The World Cannot Live Half Slave, Half Free. The Prussian Blot: 100,000,000 People Already Enslaved By Germany.
- Title:
- The World Cannot Live Half Slave, Half Free. The Prussian Blot: 100,000,000 People Already Enslaved By Germany.
- Alternate Title:
- The Prussian Blot
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- State Council of Defense
- Date:
- 1917
- Posted Date:
- 2015-08-25
- ID Number:
- 1192.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_1192_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1900 - 1919
- Subject:
- World War I
Unusual Graphics/Text - Measurement:
- 77 x 51 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- From the outbreak of World War I until America's declaration of war in April 1917, the official posture of the country had been neutrality. There was concern whether German-Americans would fight against the Kaiser and whether Irish-Americans would fight alongside the British. Even after America entered the war, the public was far from unified behind the cause. There were vocal misgivings from intellectuals, labor leaders, progressive reformers and long-time isolationists (Brewer 2009, 49, 53).
To meet these concerns, Wilson launched an all-out effort to gain wider public support. On April 15, he created the Committee on Public Information, headed by a former muckraking journalist, George Creel (Ibid., 55-57). The Committee conducted a "vast enterprise in salesmanship," in which it "extolled American greatness and condemned German barbarism by using sensational stories of atrocity, which were later discredited." (Ibid., 10). It was "charged with the task of directing the release and suppression of government news to promote the 'absolute justice of America's cause, the absolute selflessness of America's aims.'" (Venzon 1995, 162). Other organizations helped in this effort. The Council of National Defense had been created in 1916 to coordinate mobilization efforts, and had created State Councils of Defense to assist it; after the war began, "The state councils became primarily propaganda agencies to generate public support for the war effort." (Ibid. 174).
The collection includes four maps - all virtually identical - issued to this end by the Creel Committee and its affiliates: ID #1192 (poster - "The Prussian Blot"); ID #1194 and #2109 (folding maps in pamphlets - "Why Germany Wants Peace Now"); and ID #2356 (poster - "Why Germany Wants Peace") (not yet online).​ This poster was published by a State Council of Defense. It displays a pointed threat from the Kaiser and a quote from Wilson about the reach of German ambition. (Wilson's statement is from a speech he gave on Flag Day, June 14, 1917.) It's interesting to consider how effective the poster would have been without the map, and how effective the map would have been without the splash of blood red (the same color as the Kaiser's statement).
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.