of 2001, the Monroe Evening News informs
readers, “The Evening News’ ‘Disbelief’ extra edition is sold out, but many readers still
ask for it.” The Adrian Daily Telegram ran a similar ad for extra editions of its 9/11 issue.
Several papers also published special editions on the first anniversary of 9/11 that
devoted special sections to its remembrance. House ads in the Grand Haven, Monroe and
Petoskey papers even encouraged readers to remember their responses to the attacks and

the ensuing war on terrorism, and to have these personal stories recorded in special

sections of the papers to be published on 9/11’s first anniversary. The Adrian Daily

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Telegram ran a similar section that, although not calling for accounts from readers, aptly
summed up its vision in the slogan “September 11, 2001. A date we will never forget.
September 11, 2002. A day to remember. 1 ‘4 Given this propensity to make the terrorist
attacks a prominent part of the public discourse, one finds within the date range examined
in this study a robust body of material—about 40 different ads, and about 110 total when
repeats are counted—representing all six newspapers.

About forty-five of these 110 ads announced local events to be held on 11
September 2002 to remember the victims and heroes of the attacks. Each of the six papers
ran ads for commemorations and memorial services at chapels, fairgrounds and high
school auditoriums, and hosted by United Way chapters, churches and various
associations. Other ads, however, did not relate to such services. Some consisted simply
of an American flag background superimposed with a message such as “we remember”
or “in remembrance,” and the name and logo of the company that sponsored the ad.
Businesses at both the national (J .C. Penney) and local (Cottin’s Hardware in Sturgis,
Michigan) levels paid for such ads. One paper’s comics section on 11 September 2002
even featured some strips that had come up with their own 9/11 tributes.‘ ‘5

These ads capitalizing on the public’s desire to remember 9/11 employ a mixed
bag of propaganda devices, so to speak. For example, four ads use glittering generalities.
The First Savings Bank, in the Three Rivers Commercial-News on 18 April 2002,
advertised a series of 9/1 1 commemorative coins with names like “God Bless America,”
“Spirit of America” and “A Great Nation Stands United.” In an ad on 21 September 2002
for its special “Reaction, Remembrance, Recovery” section published 10 days earlier, the

Monroe Evening News uses the phrases “Freedom Endures” and “Finding Strength in the

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Unforgettable.” A clothing and accessories store in Manistee referred to all American
citizens as “proud Americans” in its ad of 17 September 2002 in the News Advocate.
Lastly, consider the use of the word “freedom” as a glittering generality in the following
excerpt from an ad sponsored by the St. Joseph County Republican Party in the Three
Rivers Commercial-News on 13 October 2001. The ad voices the need to support “the
tireless workers in New York City, as they continue to protect our freedom.”

Two ads resort to what Black calls propagandists’ use of physical representation
instead of empirical validation to establish conclusions. They use icons associated with
the rescue workers at Ground Zero to convey their heroism. The United States Postal
Service sponsored the first ad, which ran in the Monroe Evening News on 8 September
2002. The ad is for a postage stamp bearing an image that had become famous by the end
of the months-long Trade Center recovery effort: a photograph in which a group of
firefighters hoist up an American flag amid the smoking rubble. Three days later (on the
first anniversary) the Evening News ran an ad titled “Not Forgotten,” which features an
illustration of the twin towers as they looked before they were attacked and, in the
foreground in front of the towers, an American flag to either side of which rest a
firefighter’s hardhat and a police officer’s cap. The text of the ad reminds readers of the
need to “give thanks to those who gave their lives to help others.”

America ’s Rescuerflllilitary Heroes

The demonization of US. enemies is not a major theme in post-9/ll ads. Few ads
even attempt the direct condemnation of 9/1 1 ’s perpetrators and alleged supporters of
terrorism that has riddled the rhetoric of President Bush and others in his administration.

Nor do they constitute anything on the level of the host of shooting targets, phatas, toilet

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paper rolls and urinal mats bearing pictures of Osama bin Laden’s face that were
manufactured right after the terrorist attacks, intended as outlets for rage against the 9/11
mastermind. Indeed, none of the post-9/ 11 ads even mentions bin Laden, his al-Qaida
terrorist network or the so-called “Axis of Evil” coined by Bush, consisting of “regimes
that sponsor terror” and possess “weapons of mass destruction,” in Bush’s words (Iraq,
Iran and North Korea).1 ‘6

But the opposite of enemy demonization—the heroization of the Ground Zero
rescuers and US. military personnel fighting wars oversees in the name of combating
terrorism—prevails in the post-9/11 ads. Together the six papers canied approximately
280 different ads (and roughly 400 when the repeats are counted) lauding America’s
heroes. One of these ads, which ran in the Three Rivers Commercial-News on 11
September 2002, cites a particularly apposite quote, given by Harold W. Bernard, which
could be the very slogan of this post-9/11 process of heroization: “There are
unrecognized heroes among our ordinary neighbors.” An American Red Cross ad titled
“Someone needs Your Help Right Now”—in the Commercial-News only 11 days after
the attacks—reinforces this sense that everyday people can be heroes.

The vast majority of these 400 ads are nods to members of the armed forces; only
about 20 fix on the Ground Zero rescue workers. Most of these 20 ads focus on the
sacrifices of the New York City firefighters, though some mention them together with
those of New York City’s police department. Occasionally, discerning whom among the
heroes—servicemen, firefighters or police officers—a particular ad is saluting is difficult.
In one such instance, a Regal Cinemas location in Monroe inserted into its ad an

American flag along with the following message: “WE SALUTE AMERICA’S

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HEROES.” Since the ad appeared in the Evening News’ issue published on 9/11’s first
anniversary, perhaps it was meant to make readers think automatically of the heroism of
the Ground Zero rescuers one year earlier, with no explanation necessary. Three ads
announce the immortalization of Ground Zero rescue workers in the form of
commemorative coins, I.M. Hummels and pocketknives.

Though smaller in number, this latter subcategory devoted to firefighters is no
shorter on propagandistic appeals. The use of Black’s physical representations is
particularly common among these ads. A telling example is an ad sponsored by the
Sturgis Hospital, which includes an illustration of a firefighter’s helmet with the
reflection of an American flag across its surface (Figure 31). Under the drawing is this
message: “When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing.” In another ad, a
firefighteris hunched close to the ground, his head held in one hand in an expression of
grief while the other hand rests on his helmet on the ground (Figure 32). The text beneath
this drawn image reads: “The only cure for suffering is to face it head on, grasp it round
the neck, and use it.” The Three Rivers Commercial-News carried both ads in its issue
published on the first anniversary of 9/1 1.

”7 Sponsored by

Another ad uses the image of a firefighter’s boot to similar effect.
two Monroe-area firefighter unions, the ad also expresses a sense of fellowship toward
the local firefighters’ New York brethren. The ad, published in the Evening News 13 days
after the terrorist attacks, is dedicated to the “Memory of our Fallen Brothers and Sisters
of the New York City Firefighter Unions.” This fellowship was reprised in an ad in the

Evening News’ issue of 6 October 2001 sponsored by 17 area fire departments, with its

“Fireman’s Prayer.”

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The first thing to be said about the ads lauding US. military personnel is that they
involve a great deal of repetition. About 300 of them belong to various papers’ programs
intended to give recognition to local “hometown” soldiers fighting in Afghanistan
following the attacks and, a year and a half later, in Iraq. During the respective wars, ads
in such series appeared on a daily basis, little changed each day except that they bore the
name and photograph of a new servicemember. The following papers undertook such
programs during the Iraq war, each with a different title: The Adrian Daily Telegram
(“Postcards from the Homefront”), the Manistee News Advocate (“Our American
Heroes”), the Monroe Evening News (“Operation Iraqi Freedom”) and the Three Rivers
Commercial-News (“A salute to hometown heroes”). The Petoskey News-Review’s “In
Service” series appeared during the war in Afghanistan. The Adrian and Petoskey papers
also ran ads encouraging readers to keep their military relatives in touch with home by
purchasing them subscriptions to their hometown papers. The series of ads discussed
above could thereby also serve as “Postcards from the Homefront,” as the Daily
Telegram called its campaign during the Iraq war. The idea was that servicemembers
would see their own ads in the paper, which included personalized messages of support
from loved ones back home.

In addition to these tangible forms of support for American troops, three ads
explicitly reminded readers to support their loved ones fighting overseas. These all
appeared in the Petoskey News-Review during the Iraq war on 25 March, 28 March and 7
April, 2003.

In portraying members of the US. military as heroes, ads employ Sproule’s

glittering generalities device. Consider an ad for a soldier figurine, the base of which

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bears the message “Lord, Bless This Defender of Freedom And Keep Him Safe In Your
Hands” (Although the figurine is clad in Army attire, it is described as a tribute to “all
who serve in the United States military.” This ad was paid for by the Hamilton Collection
and ran in the Monroe Evening News on 30 March 2003. An Evening News ad sponsored
by the US. military during the Afghanistan war, on 23 December 2001, uses another of
Sproule’s device in addition to glittering generalities: the “plain folk” device. The
glittering generality in the ad is “hero”; the basis for categorizing the ad’s written account
as that of a plain folk is that it was given by the fictitious, or perhaps generic, parent of a
US. servicemember—just an ordinary American who happens to have a son serving in
the war. The aim of such an ad, according to Sproule, is to establish identification
between the ad’s speaker and other ordinary Americans who read the ad (Presumably,
readers who also have sons serving in the war would be particularly affected). Under this
ad’s photo of a uniformed young man saluting runs the following “plain folk”
testimonial:

He's not just my son, he's my hero

The job the US. military does is something we can all be proud of. For Jim it

meant finding the right career and the right place to learn it...something else we're

very proud of.

Today's military offers over 150 career paths, 8 different ways to earn college

credits and the rare opportunity to make the world a better place. There are

exciting new options and classic lessons in confidence, courage, self-discipline

and character. It’s a structure for success that makes parents feel as confident

about Today's Military as their kids do. Visit todaysmilitary.com with your

teenager, or calll-888-855-HERO. You will feel the special pride and satisfaction

that only comes with a child's growing success.

Today’s Military

Proud Parents
Bright Futures

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Miscellaneous Other Themes

Although the above categories of war propaganda for the post-9/ll period are
largely all-inclusive, they fail to accommodate one item in the sample. This final piece is
a bookstore ad in the Three Rivers Commercial-News on 4 February 2001 announcing
that Lowry’s Books carries American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us, a warning
about the dangers posed by terrorists in the United States by Steven Emerson, a reporter

and expert on Islamic terrorism.‘ ‘8

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CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION

Two of the three hypothesized similarities between World War I propaganda and
that of the post-9/1 1 war on terrorism found support in this study. Propaganda from both
periods offered readers rationales for supporting their respective wars; and propaganda
displayed a decreasing tendency, from one period to the next, to resort to caricature in
vilifying U.S. enemies. This latter finding is a function of the fact that during the war on
terrorism, practically no propaganda at all used enemy vilification as part of its appeals.
And thus support for the second hypothesis, that propaganda from both periods vilified
America’s enemies, is scarce. Indeed, only the Mathews Ford Oregon ad condemning
9/11’s perpetrators and their brethren as “craven cowards” features such vilification.

This research also generated some intriguing answers to the research questions of
how propaganda from the two periods compare in their depiction of US. nationalism,
their use of propaganda devices and their portrayal of different countries and
organizations with respect to the relevant wars. In short, on the first two fronts, WWI
propaganda and post-9/ ll propaganda bear some striking similarities. Regarding the
portrayal of other nations and organizations, however, propaganda differs a great deal
from one period to the next, which likely is largely a product of two factors.

The first of these is the hypothesized intolerance on the part of the present-day
public for the sort of disparaging portrayals of Germans that typified WWI propaganda,
which found support in ads that denounced some Americans’ persecution of Americans
of Middle Eastern descent whom they falsely associated with the terrorists who

committed the 9/11 attacks. In keeping with the tone of these ads, none of the remaining

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ads in the post-9/11 sample cast Middle Eastern-Americans as scapegoats. This rejection
of the vilification of Middle Eastern-Americans extended to the portrayal of their home
countries.

The second factor has to do with rising globalization. As mentioned in the WWI
section, countries were much more isolated from one another during the First World War.
But by the era of 9/11, the world had increasingly undergone a process of globalization.
Indeed, some politicians have aptly called international terrorism “the dark side of
globalization.”‘ ‘9 As a result, terrorists have found havens in numerous countries, and
thus for propaganda to condemn a particular nation as responsible for an attack against
America would be more problematic than during WWI.

The two periods bear more similarities than differences in terms of the ways in
which ads encouraged readers to support the respective wars. During both periods, ads
stressed the need to support American servicemembers both materially and morally. It
was just as important during the war on terrorism as it had been during the First World
War, it seems, to bolster their spirits by sending warm messages f‘rom home. But ads also
stressed that in spite of their reliance on the support of fiiends and family, military
members possessed true bravery and heroism.

Nor was this heroic quality denied ordinary Americans. Both wars had their

9 ,

those whose selfless sacrifices helped to advance the wars

 

soldiers on the “home front’
aims. During WWI, these people helped finance the war through the purchase of Liberty
Bonds, helped feed American and Allied fighters by saving and producing as many
nutrient-rich foods as possible, volunteered for the Red Cross and did all they could to

conserve resources desperately needed for war production. Although the post-9/11 ads

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gave Americans a new set of responsibilities (donating to relief efforts for the families of
9/11 victims, preparing for future terrorist attacks and spuming the purchase of illicit
drugs as a contributor to terrorism, among others), the basic message that ordinary
citizens were capable of heroic feats was the same. The outstanding exponent of such
heroization are ads commending New York City firefighters, police officers and other
rescue workers for giving their own lives to save as many others as possible—contrasted
with the “cowards” who were willing to sacrifice theirs in order to kill as many people as
possible.

Second, advertisers from both periods advanced their own definitions of
patriotism, though a vital part of showing patriotism during both was flag waving. Flags
abounded in advertisements, some urging readers to fly their own. According to these
ads, the onset of America’s involvement in the First World War and that of the war on
terrorism were times of grave uncertainty and crisis, and it was incumbent upon all
Americans to show their loyalty and unconquerable American spirit. Because the war on
terrorism did not see the same sort of food and energy shortages as plagued America
during WWI, showing one’s patriotism by saving money, food and energy and by
increasing farm yields did not arise as a major theme in post-9/11 ads. Nonetheless, some
post-9/11 ads shared the WI ads’ tendency to proclaim the purchase of certain products
a patriotic act, as evidenced in the Three Rivers Press’s ad for “Patriotic Products.”

A final way to demonstrate patriotism lay in how one celebrated special
occasions. National holidays needed to be observed with a view toward war aims. Thus,
WWI advertisers stressed the need for readers to limit their Christmas gift purchases to

practical things and to buy early to save money, and post-9/11 advertisers explained the

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added significance of Veterans’ Day and Memorial Day in light of the lives lost during
the terrorist attacks and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition to imbuing
familiar holidays with new meaning, advertisers brought to readers’ attention new
occasions for rallying or solemn reflection, such as the “Liberty Day” declared by
President Wilson and the “Red Cross Month” declared by President Bush.

In answer to the second research question, “What common techniques does
propaganda from both periods employ?,” propaganda ads from both periods draw on the
same repertoire of devices posited by Sproule and the same propaganda characteristics
delineated by Black.

Enemies of America or other countries in league with America (during WWI, the
Allies, and during the war on terrorism, countries that joined in America’s anti-terrorism
program), were most often the objects of Sproule’s first device, “name calling.” WWI ads
capitalizing on purported German atrocities, for instance, used the following terms in

’9 66

describing German soldiers: “Hun,” “barbarians, cruel and deadly foe,” “Prussian
fiends,” “the beast of Berlin,” “German savagery,” “German military supremacy,” “the
iron heel of German domination” and “the destruction of civilization.” The alleged
perpetrators of German atrocities were not the sole objects of “name calling” on the part
of propagandists. Anyone who could be construed as helping the enemy by failing to
cooperate with the govemment’s various campaigns, from resource conservation to
Liberty Bond subscriptions to military enlistment, was fair game as well. Recall the plug

for monetary conservation that spoke of “the man who wastes” as “an enemy of his

country.” Other ads went so far as to suggest that those who did not fall into line were

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aiding the enemy in killing American military personnel because they were obstructing
the govemment’s efforts to deliver relief to them.

Fewer advertisers resorted to “name calling” during the war on terrorism. Only
one ad—the one that referred to terrorists as “craven cowards” who attacked America out
of “blind hatred”——explicitly used the “name calling” device. One senses in these ads a
measure of restraint to which WWI advertisers seemingly felt no need to concede. While
WWI ads blatantly used vicious epithets, post-9/11 ads tended merely to imply them. For
instance, the ad linking illicit drug purchases with terrorism did not call those who buy
drugs terrorists, slaughterers of the innocent, enemies of peace-loving nations or anything
else of the sort. Instead, it featured the confession of a young man who claimed to have
helped gun down innocent people after drinking beer with his friends, asserted that drug
money finances bad things and left readers to make the connection between the two.

Although “name calling” was largely absent from post-9/11 ads, the related
device of glittering generalities was as abundant as it had been during WWI. This may be
a product of the increased sensitivity on the part of the public to bigoted and racist
portrayals of minority groups discussed earlier, and such portrayals often involve “name
calling.” Glittering generalities, in contrast, are by their nature less harsh or potentially
offensive than “name calling”—they are intended to inspire enthusiasm or reverence, not
knee-jerk derision or hate toward another group. Thus, they would seem to be more in
keeping with the Zeitgeist that reigned during the early twenty-first century than that of

WWI.

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During both WW1 and the war on terrorism, glittering generalities were most
often used to describe the ideals for which America and the Allies were fighting or the
means through which those ideals would be preserved.

Several themes in WW1 propaganda involved the use of glittering generalities.
Many ads justified the need to vanquish the “Huns” by presenting the Huns as a threat to
cherished American ideals described through such generalities as “democracy,” “liberty,”
“civilization” and the “safety” of American citizens and those of Allied countries.
Similarly, ads urging readers to conserve resources or buy Liberty Bonds or War Savings
Stamps insisted that in doing so one would exercise “thrift,” or would “Save and Serve”
or “Buy Liberally for Liberty.” Ads extolling the benevolence of the Red Cross used the

99 66

generalities “kindness,” “love, pity” and “humanity” to describe its work. The work of
American women, often characterized as backing up their military relatives by doing
housework with a view to promoting war aims, was described as serving the causes of
“thrift” and “economy.”

