In April 1917 the United States entered the Great War, also known as the War to End All Wars. In an effort to mobilize the populace toward the war effort, President Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information. Headed by journalist George Creel, the purpose of the CPI was to spearhead an advertising campaign focused on the need for troops, money, medical personnel and supplies, and a spirit of public unity. Forging Identity—Imagining the Enemy: American Propaganda and the Great War at the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery draws on a large number of World War I posters from the Peabody College Collection to analyze how these needs were addressed. Two themes—patriotism and fear—become clearly evident from the posters in defining the Americanism of the era.
These themes still resonate in American society 100 years later amid a backdrop of current issues related to immigration and warfare abroad. The ways in which patriotic Americans are defined and foreign enemies are demonized do not seem to have changed much during the past century, as shown by the 30 posters and supplemental photos and materials on display through Dec. 4.