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Saturday, November 19, 2011

WWII Propaganda Posters

The first poster tells consumers to conserve materials because "waste helps the enemy." By decreasing demand for citizens on materials, the supply of the military will increase. The second poster tells consumers to use less gas by carpooling because "when you ride alone you ride with Hitler." If citizens decrease their gas supply, the military can have more gas. The third poster tells people that the world can't be half slave and half free; this poster appeals to American principles and ideals and tries to get people to enlist in the military. The fourth poster tells people to pay no more than the price of rationed goods and also to not accept free rationed goods. This is an attempt to protect America from inflation by keeping equilibrium price steady.

I can see what these posters are trying to do to people but could the people in the 1940s? Did they recognize that these posters were trying to help them? Also who made these posters? Did the government or did private businesses and companies or a mix of the two? And finally, did these posters work? Did the propaganda work and is there data to support this?

We looked at WWII propaganda posters because they show economic principles of supply and demand where we try and increase military goods while rationing civilians'.

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