The ultimate purposes of the post-9/11 war on terrorism were often explicated by
way of glittering generalities. “Freedom” and “democracy,” for instance, were
particularly frequent buzzwords in President Bush’s rhetoric leading up to and during the
Iraq war. As previous sections have shown, advertisers joined in the use of glittering
generalities to spell out the aims of the war on terrorism. The long polemic sponsored by
Mathews Ford Oregon within a week after 9/11 used nearly 20 glittering generalities

” 66

(among them “the strength of American unity, righteous wrath” and “American
freedoms in general”), all signifying the qualities of American life that the United States’

enemies allegedly sought to destroy.

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As time passed and the theme of America’s initial reaction to 9/11 gave way to
the themes of preparation for future attacks and supporting America’s troops overseas,
new glittering generalities cropped up in support of these latest campaigns. For instance,
ads on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security’s READY program used the
words “afraid” and “ready” as glittering generalities; the binary opposition that they
represented was overly simplistic and likely meant to cause readers to act on an
“emotional impression.” The support-our-troops ads sponsored by numerous businesses
and some of the newspapers represent another major receptacle for glittering generalities.
Here generalities such as “Defender of Freedom,” “Our American Heroes” and
“Hometown Heroes” served in a slogan-like way to convey the ideals for which
servicemembers in Afghanistan and Iraq were fighting. Other ads characterized the
firefighters, police officers and other personnel involved in rescue efforts at Ground Zero
as heroes, though only one ad used the glittering generalities device, referring to the
rescuers as “America’s Heroes.”

The five remaining propaganda devices did not figure nearly as prominently in
propaganda fiom either period. The transfer device appeared only twice in the WWI
propaganda—twice in the course of a single ad, which used quotes by revered national
leaders to argue that college attendance was patriotic. It never appeared in post-9/11 ads.
Neither period featured the testimonial device. Even though numerous ads included.
testimony, they did not use this testimony in the manner described by Sproule—in the
linking of “an idea or program to some specific, favored person or institution.” Instead,
the testimony tended to be one component of Sproule’s plain folk device—Le,

propagandists tried to elicit support for their programs by establishing, through the

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testimony of ordinary Americans, “an identity with ordinary Americans.” For example,
the text of a US. military ad consisted entirely of three paragraphs of testimony from a
mother with a son in the military, in which she reflects proudly on how military service
has helped her son realize his potential. The ad thus presented the voice of one of many
“plain folks” who happen to have children working in the US. military.

The “card stacking” device, where the propagandist “uses overemphasis and
underemphasis to put a calculated spin on his or her ideas or proposals,” likely suffused
propaganda from both periods. The longer, more discursive ads are the most likely places
for this tactic, since shorter ads are better suited to more immediate appeals as opposed to
an elaborate series of distortions and omissions. The “band wagon,” Sproule’s final
device, appears during both periods, though often quite subtly—i.e., the ads do not
explicitly say that readers should adopt certain beliefs or engage in certain behaviors
because everyone else is, though this is certainly implied. Examples of the device used
subtly are WWI ads claiming that “patriots” or “true Americans” conserve resources, buy
Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps and practice economy wherever possible. The
post-9/11 period arguably saw the formation of several bandwagons. Among these were
the profusion of American flags in advertisement and calls for readers to join in the flag
waving; the aid drives for the families of 9/11 victims, ads for which sometimes featured
honor rolls containing the names of local contributors; and peace drives in opposition to
the subsequent wars in the Middle East, one of which contained a similar list.

As with Sproule’s devices, Black’s propaganda characteristics were evident in ads
from both the WWI and post-9/11 periods. In keeping with the first trait of propaganda

according to Black, “a heavy or undue reliance on authorities or spokespersons, rather

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than empirical validation,” ads from WWI attempted to advocate a range of measures in
support of the war by claiming that high-ranking officials endorsed them. Consider the ad
that attempted to portray “the Italians” as authority figures so that readers would accept
its claims regarding an artifact of German atrocity: “[a]n oflicial photograph of the club
with which the German armies finish ofl’ wounded soldiers. 32, 000 of these were
recently captured by the Italians.” Other ads quoted federal officials, as for instance the
firel conservation ad that mentioned Fuel Administrator Garfield’s order that all stores in
the region of the United States east of the Mississippi River remain closed for a stretch of
five days. Another ad, stressing the need for housewives to practice economy in the
home, drew on a quote by President Wilson: “Home economy is the nation’s greatest
need.” Finally, an ad urging college attendance as a “patriotic duty” consisted largely of
indirect quotes by the President, the Secretary of War and “OTHER ARMY, NAVY,
NATIONAL AND STATE OFFICERS.” In none of these examples did an advertiser
attempt to justify the program being put forth with anything beyond quotes from such
authority figures.

Following 9/11, many Americans perceived this same process to be at work in
their national discourse. They saw the attacks on celebrities like Susan Sontag and the
Dixie Chicks, who dared to question the Bush administration, as evidence that one’s
freedom to question the govemment’s motives had been diminished. It would seem, then,
that the conditions were ripe for the type of propaganda that depends unduly on the
claims of those in power. Indeed, numerous post-9/ll ads used authority figures and
spokespersons in this manner. A case in point is the tome-like condemnation of the

terrorists sponsored by Mathews Ford Oregon. In support of its conviction that the

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terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks were about to suffer Americans’ “righteous
wrath,” the ad quoted a popular saying among American colonists and a statement by
Abraham Lincoln. The decision to include American colonists and President Lincoln in
the ad’s discussion seemed arbitrary, and nothing logically connected them with present
world events. Instead, they appeared to have been chosen simply as a set of authority
figures to dictate the future course of action. Another ad used a present-day national
leader, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, to encourage readers to believe that
their only possible responses to the threat of terrorism were fearfulness and readiness.
Ads for Homeland Security’s READY campaign made similar use of Lai Sun Ye of the
Office of Emergency Management.

At other times, advertisers seemingly saw more profit in using not authority
figures or spokespersons, but what Black calls “unverified and perhaps unverifiable
abstract nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and physical representations” in lieu of “empirical
validation.” Such use of these parts of speech abounded in the titles and text of ads during
both periods. Though fewer examples of “physical representations” used to
propagandistic effect were found during either period, the four examples discussed in this
study were particularly telling. For instance, .WWI advertisers used the collection of
Michigan battle flags at the state Capitol to generate enthusiasm for serving in the
Michigan National Guard. Following 9/11, a Michigan hospital bolstered the
characterization, on the part of advertisers at large, of firefighters as heroes by sponsoring
an ad whose most prominent feature was an illustration of a firefighter’s helmet with an

American flag reflected across its surface.

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The creation of in- groups and out-groups is another propaganda method posited
by Black that enjoyed appeal among both WW1 and post-9/11 advertisers. The mere titles
of two of the WI ads are revealing. The title “You and the Rest of Us” preceded a call
for greater support for a Red Cross drive; the title “Are You a Patriotic American
Citizen?” was a reminder that one must cooperate with propaganda campaigns to be
worthy to be called patriotic. In- and out- groups were equally as prevalent in propaganda
following 9/11. Recall that the thrust of the READY campaign was the separation of
Americans into two groups with respect to the prospect of future terrorist attacks in
America—those who would be “ready” for the next attack and those who would be
“afraid” during it. Those who would commit such acts of terrorism fell into a cowardly
out-group hopelessly at odds with the in-group comprised of diverse, liberty-loving
Americans.

The READY campaign also epitomizes another of Black’s propaganda
characteristics, the “reduction of situations into simplistic and readily identifiable cause
and effect relations, ignoring multiple causality of events.” The campaign hinged on the
notion that only two, mutually exclusive responses to terrorism exist—fear and
readiness—and that learning a three-step preparation procedure was all it took to attain
readiness, no matter that terrorists are frightening largely because of their capacity to
strike unexpectedly. Another example of such oversimplification was the Mathews Ford
Oregon ad, which asserted that one could take power away from terrorists by being more
productive on the job and thus boosting U.S. commerce. During WWI, this propaganda
method was most often apparent in ads that equated cooperation with such government

campaigns as the Liberty Loans, the food- and fuel-conservation efforts and the Red

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Cross drives with helping keep the “Huns” at bay. This tactic was used most pointedly in
an ad showing an illustration of an inhuman Hun, and the message “BUY W.S.S. on June
28th & KEEP HIM OUT of AMERICA.”

It is more difficult to point to specific instances of Black’s remaining two
propaganda traits in ads from either period. These final two properties are “[a] time
perspective characterized by an overemphasis or underemphasis on the past, present, or
future as disconnected periods rather than a demonstrated consciousness of time flow”
and “[a] greater emphasis on conflict than on cooperation among people, institutions, and
situations.” To be sure, each period had its share of allusions to historical periods and
figures. And the caricature entailed in portraying Americans as benevolent lovers of
freedom and liberty and German soldiers (or cowardly terrorists, as the case may be) as
inimical to all that is good surely involved exaggerating the level of conflict among
people, institutions, etc. But with rare exceptions, the historical allusions were used for
the sake of analogy or context, and the exaggeration of conflict was dispersed too widely
among other themes to be discussed in its own right.

As well as drawing on the same techniques, propaganda ads from both periods
came in a diversity of shapes and sizes. Both periods featured ads as narrow as a
newspaper column and others occupying entire pages—as well as ads representing a
range of dimensions in-between. Ads during both periods tended to be rectangular and
their boundaries delineated by solid lines, though these rectangular forms showed an
endless variety of height-width ratios.

This study’s comparison of propaganda from two distant and disparate periods in

history has yielded some important findings regarding the nature of propaganda over the

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course of history and its relationship to advancements in technology and changes in the
milieu that produces it. Chief among these findings is that the semantics of propaganda,
as evidenced by the “devices” used by propagandists and the “characteristics” possessed
by the resultant propaganda, remained almost completely unchanged between two time
periods nearly a century apart, and between which monumental changes occurred on
almost every level of the American milieu. Broadly speaking, the devices and
characteristics of propaganda and changes in the environment in which it appears do not
seem to be either correlated Or related—the former remained inert (Indeed, some
commentators compared post-9/11 propaganda campaigns with those of WWI‘20 )—while
the latter underwent a complete transformation.

That comparisons could so readily be made between post-9/11 propaganda and
that of previous wars is a telling commentary on the degree of sophistication that
Americans have acquired in discerning propagandistic messages. During WWI, the
American public was utterly innocent about the workings of war propaganda. By the
early twenty-first century, however, a great many educated Americans had come to find
much propaganda laughably spurious and predictable, as well as offensive.

This widespread skepticism toward the govemment’s claims about the intent of
the war on terrorism points to another way in which public opinion differed from the first
period to the second: the degree to which the American public supported the respective
wars. The post-9/11 war on terrorism appears to have had less universal support than did
U.S. involvement in the First World War. During the WWI period, dissenting against the
war was not a viable option. For two and a half years leading up to America’s entry into

WWI, the propagandists of Allied nations had conditioned Americans to hate the German

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government and believe that Germany’s defeat was necessary to preserve democracy.
Those suspected merely of not cooperating firlly enough with the propagandists’
programs (e. g., not buying enough Liberty Bonds or War Savings Stamps or being
economical in meal preparation or clothing purchases), much less freely rejecting them,
risked persecution. Accordingly, this study’s WWI sample contains no ads for anti-war
demonstrations. -

During the post-9/ 11 period, in contrast, anti-war sentiment was rampant. Not
only the general public but celebrities and other public figures condemned the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq as unjust and questioned the Bush administration’s motives in
ordering them. War protestors used local papers to promote their demonstrations and
marches. And although the post-9/11 period saw a few notorious cases of public figures
being persecuted for criticizing the government’s actions, this neither deterred other
public figures from adding their voices to the chorus of disapproval nor kept members of
the general public from talking in similar terms amongst themselves.

Two chief factors account for the periods’ differences in public opinion. The first
is the public’s level of psychological preparation for the prospect of going to war. While
the war on terrorism began abruptly with the events of a single, terrible, day, the United
States’ involvement in WW1 came after the public had been exposed to two-and-a-half-
years’ worth of Allied propaganda extolling the war as an unavoidable means to
preserving democracy. Thus, at the onset of the war on terrorism the public had not been
primed, as it had been leading up the WI fight against Prussianism, to loath the enemy

01' view war as a necessary course.

136

The second factor is the public’s increased sophistication regarding the nature of
propaganda. Commentators have suggested that for a short time following the terrorist
attack, Americans may have been more willing to accept war propaganda than they
would have after the psychological wounds inflicted by the catastrophe were no longer
fresh. For instance, some commentators opined that immediately after 9/11, the American
public may have been more amenable to the notion of going to war with nations linked
with the attack, but that the Bush administration missed this critical threshold in
executing its preemptive strike against Iraq by waiting until the spring of 2003 and, as a
result, met with less public approval in its decision to‘attack Iraq than it otherwise might
have. While it is true that the sense of solidarity inspired by 9/11 made Americans
temporarily more willing to trust their leaders and disapproving of those who questioned
their leadership,‘20 it is hard to imagine the public adopting anything close to the
sustained acceptance of its govemment’s propaganda and harsh condemnation of
dissenters that it had shown during WWI. Americans’ higher levels of education and
greater familiarity with the workings of propaganda render such a reprisal of WWI
sentiment unlikely.

To give the creators of propaganda their due, they, too, have adopted more
sophisticated approaches. The WWI policy of bombardment by means of only a few
media is clearly no longer in force. Today’s propagandists have a far broader range of
media—radio, television, videogames and the burgeoning realm of hypertextual forms
available through the World Wide Web, to name a few—through which to convey their

messages. The full potentialities of such outlets for propaganda likely have yet to be seen.

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The increase in the number of media forms and forums and the acceleration in the
pace of life between the two periods may be largely responsible for the decrease in the
total volume of war propaganda ads. This decline is likely several times greater than the
totals tabulated in Chapter 2 would suggest. These tables show that total ads during the
post-9/11 period were less than half the number during the WWI period—430 as opposed
to 885. But recall that the post-9/11 newspaper sample consisted of about seven times as
many issues as the WI sample—whereas the former examined every issue of every
paper, the latter examined only one issue per week of every paper. Thus, logically, if
every issue of every WWI paper had been examined, the WI sample may have
contained 14 times as many war propaganda ads as the post-9/11 sample.

Doubtless, this dramatic drop is partly a product of the fact that newspapers were
no longer as dominant a medium, nor read in as leisurely a fashion, in the post-9/1 1
period as they had been during WWI. By the time of 9/1 1, the public was obtaining its
news from a range of media in addition to print publications, such as radio, television and
the World Wide Web—only one of which, radio, existed during WW1, and then only in
an experimental stage. While WWI coincided with the golden age of the newspaper, the
era of 9/ 11 saw newspapers as merely one among a range of alternatives, and one that
was suffering declines in readership with every passing year.‘22 Further, an increasing
number of those who continued to read papers oflen visited the papers’ Web sites rather
than purchasing hardcopy versions. It became common wisdom during the late 20‘” and
early 21" centuries that such trends reflected a general quickening of the pace of living, a
decreasing inclination on the part of the public to read for amusement and the coming

into existence of an increasingly global society. In short, the average American between

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2001 and 2003 spent less time reading the daily paper and read it in less depth than the
average American between 1917 and 1918, and as a result would have been less likely to
notice propagandistic appeals in newspaper ads.

The obvious next step in this logic is that it is impossible for present-day
Americans to examine surviving examples of WWI propaganda in the same way as
Americans examined them during WWI. Americans’ milieu has changed immensely,
forcing changes in the human biases determined by one’s milieu. For instance, from the
perspective of 2004, WI appeals involving the use of disparaging names for America’s
enemies and the relegation of women to a homemaker role have aged badly, though most
Americans exposed to the ads when they first appeared in newspapers 85 years ago
would not have found them objectionable. By the same token, Americans in future eras
will not be capable of examining the post-9/1 1 ads in the same way as did Americans
who saw them in the two years immediately following 9/11. One can only speculate what
attitudes and portrayals widely acceptable to Americans in the early twenty-first century
will strike their progeny 85 years later as unpardonable breaches of decorum. Thus,
among other things, each group of ads in this study is a time capsule. In addition to their
primary, propagandistic function, the messages of each group’s ads serve inadvertently as
artifacts of the culture that existed in America at that time.

Moreover, it is important to recognize that studies of media messages necessarily
isolate their units of examination from other media content that originally surrounded
them. For instance, this study paid no heed to the news stories, advertisements unrelated

to the war, imagery or other material that accompanied the war propaganda ads. While

139

propagandees processed the propaganda ads in the context of these other elements of
newspaper content, readers of this study witness them in a vacuum.

Although the basic devices and characteristics of war propaganda did not change,
the messages of that propaganda did. This change in the nature of messages was largely a
product in changes in America’s social norms. For instance, while WWI propaganda
vilified America’s enemy, post-9/11 propaganda took pains not to. During the post-9/11
period, advertisers avoided characterizing in such negative terms the otherwise tempting
targets of Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the three nations in President Bush’s “axis of evil,”
Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Propaganda during the two periods also differed vastly in its treatment of women.
A multitude of WWI ads focused on the roles of women, stressing their role in ensuring
economy in the kitchen and around the home, the need to train at business schools for
war jobs and the portrayal of the American Red Cross as a metaphorical mother or “big
sister” of the boys fighting overseas. Such portrayals were possible at that time because it
was an age when such roles for women were considered normal. Today a great many
Americans, both male and female, would find such portrayals offensive and chauvinist,
but these appeals ran no such risk during WWI because the social norms were different
then.

Other differences arose out of the fact that each war posed different problems for
the American public. Those posed by the First World War had largely to do With
shortages of resources needed to fight the war. The post-9/11 war on terrorism saw no
such shortages; instead, the problem was keeping America’s borders secure so that

terrorists could not strike again. Thus, the war on terrorism saw no reprisals of such WI

140

themes as food and fuel conservation, farm production and subscriptions to the Liberty
Loan, War Savings Stamps and Thrift Stamps campaign. Rather, ads urged readers to
defy terrorists through displays of patriotism, to prepare for future attacks, to avoid
helping fund terrorist organizations by purchasing illicit drugs and to watch out for
potential terrorists at large in the United States.

