WWI Poster Analysis

1. Propaganda is usually used in comic pictures about the government or about a war/ national issue.
2. Propaganda- information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
3. Set 7 Images:
4. Image 1, Image 2, Image 4
1. I first notice the big red letters at the top "Boys and Girls". Then it goes down in a different color saying that the boys and girls can help Uncle Sam win the war. There is a little girl sitting on Uncle Sam's shoulders and the little boy looking up to Uncle Sam. I think what the artist is trying to portray to the view is that even if you are a young girl or boy, you can still make a contribution to help the war. Even if its saving up the quarters to buy war saving stamps.
2. Looking at this image I first noticed the three men. The middle man resembles Uncle Sam. The man on the far right is holding wheat, the one in the middle, that resembles Uncle Sam, is holding a basket full of farm vegetable, and the last man is also holding a basket with farm vegetables also in it. It also has in very big letters "food" the artist wants it to stand out. I feel like the artist is making point by having three strong looking Americans carrying the food, says that America is a provider for the world since the wording on the bottom says "The world cries food, keep the home garden going."
3. The last image is of a little boys saluting a bowl of corn oatmeal. The writing at the bottom is telling the viewer how good the corn/ rice oatmeal is, also saying to let the wheat go to out countries soldiers. The artist is trying to show how good the corn/rice oatmeal is and how they are helping out their country by buying the oatmeal, because by buying the corn/ rice oatmeal the children and the adults are shown that they are helping their country out even though they are not participating in the actual fighting.
5. The audience the images appeal to
1. For the first image, I think the image is directed to a children audience, since in big red letter it says 'BOYS and GIRLS". Also the drawing is of Uncle Sam carrying the little girl on his shoulders and the little boy is looking up to him. Most children in this time period probably wanted to help out with the war so by saving their quarters they could, in their minds, help with the war.
2. The second image is most likely directed to the women and men. By having the strong looking men carrying in the foods and saying "Keep the home garden going" the artist is targeting the men and women to help keep their own gardens going and producing food to help benefit the war, by being able to feed their soldiers.
3. The fourth image is manly targeting the children and some adults. By having the little kid saluting the bowl of corn/ rice oatmeal, and saying at the bottom "leave the wheat for the soldiers". It gives a sense that the kids are helping out with the war since they are buying the corn/ rice oatmeal they are letting their soldiers have the wheat oatmeal and not letting their soldiers go hungry.
6. I'm not very comfortable with the idea of the government spending tax dollars to make posters. I think those taxes dollars could go to something more needed like making sure the soldiers have enough food, etc. I can see why they do make them though. After you think about it, the government is making little "advertisements" to help the country out while america was in a war. I just like the idea of using the taxes dollars.
7. The government needed to invest in the poster because they had to find a way to keep the americans helping out while the WWI was using a lot of resources. By knowing the kids wanted to help out in the war some way they told them from the posters to save your quarters in order to buy war saving stamps, and by the kid saluting the bowl of corn/ rice oatmeal it makes kids think that they are making a impact in the war by letting the wheat oatmeal go to the soldiers over seas.

Progressivism Answer Key

1. b
2. b
3. c

Progressivism Questions

1. Who did Antimonopoly, one of the powerful impulses of progressivism, appeal too? EXCEPT.
1. Workers
2. All middle class Americans
3. Farmers
4. A few middle class Americans
5. The government
2. What did the Progressive theorist argue that ignorance, poverty, and criminality was not a form of Social Darwinism but and effect of?
1. Failure
2. Unhealthy environment
3. Lack of education
4. Not having the appropriate resources to better their lives.
5. All of the above
3. Even though middle class reformers, mostly from the east, were taking over the public image of progressivism, they were not alone on wanting to improve social conditions. Which groups helped to make important reforms for social conditions? Except.
1. Party bosses
2. Upper-class Americans
3. Working-class Americans
4. Westerners
5. African Americans

A Living Essay about Progressivism

For this assignment, I worked with Andrew and Mary Leigh and how we connected each of are different topics, which included Jewish immigration, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Titanic.

