War+Propaganda

= = toc Civil War Propaganda By Henry Bamford

=War Propaganda=

Propaganda is information manipulated for a particular cause. It generally appeals to the viewers emotion, not intellect, and is broadcasted to people who already support that particular cause. War propaganda sends the message that the enemy is extremely evil and triggers a variety of negative emotions when the propaganda is seen. One commonly used strategy to successfully broadcast this message was to make it seem like the enemy has done some wrong to the viewer's side. = = =Propaganda's Forms=

Both the Union and Confederacy sent out propaganda during the Civil War. They directed their messages toward each other to crush any hope of victory for the opposing side or to create hope for its citizens. Each side also directed their efforts to sway foreign powers, like France and England, to their cause. Propaganda took the form of newspapers, cartoons, and posters.



Newspapers
Newspapers were one of the forms Civil War propaganda took. One example of this was in the New York Times article about the Union capturing New Orleans, dated April 28, 1862. The highlighted section says, //"But it is altogether unlikely that any serious attempt was made to defend the city itself. Indeed, New Orleans was utterly capable of defen////se, when once our fleet got in front of it. With a hundred gun and mortar boats riding high above the city, ready to pour down upon it a torrent of fire and iron, it would be madness for the rebels to dream of any other terms than unconditional surrender."// This article is pro-Union, basically saying that the Union would destroy New Orleans and the Confederacy should simply surrender. This type directly attacks the Confederacy, spreading fear throughout the South. Media like this made the Union seem like the victorious, sparking patriotism for the North and causing citizens to enlist in the winning cause. There were also newspapers that were solely dedicated to propaganda. One of these was a Confederate newspaper called, "The Index". It was started by a key propaganda producer named Henry Hotze and mainly focused its propaganda efforts on self-government and independence of the Confederate States of America.



Illustrations
Political cartoons were and used as propaganda during the Civil War as well, many of which involved key political figures, like Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis. These sometimes took the form of "letterpost envelopes", which was a scaled down version of a larger, poster sized illustration or were published as cartoons in newspapers. The cartoon to the top shows Lincoln sitting on a weak Jefferson Davis, saying he'll be, "four years longer", referring to the presidency. This is pro-Union propaganda, showing how Lincoln would be the victor of the Civil War and become the president for another term; "Jefferson Davis's November Nightmare." If propaganda is repeated enough, the public will start to view it as the truth. This may have been what happened during the time when pro-Union propaganda like this was distributed; messages of Union victory were spread until they became true to the people. This propaganda is putting down the Confederacy with Davis seeming frail and Lincoln looming over him. It presents two choices, Lincoln, the right choice; the winning side, and Davis, the weak, losing side. In the picture on the bottom shows "Dr. Lincoln" feeding a patient conscription, or involuntary enlistment, with the caption on the bottom saying, "A bitter 'draught'". Draught is a dose of something; in this case medicine, but the illustrator was not only refering to that meaning, but to a war draft, or conscription. The message of this is that Abraham Lincoln thought that a draft would be a good thing for the Union, but, as a doctor prescribes his patient bitter tasting medicine an the patient resists, the nation doesn't like Lincoln's remedy. The artist means to say that the public is being convinced that something that, in reality, is horrible is a good thing for the nation and will help them win the war. The picture also shows Lincoln standing over the patient, as if the patient is a child, being taken advantage of by the doctor. It makes the public feel exploited by Lincoln as well.

Posters
Posters were used as propaganda, like this one. Posters in the Civil War era were not what we think of posters to be today. Most of them were to send some direct message or news to the public. In this Union enlistment poster, it says, "Is There A North", meaning that the North is nothing without an army. This statement encourages the Northerners to enlist. It brings a sense of patriotism to viewer, that it is his duty to enlist. The poster also states, "To arms! To arms! Ye brave!", also bringing patriotism to the viewer. "Ye brave!" suggests to things; that the viewer becomes brave by enlisting, bestowing a hero-like status upon the viewer, and that many people are enlisting, meaning that the viewer should too join the "movement" that they created with this poster.

=Civil War Propaganda In Europe=

During the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy wanted support from the European powers; England and France. The Union government had three key figures that spread propaganda to these international powers to get support. These were; Archbishop Hughes, Bishop McIlvaine, and Thurlow Weed. Hughes was sent to spread propaganda and gain support of the Pope and his office, and other Catholic leaders, McIlvaine was sent to spread propaganda and gain support of the church of England, and Weed was sent to spread propaganda and gain support of key leaders and to be involved in European journalism to counteract the Confederacy's attempts to do the same. There were also many volunteer propaganda clubs. One of the most famous of these were a pro-Union club called, "The Union League". It was started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in November of 1862 and later spread around the Union and Confederacy. This group was responsible for distributing propaganda writings about the war. Another key group was "The New York Society". Led by Charles King and Francis Lieber, the organization the organization published ninety different pamphlets and 900,000 war related propaganda document. The Confederacy also had their own propaganda-spreading organizations, like "The Index" (see "Newspapers" above).

=External Links=

@http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda This article explains more about general propaganda and some of its forms. It also goes into great detail about historical propaganda around the world.

@http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_propaganda This article focuses specifically on American propaganda. It includes propaganda directed towards foreign powers as well as propaganda within the United States.

=Bibliography= Works Cited

"The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana." American Memory. Library of Congress. Web. 22 May 2012. .

"The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana." American Memory. Library of Congress. Web. 23 May 2012. .

American Memory. Library of Congress. Web. 22 May 2012. .

"An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera." American Memory. Library of Congress. Web. 26 May 2012. .

"File:JDavis.png." Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons, 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 May 2012. .

"Propaganda." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 May 2012. Web. 23 May 2012. .

"6-12th Grade." History of American Intelligence --- Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 15 Apr. 2007. Web. 27 May 2012. .