Incidentally, this last theme was the basis for a series of ads by the State
Department as part of its Rewards for Justice campaign. The Rewards for Justice
program, as of this writing, continues to offer rewards for information leading to the
arrest of wanted terrorists. Although it had been active long before 9/11, the attacks in the
United States lent it new prominence. Ads released during the program’s post-9/1 1
campaign are among the most arresting examples of propaganda from the war on
terrorism period. Unfortunately, none of these ads appeared in the papers included in this
sample (though at least one Michigan paper, the Holland Sentinel carried all of them
multiple times throughout the post-9/ll period). One ad in this campaign is worth noting
here because its central question makes it an obvious throwback to WWI propaganda:
“Can a Woman Stop Terrorism?” The ad details the ways in which the average rural
American woman’s dealings with other people enable her to notice suspicious behavior
that may lead to the apprehension of terrorists:

You, as a woman and perhaps a mother, may be in a unique position to act against

International terrorism. You know what is happening within your family, your

neighborhood, your town or village. You are part of a worldwide network of

awareness. What you may know or see may bear witness to a plan to commit an
act of unspeakable violence.

The US. Government has a program called Rewards for Justice whereby
you can communicate what you know in strict confidence.

You may be eligible for a reward, which you can use to build a future for

your family and start a new life. This may also give you an opportunity to pay for
a home and educate your children. In addition to a cash reward, personal

141

protection is available, which may include moving you and your family to a safe

location.

For anyone, such a telephone call would be an act of extraordinary
bravery. For you, as a woman, it is also a way to enable a child, a true innocent, to
live to choose a path, to worship God, to return the love of a mother.

If you have information that could prevent an international terrorist act, or
could bring to justice persons who have committed one, today is the day to speak
out. There is no cultural standard, no holy law or writ, no custom of silence on
the face of the earth that permits children to die.

There is a telephone in your home. A pay phone on a comer where you
live or work. A cell phone lying somewhere nearby. A pen with which you can
write a letter.

Will you pick it up, and stop a terrorist?‘23
If this ad does not serve as proof that in spite of all our cultural progress we are

still susceptible to the most primitive propaganda tactics, there is scarcely an ad that does.
Like those in this sample, Holland’s paper falls into the category of small-community
papers, and thus it likely caters to a more rural-oriented readership that would find such
ads palatable. If one submits that Michigan papers were representative of papers in the
nation at large following 9/11, then it is logical that many states across the country had
their versions of the Holland Sentinel, which served as carriers of these anachronistic
ideas put forth by the Rewards for Justice campaign.

On that note this concluding discussion draws to a close. This study was
conceived partly as an attempt to shed new light on how to deal (or to use Black’s term,
“cope”) with propaganda in the twenty-first century. Undoubtedly, part of dealing with
propaganda today is examining it critically to see whether the facts bear out its claims. As
evidenced by the short-lived campaign linking illicit drug purchases with terrorism,
Americans today are submitting propaganda to such scrutiny—and being outspoken

about their feelings regarding it. Another point made clear by this research is that

propaganda can originate from many sources, not simply from the government but also

142

from companies and even individuals. In times of war, then, one must be wary of ads
associating certain programs with the war effort, regardless of their source. Above all,
however, this study demonstrates that a vital part of recognizing war propaganda today is
being aware of what propaganda has resembled during previous wars. It is conventional
wisdom in film culture that Hollywood prefers repetition to true creativity. Perhaps the
same is true of propagandists, who in spite of a myriad of new media to work with, still
resort to pretty explanations in the daily papers as to how their products and services help

draw victory nearer.

143

APPENDICES

144

APPENDIX A

CODING PROTOCOL*
Introduction

This propaganda ad protocol will guide the assessment of war propaganda from World
War I and the post-9/11 war on terrorism. It examines how each ad treats various aspects
of the relevant war, and which propaganda techniques such treatments are congruent
with. The following definitions are crucial in the selection and analysis of content.

Propaganda

The word propaganda has four senses. The first of these identifies what constitutes
propaganda. Although propaganda scholars continue to pro ose various notions as to
what should be included in the definition of propaganda, ‘2 Oxford defines it as “The
systematic propagation of information or ideas by an interested party, esp. in a
tendentious way in order to encourage or instill a particular attitude or response. Also, the
ideas, doctrines, etc., disseminated thus; the vehicle of such propagation.” In another of
its senses, propaganda is short for “Congregation or College of the Propaganda.” This
was “[a] committee of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church having the care and over-
sight of foreign missions, founded in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.” The word propaganda
first arose with the instigation of this committee; it derives from the Latin title
Congregatio de propaganda fide (“congregation for propagating the faith”). In another of
its uses, propaganda means “[a]ny association, systematic scheme, or concerted
movement for the propagation of a particular doctrine or practice.” Oxford thus details
the final sense of the word propaganda:

...propaganda campaign, chief film, fitnd, leaflet, meeting, play, poster, raid,
technique, war, warfare, work; propaganda machine, an organization responsible
for the dissemination of propaganda.‘ 5

Black’s six characteristics of propaganda will serve as an additional guide in determining
which ads constitute propaganda:

1. A heavy or undue reliance on authority figures and spokespersons, rather
than empirical validation, to establish its truths, conclusions or impressions.

2. The utilization of unverified and perhaps unverifiable abstract nouns,
adjectives, adverbs, and physical representations rather than empirical validation
to establish its truths, conclusions or impressions.

* This document represents a tentative coding protocol, written before the decision to make the study a
qualitative, rather than quantitative, content analysis. In consequence, not every element of the protocol
was used in the study. The content categories detailed here are the most prominent among the items
discarded with the shift to a different mode of analysis.

145

 

3. A finalistic or fixed view of people, institutions, and situations divided into
broad, all-inclusive categories of in-groups (fiiends) and out-groups (enemies),
beliefs and disbeliefs, and situations to be accepted or rejected in toto.

4. A reduction of situations into simplistic and readily identifiable cause and
effect relations, ignoring multiple causality of events.

5. A time perspective characterized by an overemphasis or underemphasis on
the past, present, or future as disconnected periods rather than a demonstrated
consciousness of time flow.

6. A greater emphasis on conflict than on cooperation among people,
institutions, and situations.‘26

Advertisement

A war propaganda advertisement is an ad that (1) fits the definition of propaganda, and
(2) addresses the war that was in progress when the ad first appeared. The ways in which
an ad can address a war are myriad. The address can be direct, such as mention of the
word war or a disparaging nickname for people in an enemy country, such as “Hun.”
Other times, the address can be subtle, merely suggesting an ideal or course of action
through juxtaposition—the sole detail connecting it to the war being perhaps a military
uniform.

This study will use the broadest possible sense of the word advertisement: “a public
notice, esp. in print.”‘27 The reason for this breadth of definition is that during both
periods under study, propaganda has utilized the gamut of mass media, at the hands of
myriad organizations and interest groups. Thus, to limit the term advertisement to
newspaper ads issued by the US. government would completely rule out ads sponsored
by companies, political parties and innumerable other organizations. For this study, then,
an advertisement is simply a public notice that appeared in a newspaper.

Gun ho Portrayal of War

A “gung ho portrayal of war” is any message in an ad that expresses enthusiasm for, and
loyalty behind, the efforts of a given country’s military troops to defeat the enemy troops.
Such efforts can be depicted in either literal or figurative terms—Le, illustrations of
national emblems defiled by the enemy or restored to greatness by Allied efforts are
equally as permissible as depictions of soldiers actually engaged in battle with the enemy.

Requests for Public Support for the War
Propaganda requests public support for a war by equating actions or beliefs on the part of

the general public with victories on the warfront. To buy war bonds, conserve food, put in
extra hours at work or stay alert for potential terrorists among us, say such ads, is to help

146

bring an end to the war. Some ads equate such deeds with “backing up” the soldiers
overseas. Another variation is to assert that these actions diminish the power of the
enemy.

Vilification of the Enemy

To “vilify” is to “speak ill of; defame; slander.”‘28 Explicit name-calling is the most
obvious form that vilification can take. There is also, however, a quieter type, which
cannot be overlooked. It results from the juxtaposition of some symbol of the enemy
country with a caption that the emblem in question is to be “blotted out” or kept “off the
USA.” Accepting this condemnation of the symbol, one disapproves of all that it stands
for.

Caricature

The word caricature has two senses, the first a verb and the other a noun. To caricature a
person or thing is to create “a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating [its]
peculiarities or defects. . .”‘Z9 A caricature in the noun sense is the final product of such
hyperbolic depiction—i.e., the drawing, bit of text, video- or audio-clipping, etc., in
which the enemy is caricatured. In war propaganda, caricature often goes beyond this
mere exaggeration of “peculiarities or defects” possessed by an enemy
leader/soldier/citizen, and imposes additional traits on the enemy. For instance, some ads
contain a figure with the body of an animal and the head of an enemy leader. Yet
inanimate objects can just as easily take the place of animals. Or an ad may focus on only
a small part of an enemy soldier’s body or uniform, such as a pair of boots or a fist
thrusting out. Regardless of the precise form it takes, caricature involves dramatically
distorting the enemy in some way while still preserving enough of the enemy for the
common passerby to recognize it as such.

Stereotype

The sociological sense of the word stereotype is the one with which this study concerns
itself: “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning
and held in common by members of a group.”‘30 The inhuman, blood-drenched “Hun”
and the turban-wearing, cave-dwelling Arab are among the racial stereotypes that one
might see in a prOpaganda ad’s depiction of US. enemies. Stereotypes lend themselves to
caricature, as when a depiction of an enemy leader exaggerates facial features or
dispositions stereotypical of that leader’s race, such as those mentioned above.

Nationalism
Appeals to nationalism comprise a dominant motif in all war propaganda, regardless of
which nation produced the propaganda, or for which nation it is intended.‘3 ‘ This study’s

definition of nationalism encompasses several of its dictionary definitions:

1. national spirit or aspirations. 2. devotion to the interests of one’s own nation.

147

3. desire for national advancement or independence. 4. the policy of asserting the L
interests of one’s own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other
nations or the common interests of all nations.‘32

Procedure

Content analysis coding will involve the following steps (v is short for variable). First, all
relevant war propaganda ads are read to determine the presence or absence of the
following: gung ho portrayals of war, requests for public support for the war, vilification
of the enemy, caricature, stereotypes and appeals to nationalism. Second, one coder lists,
for each ad, those of the above elements present in that ad. These judgments are then
checked by another coder. Third, each ad is analyzed according to the degree to which it
exhibits these elements.

Coders are to read the protocol at the beginning of each coding session, and are to code
for intervals of no longer than one hour. As for the total length of time a coder may spend
each day on coding, follow this rule of thumb. Be realistic about how many hours you

can spend coding and still give the material your full attention. At the outset of coding,
carefully assess the total extent of material to be coded and be sure that the stretch of time
in which you have to complete the coding will be sufficient. When in doubt, give yourself
extra time.

v1. Era in which ad was produced (World War I or the war on terrorism)

1 = World War I
0 = War on terrorism

v2. Medium in which ad appeared

l = print publication 4 = the Internet
2 = radio broadcast 5 = poster, leaflet, etc.
3 = television broadcast

Many of the following variables involve some of the less-easily-discemable facts
about an ad. For instance, gauging the presence and degree of a “gung ho portrayal of
war” is a less straightforward process than that of determining which era an ad belongs to
or which medium it appeared in. It is also a somewhat subjective judgment, whereas the
latter two are completely objective facts. Thus, it is perhaps best to accord the coding
procedures for these more complicated variables “face validity” and leave them subject to
revision as the situation demands. In coding ads for such variables, follow this rule:
assign the ad a zero if the variable is not present at all, and assign the ad one point for
each additional instance of that variable. For instance, recall the protocol’s definition for
the variable gung ho portrayal of war:

any message in an ad that expresses enthusiasm for, and loyalty behind, the
efforts of a given country’s military troops to defeat the enemy troops. Such

148

efforts can be depicted in either literal or figurative terms—Le, illustrations of
national emblems defiled by the enemy or restored to greatness by Allied efforts
are equally as permissible as depictions of soldiers actually engaged in battle with
the enemy.

If an ad contains no national emblems, depictions of soldiers doing battle, written
passages extolling soldiers or anything else that could be construed as presenting an
enthusiasm for war, then that ad is given a zero for the variable gung ho portrayal of war.
If, however, one of these elements is present, code “1”; if two are present, code “2,” and
so forth. Observe this rule when coding for the following other variables: v5, v6, v9 and
VII through v13.

v3. Gung ho portrayal of war

Not at all gung ho = 0
Slightly gung ho = 1
Moderately gung ho = 2
Considerably gung ho = 3
Extremely gung ho = 4

v4. Relationship between the United States and any other nation or group depicted in ad
US. ally = 0
Neutral = 1
US. enemy = 2

v5. Requests for public support for the war

0 = absent
1 = present

v6. Degree to which another nation or group is vilified
Not at all vilified = 0
Slightly vilified = l
Moderately vilified = 2
Considerably vilified = 3
Extremely vilified = 4

v7. Use of caricature in vilifying U.S. enemies

0 = absent
1 = present

v8. Use of stereotyping in vilifying U.S. enemies

149

 

0 = absent
1 = present

v9. Depiction of US. nationalism

Completely unnecessary = 0
Slightly necessary = l
Moderately necessary = 2
Considerably necessary = 3
Vital = 4

v10. Propaganda devices used. This variable will be gauged according to the seven
propaganda devices operationalized by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1937),
which are detailed below.

An ad with none of the devices listed below scores a 0, while an ad with all of
them scores a 6. Below are the codes for this variable:

0 = name calling 3 = testimonial 6 = bandwagon
1 = glittering generalities 4 = plain folk
2 = transfer 5 = card stacking

According to Sproule in “Authorship and Origins of the Seven Propaganda Devices,” the
devices are:

 

1. Name calling The propagandist conjures hate or fear by attaching
unattractive labels “to those individuals, groups, nations, races, policies, practices,
beliefs, and ideals which he would have us condemn and reject.” Examples of
such stigrnatizing names prone to use without clarification or analysis were
“heretic” and “communist.”

2. Glittering generalities—The propagandist associates his or her program with
“virtue words” such as “truth, freedom, honor, liberty, social justice, public
service, right to work, loyalty, progress, democracy, the American way,
Constitutional defender.” As with name calling, the idea was to make people form
a thoughtless judgment under the influence of an emotional impression.

3. Transfer—Here the protagonist carries over the authority, sanction, and
prestige of something we respect and revere to something he would have us
accept. Typical were efforts to establish identification between a political project
and the audience’s reverence for national or religious symbolism.

4. Testimonial—Here the protagonist links an idea or program to some specific,

favored person or institution. For instance, a point in a labor-management dispute
might be linked to ideas put forth by the OLD.

150

 

 

5. Plain folk—Persuaders and leaders present themselves as “just plain folks”
to establish an identity with ordinary Americans. Through language and action,
elites give themselves the common touch with the objective of conveying a
favorable impression about their ideas and proposals.

6. Card stacking—The propagandist uses overemphasis and underemphasis to
put a calculated spin on his or her ideas or proposals. Distortions and omissions
throw up a smoke screen such that the audience forgets inconvenient information
and embraces half truths.

7. Band wagon—Here the propagandist works to have people “follow the
crowd,” to accept an idea or plan because “everybody’s doing it.” Focus often is
on appealing to ties of nation, religion, race, religion, sex, or occupation.‘33

The final three variables have the values negative and positive. Use these
definitions to determine which value is present in an ad. Other countries or
representatives thereof are treated positively in an ad when they are portrayed as helping
the country responsible for the ad to achieve victory in the war or recover from losses or
destruction suffered during the war. Negative treatment, on the other hand, consists in
portraying other countries or their representatives as harming the country responsible for
the ad, and as presenting a threat to the latter’s victory. Positive or negative treatment
may be inherent in either the text or imagery, or both, of an ad. In other cases, neither text
nor imagery will, in isolation, present the positive or negative depiction; rather, such
depictions will emerge through the juxtaposition of the two. In the imagery, the
individual or other country asserted to have a positive or negative impact on the country
that produced the ad, may be represented through a photograph, an emblem or a political
cartoon. A cartoon may take the form of caricature, with animals standing for various
countries, or it may be a realistic depiction of an important battle or gesture on the part of
another country during the war.

Follow this procedure to determine which value to assign to a given ad. Count the
number of times that an ad refers to the country, class of people, individual, etc., in
question. Have the other coders check the resulting figure. Then determine which of these
references are negative portrayals and which are positive. If the positive outnumber the
negative, code “1 If the negative outnumber the positive, code “0.”

VII. Portrayal of Allies

O = negative
1 = positive

v12. Portrayal of countries resisting involvement in the war

0 = negative
1 = positive

v13. Portrayal of immigrants to the country that produced the propaganda ad, and for

151

 

which it was intended.

0 = negative
1 = positive

152

APPENDIX B

 

FIGURES

153

 

 

Figure 1. Our Doughnuts
Here is an exception to the rule that WWI ads portray Germans in a negative light, as either
bloodthirsty savages or victims of their autocrat leaders. Text reads:

THE Germans, even centuries ago, were famous all over Europe for their ability as bread and
pastry makers[.] They are said to have first invented the doughnut, now popular throughout the
entire world.

Our Doughnuts
are famous throughout this entire community. Our customers tell us they are “like those mother
used to make,” and that is the best recommendation a doughnut or any other article of pastry can
have.

Quality and cleanliness are the twin mortoes of this bakery at all times.

Grand Haven Baking Co.

154

 

 

 

 

 

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centu’ries ago, were
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155

Figure 2. Farmers of America

This ad supports Doob’s contention that a portion of any nation’s war propaganda is devoted to
portraying a “united enemy counn'y composed of brutes. . .about to rip down all the evidences of civilization
acquired so painfully throughout the ages.” Text reads:

To The Farmers of America

You farmers of America are the backbone of the nation. You provide the wheat and corn
and oats and meat and milk that enable us to live. You provide everything that goes upon our
tables. You have furnished tons and tons of food to feed our soldiers and to feed our allies. Your
sons and brothers by the tens of thousands have shouldered guns and gone to fight the Prussian
hordes just as other farmer boys went out to fight the enemies of Freedom in 1861 and 1776.

