During the first 18 months of World War I, Woodrow Wilson sought to maintain American neutrality, but as this carefully argued study shows, it was ultimately an unsustainable stance. The tension between Wilson's idealism and pragmatism ultimately drove him to abandon neutrality, paving the way for America's entrance into the war in 1917.

In 1914, advertising was much less sophisticated that it is today, radio was in its infancy, television was undeveloped, telephones were just coming into use, the gargantuan party rallies of Hitler or Mussolini were still in the future, and the idea of using ocmmunications media to control the thoughts of an entire population was new, relatively unexplored, and not of interest to governments to any great extent. Propaganda was a part of life before 1914, and the term was coming into increasingly widespread usage. But other institutions of society, such as the church, the press, business, political parties, and philanthropy, were the major producers - not government.

Ross discusses how the British organized a massive, covert propaganda apparatus with the goal of dragging America into the Great War of 1914-1918 on the side of the Allies.

As war raged in Europe, both Germany and Great Britain recognized the significance of United States neutrality on the conduct of the war. Both countries launched the first wave of war propaganda for the hearts and minds of Americans; the British sought to involve the United States as an active participant, while the Germans hoped to maintain at least some form of American neutrality. Once America entered the war in 1917, the United States government launched its own propaganda campaign. The president established the Committee on Public Information to rally the people to the war effort. As the war wound down, the Committee initiated still another campaign; this time the target was the Communists. This history details each campaign and examines the long-term effects of the government's first forays into mass persuasion.

World War I and Propaganda offers a new look at a familiar subject. The contributions to this volume demonstrate that the traditional view of propaganda as top-down manipulation is no longer plausible. Drawing from a variety of sources, scholars examine the complex negotiations involved in propaganda within the British Empire, in occupied territories, in neutral nations, and how war should be conducted. Propaganda was tailored to meet local circumstances and integrated into a larger narrative in which the war was not always the most important issue. Issues centering on local politics, national identity, preservation of tradition, or hopes of a brighter future all played a role in different forms of propaganda. Contributors are Christopher Barthel, Donata Blobaum, Robert Blobaum, Mourad Djebabla, Christopher Fischer, Andrew T. Jarboe, Elli Lemonidou, David Monger, Javier Pounce,Catriona Pennell, Anne Samson, Richard Smith, Kenneth Andrew Steuer, María Inés Tato, and Lisa Todd.