Image: James Montgomery Flagg, 鈥淚 Want YOU for U.S. Army,鈥� 1917, Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC. Available at https://www.loc.gov/item/96507165/.
The government used this recruitment poster in both world wars. What makes it an effective piece of propaganda? In what ways is it ineffective?
How does the composition of Flagg鈥檚 poster compare to that of Spear鈥檚 鈥�Enlist鈥� poster?
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Introduction
From 1917 to 1918 the government printed nearly four million copies of artist James Montgomery Flagg鈥檚 eye-catching propaganda poster, 鈥淚 Want YOU for U.S. Army.鈥� Flagg (1877鈥�1960) drew his inspiration from a popular British poster that featured Lord Herbert Kitchener (1850鈥�1916), the British secretary of war, pointing his finger and declaring, 鈥淵our Country Needs YOU.鈥� Flagg鈥檚 version starred Uncle Sam, a popular patriotic symbol since the early nineteenth century, which he drew using his own reflection as a model with some added wrinkles and gray hair. The artist鈥檚 first rendition appeared on the 1916 cover of Leslie鈥檚 Weekly magazine accompanied by the caption 鈥淲hat Are You Doing for Preparedness?鈥� Once the United States entered the fray, he adapted it for the War Department鈥檚 recruitment needs.
The British and U.S. War Departments utilized their respective versions of these posters to spur military enlistment and secure cooperation with newly enacted conscription laws. American wartime propaganda posters made repeated use of Uncle Sam imagery to visualize citizens鈥� patriotic obligation to serve the nation in time of war. Various incarnations of Uncle Sam directed Americans to buy liberty bonds, conserve food, plant victory gardens, and work diligently in war-related industries.
—Jennifer D. Keene
James Montgomery Flagg, 鈥淚 Want YOU for U.S. Army,鈥� 1917, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC. Available at .
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