But the United States now faces a far more cruel and deadly foe than it did in ‘61 or ‘76.
It faces a foe that stops at nothing, a foe that tortures wounded soldiers and poisons wells and
butchers women and girls and innocent babes.

And to fight this foe we’ve got to have more than food and men and guns. We ’ve got to
have MONEY. We’ve got to have billions and billions of dollars—or else we’ll LOSE THIS
WAR and the Prussian fiends will do to American farms what they did to the farms in France and
Belgium. They’ll destroy our orchards and growing fields as they destroyed the farms and growing
fields of France and Belgium. They’ll poison our wells as they poisoned the wells over there. And
on those farms that they don’t destroy they’ll make Americans work as slaves under guard of
German guns to fill the granaries of Germany and to fill the coffers of Berlin.

Not only that, but they’ll torture our wounded soldiers and torture our wives and mothers
and violate our girls and butcher our babes, because that’s the Kaiser’s idea of making war. That’s
why we appeal to every farmer in America now to buy US. Government Liberty Bonds and buy
AS MANY OF THEM AS HE POSSIBLY CAN.

We need every dollar that can be raised. It is just as important that every farmer buy all
the Bonds he can possibly take as it is that he raise all the food that he can. It is just as important
to buy Liberty Bonds as it is to send your boys across to the trenches to fight. For the brave
American boys CAN’T POSSIBLY WIN unless we back them up with all the money we’ve got.

We urge you to go to the nearest Bank and arrange to get your Bonds at once. US.
Government Liberty Bonds are the safest and surest form of investment in the world. You will get
4% interest on your money, and if you should ever need to you can sell your Bonds and get the
cash, or you can borrow money on them. Moreover, your income from those Bonds will be free
from all state, county, municipal and normal income taxes.

We have reached a period when every man of honor must be willing to strain a point to
help the United States. What good would your famis be to you if Germany should win? What
good would your homes and barns be to you if America lost her freedom and was crushed beneath
the iron heel of Prussia? What good would ANYTHING be if American farmers were reduced to
the condition of the down-trodden peasants of Germany and our American women and American
girls were made to work in the fields and be hitched to carts with dogs as the women of Germany
are?

Go to Your Nearest Bank Today And Get Your Liberty Bonds

——Donated by AB. Park Co.

156

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Figure 3. Stop the Hun With Your Gold

Here a visceral depiction of German atrocity works in tandem with another common WW1 motif.
the theme that Americans at home are obligated to take part in government-sponsored war drives as
vigorously as American soldiers are fighting the Huns. Text reads:

“Let '5 Keep the Glow in Old Glory "
Buy Liberty Bonds Today

3rd Liberty Loan
2"d Liberty Loan
1“ Liberty Loan

Contributed
By
Jasper
Lodge,
No. 481

Stop the Hun With Your Gold!—

OVER a million American Soldiers are making a barrier of their bodies today to keep the
Huns from our shores; they are fighting and bleeding and dying right now to save your home and
my home from the iron heel of German domination, to save your family and my family from the
fearful atrocities that have devastated the unhappy little countries of Belgium, Serbia and Poland
and all the other lands that have been overrun by these barbarians.

Our boys are making a barrier of their bodies. We cannot stand idly by with our hands in
our pockets—we must help them.

WE have got to help them. We must build with our dollars another barrier between the
enemy and the soldiers who are fighting our battles over there.

Liberty Bonds will build this barrier. Liberty Bonds will buy guns and amunition [sic]
that will protect our boys. Liberty Bonds will buy airplanes. Liberty Bonds will buy the tanks that
will go before them and clear the way to Victory. But we must buy the Liberty Bonds. The boys
are doing their share. We must buy Liberty Bonds to the limit of our resources. Lives alone cannot
win this war for us.

IT will take money—your money and my money. Let us not 1011 in soft and easy plenty
over here while our boys are making a barrier of their bodies against the largest, the deadliest, the
most terrible army in the history of the world. Pile your bonds on the barrier of dollars we must
put up between our American Soldiers and the enemy.

Buy U.S. Government Bonds
Third Liberty Loan

158

WWI my:
'33 a5

9' l0 l5";
1: home a
It from it
and Ptit’l'

curtail-G

3mm?

man 51":
be his 3‘

 

 

(2’
"Let's Keep the Claw. Q 9
in Old Glory"

Buy Liberty Bonds
Today

   
  
    
  
 

 

 
 

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u \.

 
 

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Stop the Hun W 2th Your Goldf—fé .

 

 

Ht .1 nullmn .\Inrlu'.m Suhu l \V’F. llJ\r gut in help them. “'9 mutt : IT mll like muncx—iour mom-t uml mv
nuthuu: .. lurn. r ..1 ”my luulu's ml.“ lnnhl mm cur dull.“ nnnlhrr bum-r . mnm'.‘ La m "qr loll m y-It llul no}
l:- k.- I» llll Hum in-ru (‘ur \lu‘h‘lZ tlin :ur lu‘lwrrn thr enemy Inrl the soldiers .the» are Y I-ll‘lll)‘ mrr lurrr ulnlu' uur b-H 3" Milan-i
IL'luIm: uul lulu-.11.“: .uul 1|; nu: rum Hurt lighting: r-ur lama our that a bamrr or ”My buhm mums; the largrsl.
“.|\- \uur lu-uu :uul nu mm- tmm tlu ‘ II b t l b1 unu m lh
,Ilvrrh llumlt Mill bullll Hm hJYIIPI. ”'l' d"‘ '“l ' Sm"! rrn Q (
“Tr“ i! r, :' 'IIU' ‘ 1mm: tlupnnntn-n.‘ h} ““i ldlrrh lionrls ulll bu\' runs and nmunr l-utnrv r-I‘tlu‘ uovl |l(‘ weir bundr nn
1.... “"“rl‘l‘l”‘”“lIN“ \'“:' ""_"""‘l':;::‘, I 1". "Vl‘il'll hnn that ml] pmtrct our hnu Lubeln lllr harnvr o-f ri-xllsrt we mud put 19
"Ll-Iv. ‘ I] I J 'I ' ”111‘ I i “find, will buy urplant‘ L.h¢rt\- Bonds tun-n mu .\m:rn~:n Suldrrrsulllthcrnrm).
t; 0|. munln. ~ n! It. .unmr balm and Pnluml and ll 1: l k h I] o brim:
u, 0. r- alltlu‘ an.” l.m.l\ um luxrlm-n mirrul n “' “»‘ l" '3 ’ ‘ “ “' i ‘
Ill-2w lurlurum . them and clear the \u) tn \ KMFL Bu .
"m" b“ "s W“ W“ “' W Bu U S Government Bonds
‘ bun arr making a Inr‘ncr of the" Ire dmng their shut. \\'e nun! bu) L‘h'r“ u ' . '
es. \\ :- mnnnt stand Idl\ by Wllh our “and; to the Inuit ri/nur rrmuvrrr LIVCS ml" “5011' LOCI
lumls Ill nur puckeH—we must help them. alone cannot “in t n wal I u - I Y
j . 'l

Figure 4. Help Stop This

reads:

Adapted from the winner of a War Savings Stamps poster contest in the spring of 1918. Text

 

HELP
STOP
THIS
W.S.S.

BUY W.S.S.

on June 28‘11

& KEEP HIM OUT OF AMERICA
National War Savings Committee
This space contributed for the Winning of the War by

Lynn Gardner Schmeling’s Bakery Wm. Miller Hardware Co.
Otto J. Lauer, Lyric Theatre Vincent-Wolters Hd'w. Co. Monarch Clothing House
H.D. Bradford Emil Schlegelmilch Frank’s Store.
Warnschall’s Restaurant Auto Garage

160

:2 Co

01155

Text

 

on J2une 28Lh
GKEEP’ HIMOUT of AMERICA

 

 

Lynn Gardner

 

National War Savings Committee ' l

    

.,

,0

 

.,,, f.

 

WWWIMCMW‘WNILIWGE’

Schineling' 3 Bakery

 

i Wm. Miller Hardware Co.”
.Otto J. Lauer Lyric Theatre Vincent-Woke». Hd’w. Co. Monarch Clothing House
H. D. Bradford4'—-— '

~ Emil Schlegelinileh --~~~——l?mnksStore.'
erlshall’s Restaurant ' Auto snags

161

 

Figure 5. Destruction of Civilization
Propagandists’ penchant for showing artifacts of Hun paraphernalia in isolation from one another
evokes the horror film practice of making monsters scarier by revealing them gradually. Text reads:

An oflicial photograph of the club with which the German armies ‘finish ojf’ wounded soldiers.
32, 000 of these were recently captured by the Italians.

F... v— , , .. ..
.: cqgvrp...--.. .... -,..l. .-.-.,-._
.
.. (L. s. n, ’

5’ r..-» o-A J” ......._-I- ..-s.-.

This is in grim reality what we are fighting this war to prevent. The club pictured above—from an
actual official photograph—might be the weapon of a savage cave man of five thousand years ago.
It is in fact the weapon with which German soldiers finish off the enemy wounded who have fallen
on the battlefield—on the battlefield on which American boys are fighting.

There is only one answer to make to such methods the defeat of the German armies [sic]. America
has taken up the sword to give that answer. Our Army is in France to help win this war on the
battlefield—that civilization may be safe, that America may be safe.

_- "-9

_ :"Ig VJ"-

' r 'A
n - 1o “mu—ul-

. . _. -
’1 ' aw: r" I. .., c-wr»: "' L " "'71:“ ~-- .16..-” 2" ‘-: "I: : ”I
‘n-. bun-u. .1 ._..‘- ‘ n- ' ...n. 1..

‘- .._... ‘. . I- - ... t 4.. ' a Q— '— ._... Ah.- L— ‘ .u-‘J I

The Third Liberty Loan is your opportunity. It is the most direct blow that can be struck at
German military supremacy. It is the most powerful aid that can be given our soldiers in France. It
means rifles and helmets and gas masks—the best protection for our men from German brutality.
It means big guns and shells and airplanes and VICTORY.
Invest TODAY in bonds of the Third Liberty Loan, and save the lives of American soldiers.

Save Civiliz_ation, Save America, Your Own Family and Your Own Home

This Space Paid For and Contributed by

Challenge Refrigerator Co.

162

arisen

31.15871

4&3an
{325 g

aw. $1.:

lanai

mar;

 

 

0/

were retail/j Whirrd 3] It:

Jr cmimmm

i .4 v M :_ _‘ 1. ,1-
???“ —~- This is in grim reality “(lute whithf Americaahoys. are fighting __.__._____ '
A T I T We are fighting this war to prevent. . . ‘

I}... ..i. L ..:......-.«i - ' r 0
4__ aLLuai \égklflili (Ln I L "2“ "'5' beg“? e th_S_l-|.Chjflw ' aCfll L—

 

 
 
       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
    

 

 

|

i the weapon of a savagercavmzn—‘T of the German A tCSTflmericaihas;_- -
of five thousand years ago. It is in taken up the sw rd to give that
‘ fact the weapon. with which Ger- answer. Qur ArmAVJis in France to
I

l

|

 

:r' _ _
man soldiers finish off . the ~cncmy »- help win- this war on the battlefield' - _4 < _. ' “.45:
wounded who have fallen on the -—that civilization may be safe, that f . are;
-.‘ 7' , battlefield—on the battlefield on . wAmTri'camfiy: W ’

 
 

 

'TTT You Can Have Your Share W -
' ’ ' _to German Savagety T.f'}

7_ ‘J 1" LL.»

 

   

'—.—VV «,4—

' The Third Liberty Loan is .your

     
 
 

protection fer our men- -from German-

   

-suprem acy.

    

 

V _l, mmeu-EWDJ m...

Challenge Refrigerator Co

 
 

163

Figure 6. The Hun’s Mark

Evidently, turning sentiment against Germany did not always require such extravagances as
graphic atrocity drawings or “official” photographs of inhumane weapons. When either of these were in
short supply, it was sufficient to label something otherwise prosaic—in this case a handprint—the “mark"
of the Hun. Text to the left of and beneath image reads:

The Hun—His Mark!

There is a plain fact that every American business man must face. This war is not a dollar
war. It is a war for justice, for truth, for right, and for human decency. Its financial aspects are
minor when measured against temis of human suffering and bloodshed.

But still the question must be asked and must be answered by American men: “Shall the
German mark conquer the American dollar?"

Manistee County Has Gone Over the Top—Good For Her

The boys “over there" will know that we back home are in hearty accord and
sympathy with them.

The Loan Committee cautions every one that in—as-much as there is a strong likelihood
that in the final summing up there will be found many duplicate subscriptions. Let us, to be on the
safe side, all get together and make one more effort to secure a few more subscriptions, so that the
county will be on the safe side.

Go to your bank or block chairman and add just another fifty or hundred dollar
bond to what you have already.

Let us boost and boost hard.
Contributed to the winning of the war by
Jaborowski & Jorgenson

The Hall Drug Co. J .P. Anderson
Fox’s Photo Shop George Ebel

164

 

 

55
Km:

.—

: mi

10: ack‘h
Its are

kshhxil
okun

'51-»

Skis—d

1 dollar

. l

 

     
 
  

  

There is a plain .
-fact that every Amer‘
ican‘ business man
must face. This war
is not a dollar war.
It IS a war for Justice.
for truth, for right.

defor fiftihTrFTdeI—T
:ency. Its financial
aspects are minor
aSpects when mea-
'sured against terms
of human suffering
and bloodshed.

But still the question must be asked and inust be answered
by American men: “Shall the German mark conquer the Amer-

ican dollar?" a;
the l ‘

Manistee County Has Gone Over
Top—Good For Her

The boys" over there" will know that we back home not
' in hearty accord and sympathy with them. ' . . 4353»

lIlll|llll|llllllllllfllllllllmflll“lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllfllllllllllfllllllq lllllllllllllllllmlllllllllllllllili :'

The Loan Committee cautions every one that ‘in—as-T . -
much as, t ere is a Strong "'_' ‘ Hull in the final can. -
ming up t ere will be found many duplicate subscriptions.

Let us to be on the safe side. all get together and make one _
more effort to secure a few more subscriptions. so that the :3,
county will be on the date side. '

Clo—to your aurfink'or‘l! ’or‘hloek’chmmnr
other fifty or Inmdred dollar bond to what you Have already.

Letusbooctandboosthafil. ‘ X .

Illllllllllllllllllllll

 

I
l

min“!

Contributed to the Winning of. the wag—by

Jaborowski & JOrgenson u... _
The Hall Drug T—TCo. . " :11. P. Anderson
Fox’s Photo Shep ~ " George Ebel '

n llllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllll||IlIIlllIllIlllllllllllllllllllllllwllfi

'.Jl llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

165

Figure 7. Preparedness

Visual juxtaposition can be a powerful tool in trying to elicit impressions or associations from
readers. A saluting housewife and her kitchen equipment shown alongside soldiers at attention suggests that
by simply doing her housework efficiently the housewife is doing as much to help win the war as are
American troops fighting the Germans. Text reads:

Preparedness *** in *** The Nation Preparedness ***in*** The Home

PREPAREDNESS!

Preparedness is the watchword of the Nation. How about you, Mrs. Housewife? Are you
prepared? Is your kitchen equipment adequate? ls it modern? Does it enable you to run your
household efficiently? Are you ready for the emergency—for the unexpected guests? Is the
preparation of your everyday meals a pleasant, easy matter requiring the minimum of time and
labor or does cooking keep you tied down to an old smudgy coal range all day long?

National Gas Range
Week May 7-12
will concentrate the thought of housewives the country over on Preparedness in the home—and
Preparedness in the Home begins in the kitchen.

Of especial interest to you are the model Cabinet Gas Ranges which we are showing in our display
rooms during National Gas Range Week. All that is new and convenient in Gas Ranges is

represented. You are cordially invited to attend this exposition.

Monroe Gas Light
& Fuel Co.

TELEPHONE 319

166

association it:
attemton 81:11:33}
1 the way as at:

in‘“ lltellou

loustll'lltiilu
on to run your
guests” is It:
mum of mm: at?
long?

11 the home—£5

311mg 111 orig.
s Rangesis

 

 

 

Ptepmaedness is the “.ttchuotd of the Nttion ‘ How.
about you, Mts.}10ttse\\ife.’ Ate you ptepatcd.’ Is your
kitchen equipment adequate '.’ ls it tnode‘tnI'I.’ Does it enable
you ‘to' run Iyout'househ'old efficiently? .-A1'e you ready fer
the emetgency—fm the unexpected guests? is the piepma- "
tion of you1 evetyduy meals a pleasant, easy mattet tequiting - .
“the minimum of time and Iaho1 01 does cooking keep you tied ‘ _‘-
down Ito an old sntudgy coal Inttge gill day long? I' '- I '

"Nattonal Gas Range
Week May 7 12

on l’tepatedticss in the halite—41nd I’1epa1 erluess in the llom'c "
begins in the kitchen.

 

Of espCLinl intetest to you :111- the 1110111! (‘ tiltittet (”is Ranges
11111th “e ate showitw in 0111 display looms (lilting National
(his Range Week. All that is new and conwnient in Gas
Ranges is 1ep1L-sente1l. You :ue eotdinlly invited to attend
this exposition. ' .

Monroe Gas nght
8c Fuel Co.

5 i ' " '1ELE1utoNt: .ti9 3‘

 

 

 

 

167

Figure 8. Patriotic American Citizen

This piece is a telling example of propaganda ads’ tendency to divide the American public into in-
groups and out-groups (the former consisting of people doing their part to help win the war, and with whom
readers should identify; the latter of “slackers” who are obstructing the war effort, and who should thus be
shunned). Text reads:

Are You a Patriotic American Citizen?

THIS is the time to prove whether you are, or are not, a patriotic American citizen. Some men are
patriotic but not yet American citizens; they love this land, as intensely as if they had been born
here. Some men are American citizens who are not patriotic; they’re obstructing, rather than
helping the nation at this time. There’s a third group who are neither patriotic nor American; we’ll
leave them out.

Now, it isn’t fair for any of us to question the quality of another man’s patriotism; some
may fight for the country on land or sea or in the air. Some may farm for the country, and for the
benefit of a starving world. Some may finance the country, by the use of money. And many others,
who are able to do none of these, can serve in factory, store, office, home; can give of time and
labor and subscriptions to the Red Cross work; there are many ways of doing your part.

