“Work! Save!! Win!!!”: Selling the Cost of World War I in America - Part 4: Magazines & Conclusion

Popular Magazines

            Magazines were widely read in early 20^th century America. Among the most prominent at the time were Collier’s and McClure’s. While other magazines, such as Saturday Evening Post and Atlantic Monthly were also widely read, in the interest of time, I have selected focusing on these two magazines for their wide circulation, slightly different tones, and generally pro-war positions.

            Magazines such as these led the charge in explaining bond purchase and ownership to the public in a clear, detailed way. Explaining the necessity of giving to the point of sacrifice for the cause, banker Thomas Lamont was able to explain loan purchases in relation to other countries in Collier’s. “We must all realize that individual economy, thrift, and saving of pennies, collected in units of dollars and invested in loans to the Government, will shorten and help win the war,” he wrote.[1] He explained that Britain gave 40% of the nation’s (considerably smaller) income to the war effort, and though this may have been prompted by the volume of death they were experiencing, “must we in America wait until our casualty lists begin to come in before we can rouse ourselves to this same wholehearted support of the Government?”[2]

“Work! Save!! Win!!!”: Selling the Cost of World War I in America - Part 2: Four-Minute Men

Four-Minute Men

            Visuals weren’t the only approach the government used to sell Liberty Bonds. They had salesmen in the flesh, as well.  The so-called “Four-Minute Men” were a masterful collaboration between the Committee of Public Information and local volunteer groups.

A poster promoting the Four Minute Men.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.

            Initially proposed to Committee of Public Information (CPI) director George Creel by a stranger named Donald Ryerson, the idea was initially to have a respected member of the community speak during the four minutes it took to change silent movie reels at a movie theater. During that time, a slide explaining that the man would be speaking for four minutes was projected on the screen, and declared approved by the CPI.[1]

While the organization was not exclusively aimed to sell bonds, it did spend almost four of the program’s 17 active months during the war doing precisely that.[2] Like the posters advertising the Liberty Loans, the Four-Minute Men were generally positive and fact-based in the beginning, focusing on the impressive achievements of the American people and the needs of their allies. As time went on though, instructions from the CPI became more colored with negative depictions of Germans, and atrocity stories were greatly encouraged.[3]