Can your students identify how public opinion and individuals’ actions are influenced by persuasive campaigns appealing to emotion? Analyzing historical primary sources offers one way for students to reflect on how such practices have been used in the past while sharpening their informational literacy skills today. World War I campaigns to sell Liberty bonds to finance the war effort provide historical examples that appealed to a number of emotions and feelings.
Begin by showing students this poster from the Library’s Mass Persuasion Campaign primary source set that encouraged citizens to “join the crowd [and] buy a Liberty Bond.” Invite students to make preliminary observations and form questions, then focus their analysis with reflection prompts related to the poster’s persuasive techniques:
- What action is the poster asking citizens to take?
- What emotions or feelings does it convey?
- What words or images does the poster use to convey emotions or feelings?
Students will likely note that the poster shows a smiling, happy crowd, all engaged in the same civic activity. Some might argue that its exhortation to “join the crowd” appeals to a natural desire to be like others – a persuasion technique sometimes referred to as “the bandwagon effect.” After they reflect on the questions, invite students to summarize their analysis by sorting their thoughts into two categories: what emotions and feelings does the poster appeal to and what details from the poster are used to evoke these feelings?
Examining additional Liberty bond posters can help students recognize that campaigns appealed to other emotions and feelings, as well. Invite students to work in small groups to analyze one of these Liberty bond posters.
- A dying soldier, with text that asks: “Are we, as Americans, doing our part?”
- A pair of bloody boots, with a caption that reads: “Keep these off the USA.”
- A group of American soldiers routing the enemy, with the headline: “Crush the Prussian!”
- A smiling child, clutching a Liberty Bond, with the statement: “My daddy bought me a government bond…did yours?”
Students can find additional posters by typing “Liberty Bond poster” into the Library’s search engine.
During their analysis, groups should respond to the same question prompts and summarize as before. As they share out their findings, ask students what new emotions and feelings these posters appeal to. For instance, one group might argue that the “dying soldier” poster uses the graphic image of an American serviceman to evoke feelings of horror and empathy, while the follow up question, “Are we doing our part,” creates a sense of obligation or even guilt. Other posters may appeal to fear, patriotic pride, and more.
Finally, ask students why they think different posters targeted different emotions and feelings. What might be a potential benefit to consumers of writing down how their actions can be connected to such emotions? How effective do they think this analysis technique is when consuming contemporary media?
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