Nobody has a right to say that you are not fully doing it; you have to judge of that for
yourself. We raise the question; it’s a question each of us should ask himself——

Am I a patriotic American citizen?
Harry J. Aarons

The Home of Hart Schaffner & Marx Clothes

168

 

in path: 12:;

ti. and mi; 3:;

0 should it}

11. Some tire.
had bet: to:
rather in:

’ Amencr. if”.

amour; see
no}: and 11m
And ran; at:
we of time 1:1:
1t part.

I I '
'u 0_
lit O.’ ’dL‘I :C-t'
-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You a Patriotic AmeriCan Citizen?

.0

HIS is the time to prove whether you
are, or are not, a patriotic American

‘ citizen. Some men'are patriotic but not yet

American citizens; they love this land, as in-
tensely as if they had “been born here. Some
men are American citizengwh'o are not pa-
triotic; they're obstructingéi}ather than help-

f‘iflg‘tfiE‘n—arrofiarrfirs—nrnag—Ims-a-thim

group who are neither patrio‘fic her American;
we'll leave them out.

Now..it isn’t fair for any of us to ques-
tion the quality of another man 's patriotism:
some may fight for the country on land or
sea or in the air. Some may farm for the

' - i 7‘ .-
s 3.;- Ix, . ‘ ,
' l; , t I

country, and for the benefit of a starving
world. Some may finance the Country, by
the use of money. And many others, yvho
are able to do none of these, can serve in fac-
tory, store. office, home; can give of time and
labor and subscriptions to the Red. Cross
work; there are many ways of doing your

-w _

 

 

p'ai'f. __" ‘," '_‘“"‘"

Nobody has a right to say that you are.
not fully doing it; you have to judge of that
for yourself. We raise the qfiesiion; it’s ”a"—
question eaCh of us should ask himself—

 

Am I a patriotic American citizen?

Harry J. Aarons '° .

The Home of Hart Schaffner-dt Marx Clothes i . , .I

 

169

 

 

Figure 9. War Savings Stamps logo

The image inside the ovals at the t0p left comer of the logo is a drawing of the Statue of Liberty’s
torch. The message encircling the torch is “THE TORCH OF LIBERTY "‘"." The text inside the box
reads:

W.S.S.
WAR SAVINGS STAMPS
ISSUED BY THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

170

 

 

 

   

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,.
I: I \
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u‘
Lil
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,
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WAR} AYINGS S’I'AMPS.
ISSUED BY THE.

‘ UNITED‘; STATES
. GOVERNMENT.

   

     

171

Figure 10. Thrifi Stamps as Fighters

Some ads use personification to help readers understand how their participation in war drives is
bringing victory nearer. This ad does so by equating Thrift Stamps and Liberty Loan bonds with soldiers
fighting the Germans. Text reads:

Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!
Our American Boys Are Marching to the Front Over There
Our Petoskey Boys, 179 Strong, and every other American soldier boy in the United
States will soon be marching to the front over there, to help win this world wide war and to

establish a world wide democracy, so that you and I, and every other citizen of the world, can live
at peace with his neighbor and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

 

If you can’t all buy Liberty Bonds, you can all buy Thrift Stamps and War Saving
Certificates and help in your humble way to win this war and establish the world over the
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. There is only one way that you and I can help
win this war and save our boys that are on their way over there, and our boys that are fighting in
the trenches over there, and that is for you and me to buy Thrift Stamps, War Saving Certificates
and Liberty Bonds. The Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds you buy in this campaign will fight on
every front. It will munition the guns of Britain, feed the soldiers of Belgium, strengthen the
magnificiant [sic] Army of the fighters of France, hold the lines of the Italians in Italy, and supply
the American army with all of its needs for victory.

Whenever the German strikes, he will find an Americen [sic] Thrift Stamp and the ’
American Liberty Bond. Your bond and my bond will be resisting him, so buy more Thrifi Stamps I
and Bonds, and then more Stamps and Bonds, as they are the badge of a true American.

[A list of Petoskey’s 179 soldiers, preceded by the title “OUR PETOSKEY BOYS, 179 '
STRONG,” follows. The ad’s final two lines read: “This advertisement was written and paid for

by the employees of the Petoskey Post Office. / E.L. ROSE, Postmaster."]

 

172

 

n ll] WU dmii}
“d5 “11h sold:

r III the L'mtt'
: war and to
the world. m lie

War Sam;

:1 over Ill:

1 and l m it;

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n'ing cm:
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rengticn it:

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nor: Tlmfim
16mm

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mania?“

 

 

:Stampl—aSWtamp! Sinai;

A‘fi’l‘“

- Our American Bow A'réJ'IrizcliingJaJ'hefmnt. 01221: mere.— ,_ -~-. -__~ 4——~_.

Our Petoskey Boys, 179 Strong, and every other American soldier boy in the the United States will no: He _
marching to the from over there, to help win this world wide war'and to establish a world wide democracy, in that you ,———-—~‘
and II and eye r ' ' _thexmrld, can live at peace with hisvueigbbor and enjoy the fruits of his labor. ’

If you can't .11 buy Liberty Bonds, you can .11 buy Mtga‘si‘aafié‘s'niwu saving Certificates and help in your
Enable way to win this war and establish the world over the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. 111°}. N
is only one way that you and l can‘help win this war and save our boys that are on their way over there. and our boys '
that are fighting in the trenches over there, and that is for‘you‘and me to buy Thrift Stamps, War Saving Certificates '_ e
and Liberty Bonds; The Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds you buy in this campaign will‘fighfiiivery {a}; It;
will munition the guns of Britain, feed the soldiers of Belguim ‘ :‘E ‘L 7 T ' _ H of the fighters-of France, ——
hold the lines of the Italians in Italy, and supply theAmerican arnfiiy' Qitfi'ill‘bf its needs for victory.

Wherever we German strikes, he will find an Americen Thrift Stamp and the American Liberty Bond. Your bond
and my bond will be resisting him, so buy more-Thrift Stamps and Bonds, and then more Stamps and Bonds, as they are
_,_th_e beds: of a trusfimsriun- -. . ' ' ‘ ‘ '

,__. , _QUR,.P.EIOSKL‘Y.. BOYS, 129—STRONG;— .,- ___

 

Ilaywv. 1m.»
1..-1. a'h-ur a

 

 

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u m... 11mm 1 1.... n—«w u
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than“... r... . ... a...
sing-.1” r am... 1...... L‘ ~

This advertisment was written and paid for by the employees of the Petoskey Flo-_t Office." __ _.. ‘ , . .7 . _ ..
"HUG "A_" 7 7 "K .- H 7" — ‘ ELROSfi'Postmasru.m 75*"

 

 

 

..,_.... .. . ... . ‘ . ”g, g e,..3_.»:\.v..t -‘arl ~an
in V S ‘ ”,1

173

Figure 11. Line Up and Sign Up
Readers’ fullest glimpse of the oft-mentioned “army that stays at home.” Text reads:

ENJY’VVELS.EHERHE

Line Up and Sign Up
on June 28‘”

ENLIST as a war saver in the great “army that stays at home”—the second line of defense behind
our boys in the first line trenches. The government has officially set Fri., June 28'“, as

National War Savings Day
BE ready to step forward on that day and prove your patriotism.

Don’t wait to be summoned to “sign the pledge"—arrange
now to invest in a definite amount of War Savings Stamps each

month during 1918.

W. S. S. Cost $4.17 in June
Worth $5.00 Jan. I", 1923

Be Ready to Go to the Limit—Line Up and Sign Up on June 28"
National War Savings Committee
This Space Contributed t0 the Winning of the War by
Consumers Power Co. Manistee Railway Co.

Michigan Light Co.

174

reads:

IY W.S.S. E‘

e of idea: it:

1‘1!“
-5 .35

 

 

_.___

i

 

 

 

Consumers Power Co.- I Manistee Railway Co.
‘ ~‘ _ -- Michlgan Light Co. > ‘

 

 
   

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a 3‘ a . . '1 ; lit . '7 . :fl
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On June 28th  W P ' w-w m.
ENLIST as a war saver in the great “army that , ' ' i;-
stays at home‘ '—the second line of defense be- ' {foal

hind our boys” in the first line trenches. _ __ - _______._~_';_'_
The government has officially set Fri., June 28th, as . ‘ if:

National War ‘ Savings Day
BE readv to slap lorward on than dav and prove your patriotism.

Don‘t wait to be summoned to“ sign the pledge" —arrange
now to invest in a definite amount at War Savings Stamps each . I

munlh during l9l8. , r
W. S. S. Cos! 34.17131 June ..
Worth 35.00 Jan. 1:1, I923 -_ . _ _ _ .

 

.._- -..f“ -.

3 Be Ready to Go the Limit—Line Up and _Sjgy U2 on June g_8th _.
National War Savings Committee I ‘

thlmfieWmdfieWm.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

175

 

 

 

Figure 12. Furnishing the Spade
This ad presents an elegant metaphor for the military’s dependence on financial sacrifices from the
public through Liberty Loan bond purchases. Text reads:

“The Army and the Navy will dig the Huns’ Grave, but—

We Must Furnish the Spade”——Billy Sunday
By REV. WILLIAM A. SUNDAY

Uncle Sam’s Liberty war chest needs filling again!

We have the cash to fill it as many times as he lifts the lid.

There are only two horns to this dilemma—you are either a patriot or a traitor.

The men on the firing line and on the battleships have turned from business, home,
mother, wife, children, and they stand ready to give their lives and shield with their bodies us who
remain at home.

We are unworthy to be thus protected, if we do not do our utmost to sustain them.

We must be one in our determination to win this war. We are traitors to the cause for
which they are giving their lives, if we do things here that make their efforts harder.

Life is not worth living unless there is something to live for. Life would not be worth
living if that bunch of Heinies should win.

That is why they cannot win. That is why we cannot lose.

What a mountain of crime God has on his books against that horde of Hellish Huns. What
grave is deep enough for this thousand-armed, thousand-footed, thousand-headed, thousand-
homed, thousand-fanged pirate of the air, assassin of the seas, despoiler of the earth and
ambassador of Hell!

The army and navy will dig the grave, but we must furnish the spade.

Our boys will soon hang crape on the door of the Potsdam Palace, and the bands will play
Yankee-Doodle and Dixie along the Rhine.

Uncle Sam is the cactus in the Kaiser’s pillow.

Our Boys have gone over to clean up on that fool bunch of Huns and it is up to us to
supply them with whatever they need to finish the job. It takes money to keep the riveters
riveting—the sawyers sawing—the machine guns spitting bullets and the grub wagon always on
hand with the eats. There is nothing too good for our brave defenders.

Our vocabulary contains no words adequate to express our approval of the achievements
of our government since we threw our hat in the ring. We are rich on top of the ground; we are
rich under the ground and our rivers creep like silver serpents to the seas, bearing our products.

The children of England, France, Italy and Belgium are laughing once more because they
are being fed from Uncle Sam’s bakeshop. One carload of meat every two minutes, one hog out of
every four, nine million pounds of meat a day—all going over to feed our boys. We are in this
scrap to the last dollar, the last grain of wheat, the last day.

We will never stop until Germany dips her dirty blood-stained rag to the Stars and Stripes.
It’s a whale of a job we’ve tackled, but we can and must put it over.

But you must help.

Don’t whine. Don’t knock. You can’t saw wood with a hammer. Don’t turn the hose on the
fire; add fuel.

Buy Bonds! Buy Bonds! Buy Bonds!
This Space Contributed to Winning the War by
The Noud Lumber Co. Manistee Shipbuilding Co. The Olson Lumber Co.
American Woodenware Co. Manistee Shoe Manufacturing C0.

Do Not Forget That Volunteer Day Will be Saturday, Sept. 28'“. Buy Your Bonds Early

176

 

 

 

 

 

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nudism
hecaugftt ., . ‘ l ' " ' -_ ~ . , -.
7"" h ‘ we MUSt Fil—I'nlSh the S,pade"—m_z_z,su..da,

a, REV. WILLIAM A. SUNDAY '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l
v l“.a Q . s
)Y‘i‘V !‘ .{ "A; . s I ~ e ' 7' l ‘ nun—M
..l.st l‘tul‘. - l . ncle Sarns Liberty war chest needs filling thousand-headed. thou-nd-homed. chainsaw-lam 'rate
"Mufiff‘ti' —-- «l— . again! 0 the sihafiamn oi the seas. despoiler ofthe ea shrun-
f‘u ‘ ' l * “’e hayibecash to fill it as many timesas a e -- ""' i . ' . '
m and H . ,__ Iae mum, r , . The [army ind na_\_ry_ will dig the grave, but
I There are only two horns to this dilemma— . , -
1 - you are either a Patriot or a traitor. " .331: 9“"; bol'slw'" :30"; h‘:z “3|” any ”‘3 d9“? 0‘
. . .— - .. or at, ace.a t ’ lsu-Doodh ‘.
l The men on the firing line and on .the battle. _.. -..and Dixie. g wellness—.4. P":_fn__: - - -..-- , _
' . _ .3 -'t',‘ a 1:» sin ‘ 'L- —-— —— — -- wr- ‘ .' . . ‘
2‘13le “'1' l '. dren. and they stand ready to ive (liar lives and shield with ‘ Undc 53m 13 tile CECNI In the KIISCI'I illow.
lC . P
their bodies us who remain at some. 0 80 'h ' ‘ .0 lea ' d‘l- ._ .—
' . . ur 's are ne over . c n u on at
“ e are unworthy to he thus protected. If we fool hunch 0 Hum andg1?is up to us to supplyprhern with
1 do not do our utmost to sustain them. ' Khmer thuysieed so :‘lcltl’h'lhc job. _lt takes‘hemone sokeep
' ' _ . . - , e riveters mean —t sawyers aawln —- ' "
M -. ...~, \\ e must be one in our determination to war lptttln hullt'tsans the grub wagon alwa‘ s on flit I? a
5 up .L J3 " . ‘ this war. ‘ We are-traitors In the cause tor which the are GIB- lmr 1! homing ‘00 £004 ‘0' 0|“ "'9 ‘1!chka
run; their lives. if we do things here that make their chem ' . . . - ,
”3:55 - arder. m Our vocabulary; c‘orlitainz. no word: adequate
‘ .. . , , , . , - express or apprwa (1 tie ac levernenis 'gove
”0.: 31331.31?! - . Mam-imam theeeas-some-n want rewmrjhat innit: ri'lig.‘ sire-3.3321...“ 3.9—“ " _“ ‘ ‘- r“
.: ‘ thug mine; in]; L4}: would ml is send lunar/Mat hub of the round: we are full umler the ground and our rivers v
,4, WM, , .. mm ,._ , fl . - “FEEL "j'i‘YL‘S'E'm' to they, bearing our gracing“. __ ._ , :._
J-yi’f‘ifi That is why they cannot win. That is why The children of England. France. Italy and -- ‘
he 3,, 5 - we mum; in“, - fBelgu‘iJm siefiughg orige “Mg becauset_ncy are being fed
,Nndo: Elf “'hat a mountain of crime God has on his. A , digicsfitmc tiliénuiglhflry d3.“lfi£iiill$‘§§3fii
’ .- honks against that horde ul ”(limit Nuns. What grave is meats day-all Hing ovcrtu iceulour buys. We are in this
our ,pfOuJ‘w‘ deep enough for this lhuuaalkl‘al’mcd. thousand-looted. scrap to the last ullar. the last grain of when. the last day.
‘~ -r;§§ J ' l ' ' , r . ' —. '
10?: :‘t‘. _ ——- — -— — We will never stop until Germany-dipSJler—dltty—blood-staincd. rag to theStarsondStripes. -
.5. on: 3'35"" . It's a whale 073 job we've taclled, but we can and must put it over. " ‘
V: 3613:“ ' ' But you must help.

Don't Whine. Don't knock. 'You can't saw wood with a hammer. Don't turn the hose

 

nd itripfi :‘_ _“ ' __ -_o_n_fle_lire; add fuel. ' , _ _ - _
in!" _ . '- ' T T .3 --
Buy Bends! «,1 Buy Bonds! Buy Bonds!
(bl ' ‘ * ...- " " “r - ;' _' ‘ ; " “"‘—-—‘ =l'liiS‘Spatm Contributed-to‘VVinning the‘VVnr by ' "’ "—‘ ' ' ' m. " -
the host"fl ~ - The Noud Lumber Co. Manistee Shipbuilding CL_The'Ol§:on Lumber Co.

. . . American Woodenware Co. . Manistee Shoe Manufacturing Co. . .
it- Do Not Forget That Volunteer Day Will‘be‘Satnrday,Sepi. 28m.“ {Buy Your. Bonds Early, '_
3un * *

l
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177

Figure 13. Keeping Liberty‘s Torch Alight
Allegory is another form of figurative representation used by propagandists to illustrate the
importance of aiding the U.S. government in its war drives. Text reads:

'9" ~ v-o . only-w. 0—. --. -. ...fi... Pfi. -- .. .. v. .-pu.
7 ',' J h- -; | —r - ‘_ -- .—
.. .. 1-. 1" .s a... .4 .. ..-_l.- u .. _.__.’-. ‘1 -. .. 4.

Upon America devolves the sacred duty of keeping alight the torch of Liberty and upholding
justice and democracy throughout the world. Let us not falter or count the cost, for in the freedom
of the world lies our only safety and the preservation of our American liberties and institutions.

 

Let Us Invest To the
Limit in Liberty Bonds

The Courtesy of
The Monarch Clothing House

RUSSKY

178

 

 

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out the. world. Let
us not falter or count
_tbe_'cost._foc_in the
lies our only satiety"
and the preservation
r of our American libv - ,
Verties and institutions.

‘W
To the Limit Ill

(Liberty Bonds

 

The Courtesy of

 

 

 

179

 

Figure 14. Lend Him a Hand

reads:

 

A common method of WWI ads focusing on soldiers is to make them objects of allegory. Text

Lend Him a Hand!

Here Is YOUR Boy—going over the top, his gun in hand, his jaw set, his heart on fire. It is the
most dramatic moment in the life of this soldier—and in the life of this nation.

His heart and mind are set on one thing—VICTORY—victory over an enemy who stands for acts
and ideas which this soldier despises—which he is ready to give his life to destroy.

We here at home hate these things, too. We are pledged to their destruction—to our last dollar and
our last man. But this soldier can actually—get-his-hands-on-them—and root them out of the
world forever—if we will lend him a hand.

