The Changing Messages Behind American Military Recruitment Posters

April 5, 2013

By Mangling Chu

This is a poster from the American Civil War era. It uses only the colors black and white and verbal language to convey its message. The symbols in the poster are very simple and direct——the “!” indicates strong passion and the “$” subtly suggests that a man could make a lot of money by joining the US Navy. Obviously, the government wanted to motivate its intended audience by offering a large sum of money and the possibility to win money in prizes. It’s easy to understand why the poster is focused only on money. Since the nation was not united at the time, it was hard to use patriotism as a recruitment strategy, so the government sought to entice men to enlist by offering them a large sum of money.

During the First World War, the poster for recruiting soldiers became more appealing because it used colors and had a visual image with a strong verbal message. The poster uses the symbol of “Uncle Sam,” which connects very well to the sentence “I WANT YOU.” What’s more, this poster brought a new spirit to recruitment in America: a man should join the army not because he wants to earn money, but because his country needs him.

Another example of a poster from WWI uses bold colors, a visual, and a verbal message. This poster focuses on the benefits of becoming a soldier; earning and learning became the new focus of recruiting men for service. This shows us that during WWI, Americans who joined the army wanted to acquire more skills and knowledge.

During the WWII, the main focus of recruitment posters changed yet again. This poster shows the great power of the army, using a big picture. It is to promote the great honor American men would feel as soldiers. From this poster we can assume that there was a great amount of national pride at the time.

Recruitment posters during the Vietnam War sent an entirely new message to American men old enough to enlist—it’s your choice. The government was trying to encourage people to join the army by their own choice. It may not be as colorful or attractive as the three posters I mentioned previously, which may also indicate that the American people’s passion for this war was not very high.

The last poster I want to analyze was printed in 2011. It uses a photo of a soldier and the message “IT’S NOT SCIENCE FICTION,” which tells us that the American army uses only the most sophisticated technology. Today, technology plays an increasingly important role in the military.

In conclusion, through these different posters from different periods in American history, we can observe the different ways Americans view the military.

Written by Very Becoming Posted in American Civil War, Class 0111 Tagged with American Military, Civil War, Recruitment Posters