During the Progressive Era, the new ways in which it was possible for people to move from place to place demonstrates that this was a period of great innovation. Jewish Immigration from eastern Europe, the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the voyage of the Titanic all exemplify people being open to new ways of changing their lives.

With all of these innovations, there were great intentions and promise but each innovation brought its own risks.When stringing the cables for the Brooklyn Bridge, one of them snapped and resulted in several deaths but over all the bridge was a great addition to New York City. Even though the sinking of the Titanic was a terrible tragedy, the overall impact of the boat helped to better the innovations of ships. When the Jewish immigrants came to America, they were living in hard times, but as time went on and more immigrants made their way over, it was overall well worth the struggle in the end.

Progressivism: Brooklyn Bridge

    What I learned from theses different articles about the Brooklyn Bridge was how it was linked to Progressivism. There were different articles not even from the New York area. In my opinion the Brooklyn Bridge was a ideal example of the progressivism era, because it was a social movement the citizen in Brooklyn and Manhattan had to get to the other side of the east river but the ferry boats were not most affiant. The building of the bridge was dangerous. Covered by a newspaper in Louisiana about one of the bridges cabled snapped, and it flying around killed some people, working conditions were not ideal. The thought and what the bridge would bring to NYC was in the theme of Progressivism. When I was looking at the different articles and what they wanted the bridge to be for was very similar to the High line. The bridge would be for pedestrians and horses and carriages to safely transport them, similar to the High Line they builders wanted to get the people off the busy street. Mr. CC Martin said about the narrowing at the top of the two towers was "gives a relief to the gloomy heaviness." The builders of the bridge wanted to be pretty and nice and strong on its own like the progressive era and what it stood for and citizens social movement.

List of articles used:

Connecticut Herald, November 17, 1829, Bridge across the East River 

Albany Evening Journal, September 27,1870, A Marvelous Accident in the Caisson of the East River Bridge

Times-Picayune, June 20, 1878, One of the Bridge's Cables Snaps

Annapolis Gazette, May 13, 1873, The Great East River Bridge

St. Albans Daily Messenger, August 29, 1876, Stringing the Cables

St. Albans Daily Messenger, April 3, 1883, The Brooklyn Bridge Informally Opened

Trenton Evening Times, May 26, 1883, A Vivid and Well Connected Account of Thursday's Great Celebration

Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, May 31, 1883, Frightful Panic on the Great Thoroughfare

Self Reflection of Third Quarter

This quarter we learned about Imperialism, and watching the the Eddie Aikau documentary. I like watching the the documentary because it helped show some of the history of Hawaiian culture. The documentary helped break down the media aspect and how they can control your emotions by the video clips, from that time, interviews, the music, and reenactments. Also during this quarter, we started to do multiple choice reading questions. At first I wasn't a big fan because the questions weren't straight forward, but now I like them because I think its more helpful for to understand what we are learning. The High Life video I thought was very interesting because the creator took a creative thinking to make the old railroad system, in New York, and turned it into a fascinating park.

Progressive Era

1.  I define progress as being able to do actions to reach a goal.
2. The Progressive era is between 1890 to 1920s. This time period is referred as the Progressive era because of all social activism and political reforms.
3. The actions were trying to eliminate corruption in the government. Also, in this time women's suffrage was promoted to "pure" female vote to the political arena. The Efficiency Movement that would be in every sector to modernize and bring scientific, medical, and engineering solutions. Also in the Efficiency Movement scientific management and Taylorism played a key part in the movement. Mostly the movements were operated on a local level.
4. The progressive forms seem to have in common is that they would help the government become better and that these reforms to benefit they people as well.
5.   Progressive moments:
        1. Essential goals/ Necessary changes: Civil Rights, Government Reform, Women's Rights
        2. Good Goals:  Protects peoples health and welfare,
        3. Strange Goals: illegal to sell and make alcohol
       4. Not Good Idea Goals: federal government acting as a mediator between opposing sides.