This Boy Is the Symbol of Fighting America

He stands for the aspiration, the conviction of a hundred million people translated into action. He
is doing what the rest of us are dreaming. Only through him can we win the Victory.

But He Can ’t Do It With His Bare Hands! He asks you to back him up with guns, shells, tanks,
airplanes. Let’s lend him a hand by lending our dollars. Then no power in the world can prevent
him from winning the Victory.

He Is the Symbol of the Liberty Loan

Lend Him a Hand! Buy Liberty Bonds!

THIS SPACE PAID FOR AND CONTRIBUTED BY
B. DANSARD AND SONS STATE BANK.

 

 

 

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or.

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Héf'e IS YOUR Bby=gothg over the top.

gun in hind. his jaw set. his heart on fire .

It is th'e most dramatic moment in the life of
this soldiers and iii the life' of this nation.

His heart and mind are set on one thing—VIC-
TORY—#vfétory We? anenemy who stands
for acts and ideas which this soldier despises
—whtch h‘s is ready to give his life to destroy.
We here at hoine‘ hate these things, too. We are
pledged to their destruction—to our last dol-
lar and our last then. But this soldier can
actually—get- hts- hands- --on them
thdm out of the World forever—— 1' we will?
..lend him a hand.

This

/
.He stands tome aspEation, the convic-
tioii of t! hfiridr'ecl million people translated

5.116 is doing what the rest of us

3 are dreaming. Only through him can -we

win the Victory.

But He Can't Do It VVI’th. Hi: Bare Hands! He
h hlmu wtth,guns shells
tanks airplanes Lets lend him a hand by
landing 'our dollars Then no power in the

Victo

Lend Him a Hand!

_Tl'lls SPACE PAID FOR

 

and root :;

world can prevent him from winning the- -.
atom ..—....—

The long fighting ages _of the world
have never seen a better soldler that]

this boy of yours—your son—your. ;
husband—your brother—your friend-1 '

He stands for the sons of Ameflcml

hundreds of thousands strong, soon {6

be millions. He is doing his part—we
_,must_ do ours!

He Is the Symbol of the Liberty Loan.

Buy Libefly Bonds!

Ado CONTRIBUTED BY

 

B. DANSARD AND SON’S STATE} BANK.

 

181

I

Boy is the Symbol of W

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Figure 15. Soldier Potatoes
Text reads:

LET POTATOES FIGHT
They Save Wheat.
When you eat Potatoes
d_o__m [SI'C]

2&1
Bread [triple underlined]

U.S. FOOD ADMINISTRATION

Figure 16. Remember the Days

 

Text reads:

REMEMBER THE DAYS
SUNDAY—ONE MEAL WHEATLESS THURSDAY—ONE MEAL WHEATLESS
MONDAY—ALL MEALS WHEATLESS FRIDAY—ONE MEAL WHEATLESS
TUESDAY—ONE MEAL WHEATLESS SATURDAY—ONE MEAL WHEATLESS

WEDNESDAY—ALL MEALS WHEATLESS

182

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; WHEATLESS
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183

 

 

Figure 17. Waste Nothing

Text reads:

A NATION’S STRENGTH
IS IN ITS FOOD SUPPLY
Eat Less — Waste nothing
Create flesewe
AMERICA MUST FEED
120,000,000 ALLIES

Figure 18. Eat Potatoes, Save Wheat

Text reads:

EAT POTATOES
SAVE
WHEAT

Figure 19. One Meal Wheatless on Thursdays

Text reads:

THURSDAY

ONE MEAL

WHEATLESS

USE NO BREAD, CRACKERS,
PASTRY OR BREAKFAST FOODS
CONTAINING WHEAT

Figure 20. Wheat Flour Substitutes

Text reads:

ON ALL DAYS

WITH EACH PURCHASE OF
WHEAT FLOUR FOR HOME USE
YOU MUST BUY ALSO AN EQUAL
AMOUNT OF OTHER CEREALS

Figure 23. Wheatless Mondays

Text reads:

MONDAY

ALL MEALS

WHEATLESS

USE NO BREAD, CRACKERS,
PASTRY OR BREAKFAST FOODS
CONTAINING WHEAT

Figure 21. Eat Corn, Save Wheat
Text reads:

EAT CORN
SAVE
WHEAT

Figure 22. Food Will Win the War
Text reads:

FOOD WILL WIN
THE
WAR

Figure 23. Wheatless Mondays
Text reads:

MONDAY

ALL MEALS

WHEATLESS

USE NO BREAD, CRACKERS,
PASTRY OR BREAKFAST FOODS
CONTAINING WHEAT

Figure 24. Save Sugar
Text reads:

SAVE SUGAR
FOR THE
MAN
WHO
FIGHTS

184

 

ANAHQHLL MNGTH
IS IN ITS FOOD SUPPLY

fi‘fi‘w

MEGA HST—FED e
no. 000. 000m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EAT POTATOES
SAVE
‘ “5.1.1..“

 

*T THURSDAY '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

185

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 25. The Long Arm of Mercy
As this ad‘s imagery and accompanying text show, in ads for the American Red Cross, femininity
promises supreme benevolence in the face of war.

The Long Arm of Mercy
By DR. FRANK CRANE

The Red Cross is the Long Arm of Mercy.

It is the Kindness of Mankind-organized.

In Man is an Angel and a Devil, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Red Cross is the Good,
aroused, energized to thwart the Bad.

It is the best antidote we know to the bane of war.

There are other Charities, more or less helpful. The Red Cross is the mightiest of all
Charities: the Love and Pity of all men made supremely efficient.

If, as Emerson said, “sensible men and conscientious men all over the world are of one
religion,” this is the expression of that religion.

The Red Cross is Humanity united in Service.

It asks no man’s opinion; only his need.

Black or White, Friend or Foe; to the Red Cross there is no difference; it only asks: “Who
is Suffering?" And to him it goes.

The Red Cross is so Efficient that Governments recognize it; so Pure in its purpose that
whoever wishes well his fellow men, desires to help it; so Clean in its administration that the most
suspicious can find no fault in it.

The Red Cross not only seeks to alleviate the cruelties of War; it is the expression of
those human sentiments that some day will put an end to War.

It is the impulse of Love, striving to overcome the impulse of Hate.

It is Mercy’s co-operation struggling against War’s rivalries.

It is the one Society in which every Man, Woman and Child should be enrolled, for it
knows no sects, no prejudices, no protesting opinion; the human being does not live that does not
feel that the starving should be fed, the sick tended and the wounded healed.

Majestic and divine is this Long Arm of Mercy; it finds the fallen on the battlefield, it
brings the nurse and the physician to the victim in the hospital; it leads the weeping orphan to a
home; it feeds the starving cares for the pest-smitten whom all others abandon, and pours the oil of
Help and Pity into the bitter wounds of the World.

Where a volcano has wrought desolation in Japan, or a Flood in China, or a Hurricane in
Cuba, or a Famine in India, or a Plague in Italy. or ravaging Armies in Poland, Servia or Belgium,
there flies the Red Cross, the Angel of God whom the fury of men cannot banish from the Earth;
and to the ends of the Earth, over all the ways of the Seven Seas, wherever is Human Misery, there
is extended, to bless and to heal. its long Arm of Mercy.

186

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is the Long-Ann of Mercy.

;} It is the Kindness oi Mankind—'organized.
' ' ln Man is an Angel and II Devil. :1 Dr. Jekyll and Mr
The Red Crom is the Good. aroused energized to

t _._______ ,.

      
 

is the best antidote we know to the bane of “at.
Wm note or IN. helpful lhe
“Rad Croks Is the mightiest of all Charities: the Luv: and I’ity
'qf all men made supremely efiicient.

If, asEmerson said 'sensible men and conscientious
Qualifier thgfigrld are_ot one religion." this is the ex-
.pmion of that religion.

The Red Cross is Humanity united in Service.

It asks, no man‘s opinion; only hi~ necd.

' Black or White. Friend or Foe. to the Red Cross there
'is no difference; it only asks: “\\'ho is Sum-ring?” A ml
to him it goes.

The Red Cross is so Efficient that Cmernnunts recog-
nize it: so Pure In its purpose that \Ihm-Ier I-Iishcs well his

fellow men. desires to help it; so Clean III its IIdIIIiIIist-mtinn .

that the most suspicious can find no fault in it

' The Red Cross not only seeks to alleviate the crueltIes
ofWar; it is the expression of those human sentiIIIcIIts that
some day will put an end to W nr

. _ It Is the impulse of Lme. striving to overcome the un-
pulse of Hate.

It is Mercy's eo-opemtion struggling against “'ar's ri
vilries

It is the one Society in which every Man. Woman and
Child should be enrolled tor lt knows no sects. no prciu
dices, no protesting opinion; the human being does nut IIIe
that does not feel that the starving should be ted. the sIck
tended and the wounded healed.

» Majestic and divine Is this Long Arm of Mercy; it finds:
the fallen on the battlefield. it brings the muse and the '
physician to the victim In the hospital; It leads the weeping I

’ orphan to a home; it feeds the starving cares for the pest-
smitten whom all others abandon. and pourlsd the oil of llelpl
and Pity into the bitter wounds of the“

Where a volcano has wrought desolatioln in Japan. or a 5
Flood in China, or a Hurricane in Cuba. or a Famine in
India. or a Plague in Italy. or ranging Armies in Poland,
Servia or Belgium. there flies the Red Gum. the Angel of
God whom the fury of men cannot banish from the EaYth;
and “to the Ends of the Earth over all the ways of the 5m en

Iggherever is Human Misery. there Is extended, to bless
and to heal. its Long Arm of Mercy.

187

t

 

 

Figure 26. You and the Rest of Us
This ad shows how antagonistic the tone of WWI ads can be toward readers, as opposed to the
subdued addresses in post-9/1 1 ads. Text reads:

“A great net of mercy drawn through an ocean of unspeakable pain. "
YOU AND THE REST OF US

We have made a mighty good start in the Red Cross Drive.

But—we have a long way to go.

And—the plain truth is that if YOU don’t give now what YOU out to give, YOU are holding this
campaign back—nothing short of holding up the effort to get life-saving, home-saving help to
starving, dying peOple.

Say! You know you ought to think this thing over. The kind of the Germans is trying to
smash up just about everything it took Almighty God six whole days to make. By murder, rape
and ruin, this Hun is trying to destroy even the nerves of the nations he sets out to conquer. Are we
going to let him do it? Not while there’s a man or a dollar left in America. Thank God there is one
thing he can’t even suppress—the soul of the peoples banded together in the name of Liberty.

It is this “soul” that who appeal to for funds to relieve the victims of the world’s greatest
crime. It is from YOU that we ask support.

When General Pershing begins to equip only every other soldier with a rifle, then every
other member of the stay-at-home army can quit working and giving. Get it out of your head that
you are different. Get it into your head that YOU are like the rest. The rest have to give. YOU and
the rest of us can easily make up Petoskey’s quota of $9,000.00. The rest of us can’t do it all.

Here is a suggested scale of giving:

Wage earners—an amount equal to one day’s pay for the year.

If your income is $1,000 a year, give at least . . $ 7.50
If your income is $1,500 a year, give at least . . 10.00
If your income is $2,000 a year, give at least . . 15.00
If your income is $3,000 a year, give at least . . 25.00
If your income is $4,000 a year, give at least . . 50.00
If your income is $5,000 a year, give at least . . 100.00

If the committee does not find you. find the committee. Only two days left. Do not be a last-minute
giver---

GIVE T ODA Y .'

The First State Bank of Petoskey

188

S opposed to the

)L' are holding :.
e-savmg help to

amaze 15!?)ng
By murder. rat!
11 to conquer to:
111k God there 3 31
1.1m: of Libcm‘.
the world's gait

1 a mic. lhtfitm

U! of you be: 3*
v: to :2th 1'01:
5 can't do 1111’.

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:_ . o “A greet‘uet ol-mercp drawn 5
.,___. -. an ocean of unspeakable m...

 

 

 

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But—we have a long my b (O- i- ‘ “‘ ' , . . , . .
.._._____ .. — am.“ W - thatifu¥0Uth give ngwumxoumm' ” xoii . - . .. _ -_-_-.~
"-7-: m holdins this unwise hckfwhinribi’ttgqfabgléigg up the effort to gs: it.- _, .— -~ —.-'—*:
. ‘ .. -_ . sav'ng, home-um help ‘0 stamng, inPI'POOP'Q’ 3- i if. MFT’
a. .. Say! Youknowyououghttothinkthisthingiover.‘ The kingof a. mu
' , " tryingtoslneah upjust about everythingtit tookl'AlmightyGodsiwaoledaystolnah '
By murder. rape and ruin, this Hun is trying togdestroy even the nerves of the nation ‘
hesetsout to conquer. Are we going to lethimdo it? Notwbiletbere’sa'uhora
1— . dollar left in America. Thank God there is‘ one thing he can't even suppress—the soul
__.. _.. , . of the people; banded together in the name of Liberty. _
1: ‘- n a. ma. “ml" am who appeal to for' funds to. relieve the victims .: iii. world’
...L: greatestcrime. ltisfromYOU that weaslr support. ‘ , , . /
__' ' 'sgeguiggglzevegoflgrwldia‘with "i this
*- every other member of the stay-at-home-arrny‘can-quit working ginng‘ lilac. " ~
- giant babe: that you are ydgfirent. Get it into your head that YOU are Iilnetls’el'ut.
3‘..-“ rest ve to give. and the rest of us can easily make Petoskey’ quota
51“-- . 0539,000.00.. The rcstofuscan't do it all. T _‘_‘____ up fl“-.___ . ..
Here is a suggested scale of giving: 7 i i; i
g - .. . ‘ Wageiearners—anamount equal toiongjlgfi’ngz for the year.
‘" If your income r. 31,000 .~§,...,7giy.’f.. 1...: . 5 no- ’ ' . ‘ -- _,..-
* If your income is 1.5003 year, giveet least .i . 10.00 i
-- If your income is 2.000 a year, give at [cast . . 15.00
““ ‘_ lflyour income is 3,000 a year. give at least . . 23.00 ~ . '.- __- . .__._fi
. If your income is 7.000 a yesrTgTant [Es—st . . 30 -___.=.,_ ~ ’ “"
1;: . If your income is 5,000 a year. give at least . . 100.00 -., ' ._ _
..______A , If the committee dogs, nggfigiygu, find the committee.
,,- Only-two days left. Do not be a last-minute giver— ‘
.._ .. < GIVE "10mm

The first State Bank of Petoskey

 

 

.. _. ..‘sq s..4‘-?.f~".‘~'=“‘ ii
a 7,; . “I ‘. . ' t ..

a...

    

189

Figure 27. Hometown Newspaper
An appeal to readers’ need for peace of mind following the traumatizing terrorist attacks of l 1
September 2001. Text reads:

The words
“Hometown Newspaper”
Have taken on new meaning.

During these challenging and uncertain times, communities have become closer and many people
are turning homeward for a sense of normalcy.

The Petoskey News-Review is here to provide you with essential news and information, but also
events, recreation and other diversions that our nation’s leaders have urged us to seek out.

You can rely on the News-Review for the most complete local news, sports and entertainment
coverage, in addition to details about the ongoing War on Terrorism.

We will continue to be your steadfast partner as we have been for over 125 years.
You can reach us at (231) 347-2544

Petoskey

N ews-Review

www.petoskeynews.com
Local news you can’t get anywhere else

190

 

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“Hometown Newspaper”

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, During these challenging and uncertain times, commu-

nities havebecome closer and many people are turning
homeward for a sense of normalcy.

, The’ Petoskey News-Review is here to provide you

with essential news and information. but also events.
recreation and other diversions that our nation's lead-
ers have urged us to seek out. '

You can rely on the News- Review for the most com-
plete local news sports and entertainment coverage in
addition to details about the ongoing War on
Terrorism.

We will continue to be your steadfast partner as we
have been for over 125 years.

You can reach us at (231)347-2544.

 

Local news you can't get anywhere else

 

 

 

191

Figure 28. Hard to be Thankful
Here is the most poignant example of the theme that the terrorist attacks have cast a pal] over
holidays in America. The ad underscores the need to honor the significance of Thanksgiving Day, even as it

acknowledges that people suffering as a result of the terrorist attacks may feel that they have little reason to
be thankful. Text reads:

When it is Hard to be Thankful

In recent history, sad circumstances have befallen our nation. Our country has faced
tragedy as well as political and economic challenges. As Thanksgiving Day approaches, some of
us may also face personal challenges. If we focus on these. then we miss the message of
Thanksgiving.

Instead, let us think about what God has given us. The Holy Spirit is always there, ready
to fill our soul to overflowing when it is devoid of spiritual food. We must remember that our
Creator is always in control even in the worst of circumstances. How many times have our
personal and national trials been used by God to ultimately become a blessing?

Whatever your circumstances, won’t you thank God for each day as He works in your
life, for only with our Heavenly Father is there true hope. “Have no anxiety about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be made known to God.”
(Philippians 4:6) Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
Psalm Psalm Psalm Psalm Revelation Revelation Revelation
147 148 149 150 4:1-11 521-14 19:1-10

Scriptures Selected by The American Bible Society
Copywright 2002, Keister-Williams Newspaper Services, PO. Box 8005, Charlottesville, VA
22906. www.kwnews.com

 

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193

Figure 29. Peace Demonstration

A case of a post-9/ll propagandist using Sproule‘s “band wagon” device to elicit public support
for a cause. The key elements in the bandwagon here are the vast list of names and the request that readers
join the cause. In the title above the list of names, the letter 0 is replaced with a peace sign in the words
NORTHERN, PEOPLE and FOR. Text beneath list reads:

PETOSKEY PEACE DEMONSTRATION
a march for Peace in opposition of war in the Middle East

SAT., JANUARY 18 [peace sign substituted for @] 12-3 P.M.

Gather at Central School cafeteria
(410 State St., Petoskey)
at noon for speakers and music.

Join the Outdoor March
through town.
(Bring protest signs if possible.)

Meet back at Central School
for more speakers and music,

including a bluegrass
performance by Steppin’ In It.

EVERYONE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND

For more info on how you can help: 231-526-0968 or nmpeople4peace@hotmail.com

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
George Bush 202-456-1111 Debbie Stabenow 202-224-4822
Carl Levin 202-224-6221 Bart Stupak 800-950-7371

stupak@mail.house. gov.

