History 143 Assignment Guide, February 24-26, 2009

 

Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Discovering the American Past, 132-64

 

Special instructions: Be sure to bring the book to class.

 

Background information: After reading this assignment, you should know the following:

1.      Why the US was pulled into World War I when most Americans wanted to remain neutral.

 

 

2.      What the Committee on Public Information (CPI) was and its purposes.

 

 

 

3.      The types of propaganda used by the CPI.

 

 

 

Discussion: In class, you should be able to provide detailed answers to these questions:

  1. Pick three pieces of propaganda. For each, answer the following: who is the intended audience; how are stereotypes (about men, women, children, or the enemy) used; what emotional or logical appeals are made?

 

 

  1. Why did the multi-ethnic and racial composition of the U.S. population concern the federal government? How does some of the propaganda target specific groups?

 

 

  1. Did the Committee on Public Information go too far? Be sure to support your answer using evidence from either the background or epilogue reading.

 

 

Personal connection: In class, you should be able to provide answers to the following questions:

  1. How would you define “propaganda”?

 

 

  1. Are there similarities between World War I efforts to build public support and current efforts to build support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about differences?

 

 

  1. How would Americans today react to the types of songs, posters and speeches you read for this assignment? Why?