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195

Figure 30. Crossroads Community Church
An apt example of how the Spectacular media coverage of the terrorist attacks lent itself to
exploitation by propagandists. Text reads:

Where Is God In A Crisis?

Find out this Sunday at

CROSSROADS

COMMUNITY CHURCH

You have never done church like this!

Sunday Morning at 10:00 am.

Meeting at the HOPE Community Center

Located off South Main St. (Behind Pizza Hut in Adrian)
www.ilovemychurch.org.

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197

Figure 31. Firefighter Tribute 1

Propaganda sometimes makes its impact on readers through “unverified and perhaps unverifiable"
physical representations. The physical representation here—a firefighter’s helmet reflecting an American
flag and a firefighter suiting up—is clearly meant to inspire reverence for firefighters who died on 9/11
while rescuing others from the burning World Trade Center. Text reads:

WHEN IT COMES TO GIVING, SOME PEOPLE STOP AT NOTHING.
Sturgis Hospital
Quality Healthcare. . .Then, Now & Always

269-651-7824
www.smrgishospital.com

198

 

 

 

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199

 

Figure 32. Firefighter Tribute 2
Firefighter tributes in the wake of 9/11 portray firefighters as heroic but human. Text reads:

“The only cure for suffering is to face it head on, grasp it ‘round the neck, and use it."
—Mary Craig

Trillium
STAFFING SOLUTIONS
912 W. Chicago
Sturgis, MI 49091
(616) 651-9902

200

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912 W. Chicago
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201

 

 

NOTES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

' Stanley B. Cunningham, “Responding to Propaganda: An Ethical Enterprise,” Journal of Mass Media
Ethics 16.2&3 (2001): 138, 146.

2 Jay Black, “Semantics and Ethics of Propaganda,” Journal of Mass Media Ethics 16.2&3 (2001): 127.
3 Dan Cook, assistant professor of advertising at the University of Illinois Department of Advertising, e-
mail message to author, 22 July 2004.

‘ Michael J. Sproule, “Authorship and Origins of the Seven Propaganda Devices: A Research Note,”
Rhetoric and Public Aflairs 4.1 (2001): 135-143.

5 Black, 121.

‘5 Cunningham, 138, 146.

7 Black, 121-37; Cunningham, 138-17

8 Edgar H. Henderson, “Toward a Definition of Propaganda,” The Journal of Social Psychology 18 (1943):
71.

9 Frederick Fico, Journalism 817 Lecture, Mar. 19, 2003.

‘° Sproule, 135-143; Black, 121-137.

CHAPTER 2: HYPOTHESIS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHOD OF STUDY

“ Leonard W. Doob, Propaganda: Its Psychology and Technique, New York, NY: Henry Holt and
Company, 1944. 106.

'2 Ibid., 307.

'3 Eberhard Demm, “Propaganda and caricature in the First World War,” Journal of Contemporary History
28.1 (1993): 163-192.

'4 Previous research of mine into the subject of propaganda has revealed this finding.

'5 Doob, 106.

'6 Sproule, 13S.

'7 Fico.

'8 Donald T. Campbell and Julian C. Stanley, Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research,
Chicago: R. McNally, 1966. 8.

'9 Webster ’3 Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, New York: Random House
Value Publishing, Portland House, 1997, 21.

2° Editor & Publisher International Yearbook 2002, New York: Editor and Publisher, 2002, unpaginated
front section.

2' George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, America: A Narrative History: Volume II, New York, NY:
W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. 770.

22 Evan Thomas and Mark Hosenball, “Bush: ‘We’re at War,” Newsweek, 17 September 2001, 26-28, 29-
34.

David Cray and Jerry Schwartz, “A day of infamy: Airborne terrorists strike and strike again,” Associated
Press Newswires 11 Sept. 2001. .

23 Jacques Elull, Propaganda: The Formation of Men '5 Attitudes, New York: Knopf, 1965, 96.

CHAPTER 3: WORLD WAR ONE NEWSPAPER CONTENT

2‘ George Creel, How we Advertised America, New York: Arno Press, 1970 [c. 1920], 56.

25 James Robert Mock, Censorship 1917, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, c. 1941, 45.
George G. Bruntz, Allied Propaganda and the Collapse of the German Empire in l 918, Stanford
University, California: Stanford University Press, 1938, 30.

2" Bruntz, 31.

Christopher M. Clark, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Harlow, Essex, England, 2000, xi-xvi.

27 Bruntz, 31.

28 Ibid., 31, 59-60.

29 Ibid., v.

202

 

3° Stewart Halsey Ross, Propaganda for War: How the United States was Conditioned to Fight the Great
War of 1914-1918, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, c. 1996, 2-3.

3 ' Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard, The Rise of A merican Civilization, New York: The MacMillan
Company, 1949, 617.

32 Ibid., 617-8.

33 Only one propaganda ad attempts to justify the use of the term “Hun”; the other ads uncritically reiterate
it. This exception (which is also an object for discussion in the Liberty Loan ads section) appeared on page
5 of the Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram on 6 June 1917, bearing the title “Take Your Choice—Prussianism
or Liberty.” Beginning in the fourth of its seven paragraphs of text, the ad explains the origins of the
epithet:

Think not these crimes of his are the accident of war. He no longer denies them as he
once did in hypocritical deference to neutral opinion. He justifies them. He glories in them. They
are part of him. They are the actual expression of the ideals which he preached to his soldiers as
long as seventeen years ago on their departure to China:

‘Let who fall into your hands be at your mercy. Just as the Huns a thousand years ago,
under the leadership of A ttila, gained a reputation in virtue of which they still live in historical
tradition, so may the name of Germany become known in such a manner in China that no
Chinaman will ever again even dare to look askance at a German.’

Here is the candid recognition of frightfulness as a worthy system of welfare for
a civilized nation. Not only has Attila, the uncivilized, long been acclaimed as a model
for all German soldiers-—and with what success of frightfulness the world now knows—
but his modern irnitator blesses his own barbarism by wrapping the throne of Prussia in a
special odor of sanctity.

For, look you, he rules by divine right! His crown, he says, was given him ‘by the will of
God alone, and not by parliament, or by any assemblage of the people, or by popular vote.’ Like
his grandfather before him, he looks upon himself ‘as the chosen instrument of heaven.’

3“ Creel, 157, 165.
35 Stephen Vaughn, Holding Fast the Inner Lines: Democracy, Nationalism, and the Committee on Public
Information, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980, 155-6.
:: Leonard W. Doob, Public Opinion and Propaganda, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1950, 389.

Ross, 19-20.
38 National War Savings Committee, “What Will Be Your Answer on June 28m?,” The Manistee (Mich.)
News-Advocate, 20 June 1918, 6.
39 In the Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate, the ad ran on page 8 of the 4 April 1918 issue; in the Grand
Haven (Mich.) Daily Tribune it ran on page 3 of the 20 April 1918 issue.
4° “How the Kaiser Paints American Advertising,” The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial, 24 June
1918, 3. The surviving version of this ad is deteriorated and difficult to read, and thus it is not included in
the figures section but rather is quoted fully here:

How the Kaiser Paints American Advertising

Germany is gloating over what it is pleased to term “a disastrous decrease in American
advertising.” Here is an editorial translation from the Berlin “Tageblatt”.

“If the despised Yankee nation think they are going to win the war and force Germans out
of foreign markets there is nothing to indicate this sentiment in their local and foreign advertising.
Many of their advertising agencies have closed their doors through lack of patronage. Their much-
talked-of captains of industry have canceled advertising contracts everywhere.

Germany and German merchants have increased their advertising space in neutral
markets and at home. It pays to advertise in war as well as in peace. The far-seeing merchant never
stops advertising. ——Berlin “Tageblatt.”

Berlin is watching. The advertiser who curtails his publicity is helping to make the above
come true.

“ Vaughn, 148.

‘2 U.S. Fuel Administration, Use and Conservation ofNatural Gas, Washington DC: U.S. G.P.O., 1918,
16.

‘3 Ibid.

4" U.S. Fuel Administration, Lessons in Cool Saving, Washington DC: U.S. G.P.O., 1918, 4.

203

 

’5 “Fuel Conservation Order,” advertisement sponsored by The Consumers Power Company, The Manistee
(Mich.) News-Advocate, 28 February 1918, 2.
’6 F.A. Stevenson, “Uncle Sam tells you how to SAVE COAL,” advertisement, The Adrian (Mich.) Daily
Telegram, 24 October 1917, 6. Due to the low quality of the remaining version of this ad, it is quoted below
rather than included as a figure:
Uncle Sam tells you how to SAVE COAL
The National Committee on Coal Conservation warns the public of the enormous heat waste
through attic walls and roofs. They say: Line attics with insulating material to keep the
heat in and the cold out. Saves two tons of coal in a seven-room house.
The best and cheapest way is
BEAVER BOARD
the scientific insulating material
nailed to your rafters and studding. You’ll be surprised at the low cost—a few months’
coal-saving pays for BEAVER BOARD.
Save money! Be comfortable! Conserve that attic—today!
We have a Complete Stock of all Sizes! Let Us Furnish You an Estimate FREE!
F.A. STEVENSON
’7 Ida Clyde Clarke, American Women and the World War, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1918,
63.
’8 Committee on Public Information, National Service Handbook, “corrected to July 30, 1917,” in the U.S.
Committee on Public Information Red, White & Blue Series # I -5, Washington: Government Printing
Office, 1917, 66.
‘9 Clarke, 62.
5° Harriot Stanton Blatch, Mobilizing Woman-Power, New York: The Woman’s Press, 1918, 25.
5' Below is the text of the ad, whose poor quality kept it from inclusion in the figures section:
Uncle Sam Wants Business Women
Thousands of Stenographers, Bookkeepers, and Typists Needed.
$1,000 to $1,200 Offered First Year.
Unusual Opportunity for Advancement.
Our CIVIL SERVICE Course Will Train You for the Government Examinations.
Send for Free Catalog.
FALL TERM OPENS SEPT. 3.
Bliss-Alger College
SAGINAW. MICH. F .R. ALGER. Pres.
52 This ad also is omitted from the figures section because of the poor quality of the surviving copy. As
stated previously, the discussion quotes the ad in its entirety. The ad’s imagery consists of a simple
illustration in which a housewife in apron stands behind a table and faces the reader. With one hand she
pours the contents of a flour sifier into a large bowl while she stirs with the other. On the table to her left
are three boxes labeled “CORN MEAL,” “ROLLED OATS” and “BARLEY” and another flour Sifter. In
the background just above the surface of the table is the U.S. Food Administration’s logo.
5’ Consumers Power Co., “Announcement: We are just introducing the famous Eden Electric Washer and
Wringer in Manistee,” advertisement, Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate, 2 August 1917, 6.
5" Creel, 17.
’5 Vaughn, 189.
56 “Every Farmer in Michigan Should Read This,” ad sponsored by Amendt Milling Company, “Makers of
Lotus, the perfect flour,” Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier, 19 September 1917, 4.
Ibid.
58 Committee on Public Information, National Service Handbook, 63.
59 Clarke, 72.
6° Alfred E. Comebise, War as Advertised: The F our-Minute Men and America 's Crusade I 9] 7-I 918,
Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society Independence Square, 1984, 87-88.
6' Vaughn, 190-1.
‘52 Comebise, 88.
63 William J. Breen, Uncle Sam at Home: Civilian Mobilization, Wartime Federalism, and the Council of
National Defense, 191 7-1919, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984.
6" Vaughn, 141.

M99439!"

204

 

65 The quality of the surviving copy is too poor for this ad to be included among the figures. Save for a
decorative border, it contains no imagery. It reads as follows:
Monroe Chamber of Commerce
NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE.
The people of Monroe and Monroe County are requested to adopt the following planks in
the platform of co-operation during the war:

CULTIVATE YOUR GARDENS AND VACANT LOTS.

GET THE HABIT OF SAVING MONEY.

Seed as many acres of land as you can.

Come to the Armory to drill.

Give freely of your money for the starving children in Belgium.

Give of your time and efforts for your County.

See that our industries are properly protected.

Report to the Chamber of Commerce if you have a vacant lot and cannot cultivate it

Yourself; we will see to it that it is taken care of.

Be an American through and through.
6° Alas, age has rendered this ad scarcely intelligible, and thus it does not appear among the figures.
67 Joanne Karetzky, The Mastering of Support F or World War I by The Ladies’ Home Journal, Lewiston:
The Edwin Mellen Press, 1997, 67.
6” Albig’s, “Ringing a Call-to-Christmas Buyers,” advertisement, The Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram, 6
November 1918, 4.
69 Homer Sly (chairman of the Emmet County War Board’s War Savings Stamps Committee), “The War
Savings Stamp Pledge Campaign Opens Today—Ends June 28”,” advertisement, The Petoskey (Mich.)
Evening News, 20 June 1918, 2.
Manistee Iron Works Company, “Back These Boys With Your Dollarsl,” The Manistee (Mich.) News-
Advocate, 27 June 1918, 5.
“Buy War Saving Stampsl,” The Petoskey (Mich.) Evening News, 21 February 1918, 2.
“The War Savings Plan,” The Petoskey (Mich.) Evening News, 14 February 1918, 2.
The Manistee Tire & Auto Company, “The Plain Duty of Every American,” advertisement, The Manistee
(Mich.) News-Advocate, 7 March 1918, 5.
70 This ad is one of many that mistakenly refer to the stamps as War “Saving” Stamps. The correct spelling,
according to the official emblem, is War “Savings” Stamps.
7' Lenawee County Savings Bank, “Mingled With the work of war preparation, come thoughts of the much-
needed vacation,” advertisement, The Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram, 25 July 1917, 4.
72 Lenawee County Savings Bank, “Old reliable, conservative, safe,” advertisement The Adrian (Mich.)
Daily Telegram, 18 July 1917, 4.
73 The Famous 99, “Conservation—Your Salvation,” The Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate, 25 April 1918,
6; S. Rosenthal & Sons, “Kash Konverter Sale,” The Petoskey (Mich.) Evening News, 3 January 1918, 3.
7" Clarke, 109.
75 Ibid., 113.
7" H.M. Nimrno of the Cutler-Dickerson Co., “Take Your Choice—Prussianism or Liberty,” advertisement,
The Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram, 6 June 1917, 5.
77 Monroe State Savings Bank,” Are You Doing Enough?,” The Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier, 17 April
1918, 3.
78 The slogan “Buy Liberally for Liberty” appeared regularly appeared regularly in the masthead on the
front page of the Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate during the spring of 1918; “A Liberty Bond in Every
Home” comes from a front-page ad in the 26 May 1917 issue of the Grand Haven (Mich.) Daily Tribune.
79 R.W. Burchfield, ed., The Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. 332-3.
8° United States Food Administration, “What You Can Do To Help Win This War,” advertisement, The
(Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial, 22 October 1917, 4.
8' “War Time Sweeteners,” advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial, 9 September
1918, 3.
82 “THURSDAY ONE MEAL WHEATLESS,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier, 24
April 1918, 1.; “MONDAY ALL MEALS WHEATLESS,” advertisement, The Grand Haven (Mich.) Daily
Tribune, 4 May 1918, l.

205

 

 

83 National War Garden Commission, “‘When a Feller Needs a Friend,”’ advertisement, The (Three Rivers,
Mich.) Daily Commercial, 14 October 1918, 2.
8" United States Food Administration, “LET POTATOES FIGHT They Save Wheat. When you eat Potatoes
don’t eat Bread,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) Evening News and Courier, 12 June 1918, 2.
85 The first of the two ads in question, from the (Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial on 20 August
1917, uses a clever gimmick in its message that food conservation was a blow to Kaiser Wilhelm. The
topmost and bottommost paragraphs of text are horizontal, while the middle paragraph runs vertically. The
t0p paragraph instructs readers on how to read the ad, and in the process employs a cute play on words:
“Turn This Over and Help to Overturn the Kaiser.” The, rotating the page 90 degrees to the right, one reads
in the center of the ad,
Every bushel of potatoes properly stored, every pound of vegetables properly put by for
future use, every jar of fruit preserved, add that much to our insurance of victory, add that much
to hasten the end of this conflict. To win we must have maximum efliciency in all directions. We
cannot win without complete and effective concentration of all our eflorts. -- President Wilson.
The bottom paragraph reads: “Save Surplus Fruits, Save Perishable Vegetables, Save the Nation’s Food.”
The same issue of the Daily Commercial featured the following ad:

‘We’re Going to Can the Kaiser!’ SOLDIER BOYS SING EN ROUTE to FRANCE Their

Mothers, Sisters and Sweethearts Will Help to Win the War if They All Get Busy and WORK as

They SING ‘We’re Going to Can All Surplus Food’

On 10 June 1918, the (Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial featured a U.S. Food
Administration ad with the following message superimposed over a drawing of soldiers’ silhouettes and the
flags of eleven Allied nations waving above their heads: “BEAT GERMANY Support EVERY FLAG that
opposes Prussianism Eat less of the food Fighters need DENY yourself something WASTE NOTHING.”

The fourth ad (in the Daily Commercial on 29 July 1918) begins with the title “BREAD and
Bayonets BEAT the Boche.” A cartoon drawing shows a soldier with his back turned to the viewer and a
rifle slung over his right shoulder. Impaled on the bayonet is a bread loaf labeled “WAR BREAD.” The ad
goes on to attribute the opinion that bread played a role in Allied gains to U.S. war gardeners, who had
increased the number of war gardens in America to 40 percent higher than the number during the previous

ear.
{6 “Save The Waste AND Win The War!,” advertisement, The Petoskey (Mich.) Evening News, 5 July 1917,
3. “THE SANDWICH GIRL,” advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial, 29 July 1918,
4. “HELP HOOVER BY EATING ‘BON TON’ BREAD,” advertisement, The Petoskey (Mich.) Evening
News, 18 July 1918, 2.
“Save a loaf a week. . .,” advertisement, The Grand Haven (Mich.) Daily Tribune, 9 February 1918, 3.
87 Meredith Nicholson of the Vigilantes, “Your Red Cross: An Army Without a Gun,” advertisement, The
Monroe (Mich.) Evening News and Courier, 22 May 1918, 3.
88 The Louis Sands Salt & Lumber Corrrpany, “Suppose This Man Came to YOUR Door,” advertisement,
The Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate, 21 June 1917, 6.
“The New Joan of Arc,” advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial, 13 May 1918, 3.
Meredith Nicholson of the Vigilantes, “Your Red Cross: An Army Without a Gun,” advertisement, The
Monroe (Mich.) Evening News and Courier, 22 May 1918, 3.
89 Michele J. Shover, “Roles and Images of Women in World War I Propaganda,” Politics & Society 5.4
(1975), 477.
9° Ibid., 476.
9' American Red Cross, “A Brief History of the American Red Cross,” in American Red Cross, ©Copyright
2001 The American National Red Cross. All Rights Reserved [cited 18 June 2004], available from World
Wide Web: <http://www.redcross.org.museum/briefarc.html>.
92 “American Red Cross: _What it is. what it is not. what it does and what it needs,” advertisement, The
Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier, 13 June 1917, 7.
“Renew Your Dues,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier, 19 December 1917, 1.
93 “The Roster of Company F,” advertisement, The Grand Haven (Mich.) Daily Tribune, 4 August 1917, 3.
“President Wilson’s Appeal For Y.M.C.A.,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier, 14
November 1917, 1.
“Contribute Generously to Monroe County’s Patriotic League and Help Our Government Will the War,”
advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, 29 May 1918, 1.

 

206

 

 

“Last Week of Drive for Patriotic League Fund; Every One Should Give Liberally,” advertisement, The
Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, 5 June 1918, 1.

CHAPTER 4: POST-9/11 NEWSPAPER CONTENT

9" For specific psychological and emotional effects on those living close to the sites of the attacks, see
Melnik et al.’s (2002) study probing the emotional states and behaviors of adults in three East Coast states
following 9/11. The study involved telephone questionnaires that asked, among other things, the extent to
which respondents felt angry, watched more media coverage than usual, increased their consumption of
tobacco or alcohol and sought help from family members and fiiends. T.A. Melnik et al., “Psychological
and emotional effects of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center—Connecticut, New Jersey,
and New York, 2001,” The Journal of the American Medical Association 288.12 (25 September 2002):
1467-8.
95 For several such critiques on the part of academicians, see the following collection: Norman K. Denzin
and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds., 9/I 1 in American Culture, New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.,
Altamira Press, 2003.
9° United Way of Monroe County Inc., “It’s what we do together,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.)
Evening News, 21 November 2001, 12A.
97 Pancone’s Auto Repair, “Help Us Support The Red Cross,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) Evening
News, 25 September 2001, 3C.
98 The (Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram, “Rebuild Arrrerica Fund,” advertisement, The (Adrian, Mich.) Daily
Telegram, 19 September 2001, B6.
99 International relations historian John Prados suggests that this difficulty in identifying an enemy in the
post-9/11 war on terrorism is symptomatic of the fact that “[t]he literature on terrorism has been driven by a
crisis syndrome. Horrific events are followed by an outpouring of commentary. . .Until September 11 there
was little public interest in programs aimed at countering terrorism. The demands for action afterward
reflect feverish desires to strike at the enemy—a diffuse, mostly hidden array of ethnic, political, and
religious groups with widely varied agendas” (America Confionts Terrorism: Understanding the Danger
and How to Think About It: A Documentary Record, edited with an introduction by John Prados, Chicago:
Ivan R. Dee, 2002, 434, 3.
'00 Denzin and Lincoln, 277.
'°' “God Bless You All,” advertisement, The Petoskey (Mich.) News-Review, 27 March 2003, 1314.
“God Bless the U.S.A.,” advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News, 7 September 2002, 2.
'02 Ford Motor Company, “Ford Drives America,” advertisement, The Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, 5
October 2001, 10A.
'°’ Ibid.
'°’ The entire text of the ad, which is omitted from the figures section due to the poor quality of the image
available, follows:

A message to the Citizens of Monroe County:

Along with many of you, I watched in disbelief the horror of Tuesday, Sept. 11. The devastation
and pain of that day will be forever etched in our minds and hearts. What those terrorists did not,
cannot understand is the spirit of the American people. This spirit does not reside in our buildings,
it cannot be destroyed by bombs. This past week we have shown our enemies what it means to be
American. We possess a courage and resolve they cannot comprehend. What is this spirit?

It is the force that caused selfless firefighters to risk their lives to spare others. It is the force that
motivated volunteers to travel long distances to offer assistance. The force that has moved
hundreds of individuals and corporations to aid the victims’ families monetarily.

This spirit abounds in Monroe County. I have had countless calls from citizens asking what they
can do to help. Our own fire departments traveled to New York to assist in the recovery efforts.
We turned out in force at local blood drives.

All across America we have reached out to help our brothers and sisters in need. Why, do we as
Americans respond in such a way? Why do we have this spirit that other countries lack? Perhaps
the answer lies in the scripture that reads, “Blessed is the Nation whose God is Lord.”

207

 

This past week the terrorists were defeated. The American spirit is alive and well as evidenced by
the waving flags and ribbons and pins being worn in Monroe County.

As for the citizens of Monroe County, I always knew you were special. Your actions this past
week have reinforced that feeling tenfold.

God Bless America!
[Richardville’s signature appears above his name]
Randy Richardville, State Representative

Paid for by the Committee to Re-elect Randy Richardville, 8 Case St., Monroe, MI 48161
’05 President Bush first assumed this “with us or against us” posture soon after 9/11, and he reiterated the
phrase on 24 June 2002 during an address titled “My Vision is Two States,” concerning Israel and a
Palestinian state.
"’6 To take one example of this opinion that 9/11 could not have been stopped, during a press conference on
16 May 2002, U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said, “I don’t think anybody could have
predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another
one and slam it into the Pentagon - that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane
as a missile” (“National Security Advisor Holds Press Briefing: Press Briefing by National Security
Advisor Dr. Condoleeza Rice, The James S. Brady Briefing Room,” in The White House: President George
W. Bush, 16 May 2002 [cited 24 June 2004], available from World Wide Web:
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/new/releases/2002/05/20020512-13.html.> According to McLaren (2003), the
Bush administration’s aim in these continual warnings of new attacks was to keep Americans in a state of
“ontological hysteria,” or “a prolonged fear of imminent annihilation, panic over the insecurity of
existence. People experience it in disastrous, disorienting times.” A key tactic of the Bush administration,”
McLaren writes, “is to take advantage of this ontological terrorism, to keep the public disoriented and in a
sustained feeling of dependence on Bush the Crusader to protect them Whenever the public seems ready to
let down its guard, we receive an announcement from the CIA that a terrorist attack is expected soon,
perhaps in a matter of days” (Denzin and Lincoln, 149).
07 The entire text of this ad, again omitted from the figures for the lack of a quality image, follows:
TERRORISM FORCES US TO
MAKE A CHOICE. WE CAN BE AFRAID.
OR WE CAN BE READY.
~ Lai Sun Ye, Oflice of Emergency Management ~
Next time there’s a terrorist alert, you can feel helpless or you can feel prepared. It’s up
to you. The steps to readiness are not difficult. First, make an emergency supply kit for yourself
and your family. Set aside supplies to survive three days at home. Water, food, first-aid supplies,
clothing, a flashlight and a battery-powered radio. Next, develop a family communications plan so
your family can stay in touch during an emergency. Third, learn how to respond to the different
types of terrorist threats, such as biological, chemical and radiological.
That information, along with details about kits and plans, is available at www.ready.gov.
Or call l-800-BE-READY (1-800-237-3239) for a free brochure, “Preparing Makes Sense. Get
Ready Now.”
READY
'08 Northern Michigan Hospital, advertisement for the free community presentation “Bioterrorism: Know
the Facts,” The Petoskey (Mich.) News-Review, 31 October 2001, A5.
The American Red Cross, “March is National Red Cross Month,” advertisement, The Manistee (Mich.)
News-Advocate, 6 March 2003, 10A.
'09 Ira Teinowitz, “Drug office to yank terror ads in about-face,” Advertising Age 74.13 (31 March 2003): 1-
2.
Wendy Melillo, “Irony follows ad ‘parody’ debut,” Adweek (Eastern edition) 44.2 (13 January 2003): 4.
"0 White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, “Drugs & Terror,” in Parents. The Anti-Drug
[cited 24 June 2004], available from World Wide Web:
<http://www.theantidrug.com/drugs_terror/index.asp.> The “Drugs & Terror” section of the ONDC’s The
A nti-Drug site has this to say about the link: “As America recovers from the loss and destruction of the
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, government officials and policy makers are

208

focusing on the link between terror and drug trafficking. To prevent such tragedies from happening again,
citizens around the world are looking for ways to make a difference.”
111 Some of the ads cited below appeared multiple times in their respective papers; only the initial
appearances are listed here. Further, although three papers carried ad titled “Hope for a Fragile World,” The
Petoskey (Mich.) News-Review was randomly chosen as the one to be cited as its source.
Christ Community Church, “Religion Is Supposed To Make Us Good, Not Right,” advertisement, The
Grand Haven (Mich.) Tribune, 29 September 2001, 10.
Tecumseh Seventh-day Adventist Church, “What Does The Future Hold?,” advertisement, The (Adrian,
Mich.) Daily Telegram, 17 October 2001, A7.
Billy Graham Television Specials, “Hope for a Fragile World,” advertisement, The Petoskey (Mich.) News-
Review, 4 December 2001, A11.
Saint James Church in Medjungorje, “December 25, 2002-Message of Our Lady, Queen of Peace,”
advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News, 29 January 2003, 3. '
Adrian Dominican Sisters, “August 3-9 OVER 1,000 Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates and Guests are
gathering. . .,” advertisement, The (Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram, 4 August 2002, C7.
Agape Baptist Church of Petoskey, “Iraq in Prophesy,” advertisement, The Petoskey (Mich.) News-Review,
6 March 2003, A2.
Florence Church of the Brethren-Mennonite, “Praying together for Peace. Praying for the leaders of the
world. Praying for our neighbor ’3 good,” advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News, 26
March 2003, 2.
Saint James Church in Medjungorje, “March 25, 2003-Message of Our Lady, Queen of Peace,”
advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News (Three Rivers), 21 March 2003, 3.
Manistee Assembly of God, “God Gives hope,” advertisement, (Manistee, Mich.) News-Advocate, 4 April
2003, p. 8 of section titled “Churches of Manistee County.”
“National Day of Prayer Thursday, May 1, 2003 Memory lsle Park 12 Noon to 12:30 PM Righteousness
Exalts a Nation,” advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News, 28 April 2003, 6.
Saint James Church in Medjungorje, “April 25, 2003-Message of Our Lady, Queen of Peace,”
advertisement, The (Three Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News, 30 April 2003, 2.
”2 “Why Did 9-11 Happen—America The Modern Sodom & Gomorrah?,” in the Embassy of Heaven,
posted 12 December 2002 [cited 26 June 2004], available from World Wide Web:
<http://forum.embassyofheaven.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=57.>
”3 “Declare Sept. 11 a National Holiday,” petition to the President & Congress of the United States of
America, in w. PetitionOnIine. com, © 1999-2004 Artifice Inc. - All Rights Reserved [cited 27 June
2004], available from World Wide Web: <http://www.petitiononline.com/l105/petition.html.>
114 Advertisement for extra copies of the Evening News’ 9/11 issue, The (Monroe, Mich.) Evening News, 21
September 2001, 7B.
Advertisement for extra copies of the Daily Telegram’s 9/11 issue, The (Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram, 15
September 2001, B12.
“9/11 WE REMEMBER, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001,” advertisement, The Grand Haven (Mich.) Tribune, 13
August 2002, 1.
“Reaction Recovery Reflection Remembering 9-11-01: A section for remembrance,” advertisement, The
Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, 7 September 2002, 6A.
“9.11.01: America Remembers,” advertisement, The (Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram, 28 August 2002, A7.
”5 Jack Bender’s “Alley Oop” and Bill Keane’s “Family Circus” cartoon series gave their issues of 11
September 2002 over to 9/11 tributes, which appeared in only one of the papers in this sample. The (Three
Rivers, Mich.) Commercial-News carried them both on page 11 of its 11 September 2002 issue.
”6 The Associated Press, “Demonization begins of terrorist leader,” The Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, 15
October 2001, 5A. .
Darlene Superville, “War Strategy: Demonize Saddam: The president is using a time-honored method of
garnering public support for war,” The Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, 22 August 2002, 103.
President George W. Bush, “Full Text: State of the Union address,” delivered 30 January 2002, 05:07
GMT, in BBC News, last updated 28 June 2004, 23:41 GMT [cited 28 June 2004], available from World
Wide Web: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/default.stm>.
”7 Again, the crudeness of the available image keeps this ad from appearing in the figures section. The
complete text of the ad follows:

In Memory of our Fallen Brothers and Sisters

 

209

 

 

 

 

of the New York City Firefighters Unions
Local 94 and Local 854
In conjunction with the following businesses
Monroe City Firefighters Local 326
And
Frenchtown Firefighters Local 3233
Fill the Boot Campaign
Starting Monday, September 24, look for Firefighter boots in the following business locations throughout
the Monroe Area. On Friday, September 28, from 8:00 am. till 7:00 pm firefighters stationed in the
intersections will be distributed a card with the “Fallen Brother Firefighter Prayer” for any donation made.
Our goal is to distribute 6,333 cards, one for every victim still missing in the 9-11 disaster. Our Fill the
Boot Campaign will then end.

We sincerely appreciate your thoughts, the outpouring of sympathy and know that you will continue to
remember in your prayers the 355 Brothers and Sisters still missing in New York.

Special thanks to La-Z-Boy Inc. and Kraus Printing

[The ad’s bottom right comer contains a photograph of a firefighter’s boot next to a card bearing the
“Fallen Brother Firefighter Prayer.” Above this image is the message “The New York Firefighters 9-11
Disaster Relief Fund: Look for.. .”; below it, the words “Thank You.” A two-colunm list of the campaign’s
36 local sponsors occupies the remainder of the ad’s bottom portion]
”sJohn Miller, editorial review of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us, by Steven Emerson,
in Amazon.com, © 1996-2004, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates [cited 29 June 2004], available from
World Wide Web: <www.amazon.com>.

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION

”9 Denzin and Lincoln, 19. In another essay in the same book, Shepperson and Tomaselli call Al Qaeda
“the flip side of globalization” (page 46).

’20 Elizabeth Becker, “In the War on Terrorism, A Battle to Shape Opinion,” The New York Times, 11
November 200], late ed., A1, 3 pgs.

'2’ According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll in late July 2001, President Bush had a 59 percent
approval rating and 60 percent of those polled believed that he could be trusted in a crisis (David S. Broder
and Dan Batz, “Bush Gets High Approval Ratings in Poll: But Agenda, Policies Face Broad Doubts,” The
Washington Post, 2 August 2001, A4). Increased public approval of President Bush and confidence in his
ability to deal with a crisis became apparent in the results of polls conducted during rrrid- to late-September
2001 by the Pew Research Center for the PeOple and the Press. Asked their opinion of President Bush’s
performance as president in light of the terrorist attacks, 86 percent of those polled indicated that they
approved of “the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president” and 85 percent answered that they
approved of how Bush had dealt with the attacks thus far (The Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press, telephone surveys conducted on 17, 19 and 27 September 2001, Washington. DC, Polling the
Nations: The Ultimate Survey Database).

’22 Press history scholar George H. Douglas defines the “golden age of the newspaper” as the period
between the advent of the penny press in the 18305 and that of news radio in around 1930 (Douglas, The
Golden Age of the Newspaper, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999). The following sources
testify to recent declines in newspaper readership: Jacques Steinberg, “Newspaper Circulation Continues
Overall Decline,” The New York Times 4 May 2004, late ed., C4; Jennifer Saba, “Turning to teens or tacos
to boost circ,” Editor & Publisher 137.3 (March 2004): 12-3; Jon Fine, “Newspaper circulation falls,”
Advertising Age 74.19 (12 May 2003): 20; “Newspaper Circulation Looks ‘Good’ Versus 2002, But ‘Bad’
Versus 1993,” Media Industry Newsletter 56.19 (12 May 2003): 1.

’23 This ad first appeared in the Holland Sentinel ’s issue of 23 June 2002.

APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: CODING PROTOCOL

'24 Following is a recent study of note on the changing definitions of propaganda: Jay Black, “Semantics
and Ethics of Propaganda,” Journal of Mass Media Ethics 16 (2 &3): 121-137.

210

 

’25 R.W. Burchfield, ed., The Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. 632.

'2" Black, 1334.

'27 Webster ’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, New York: Random House
Value Publishing, Portland House, 1997, 21.

'28 Ibid., 1593.

‘2" Ibid., 224.

'3°Ibid., 1394.

'3' Leonard W. Doob, Propaganda: Its Psychology and Technique, New York, NY: Henry Holt and
Company, 1944. 106.

’32 Webster 's, 952.

'33 Sproule.

211

 

 

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NEWSPAPERS
Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram. 20 March 1917 through 11 November 1918.
(Three Rivers, Mich.) Daily Commercial. 20 March 1917 through 1.1 November 1918.

The Associated Press. “Demonization begins of terrorist leader.” The Monroe (Mich.)
Evening News, 15 October 2001, 5A.

(Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram. 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003.

Grand Haven (Mich.) Daily Tribune. 20 March 1917 through 11
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Grand Haven (Mich.) Tribune. 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003.

Manistee (Mich.) News-Advocate. 20 March 1917 through 11 November 1918
and 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003.

215

 

 

Monroe (Mich.) Evening News. 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003.

Monroe (Mich.) News-Courier. 20 March 1917 through 11 November 1918.
Petoskey (Mich.) Evening News. 20 March 1917 through 11 November 1918.
Petoskey (Mich.) News-Review. 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003.

Three Rivers (Mich.) Commercial-News. 11 September 2001 through 1 May 2003.

Becker, Elizabeth. “In the War on Terrorism, A Battle to Shape Opinion.” The New
York Times, 11 November 2001, late ed., A1, 3 pgs.

Broder, David S. and Dan Batz. “Bush Gets High Approval Ratings in Poll: But

Agenda, Policies Face Broad Doubts.” The Washington Post, 2 August 2001,
A4.

Cray, David. “A day of infamy: Airborne terrorists strike and strike again.”
Associated Press Newswires, 11 Sept. 2001.

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Superville, Darlene. “War Strategy: Demonize Saddam: The president is using a
time-honored method of garnering public support for war.” The Monroe (Mich.)
Evening News, 22 August 2002, IOB.

216

,-..:11"J