Committee of Public Information

  
Poster from the Committee of Public Information

     By 1917 Woodrow Wilson knew war was inevitable. That made him create the Committee of Public Information. Wilson created this organization to distribute propaganda among American citizens. This organization was created through executive order 2594 on April 13, 1917. The Committee of
Public Information consisted of the chairman George Creel also a few men from Wilson's cabinet such as the Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, Secretary of State Robert Lansing, and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.
   When Wilson was re-elected it proved people were still against the war. Wilson
wanted to go to war but needed to change the citizens point of view. The committee would
set up posters across America and created pamphlets in different languages to change the public
eye. The Committee of Public Information would also set up several speeches and rallies to gear
up citizens for war. They would also hold state fairs, create propaganda posters,and have movies created. All of this costed almost $5 million for the taxpayers.
     This organization didn't last long because they were broken up after the Treaty of Versailles on November 11, 1918. Wilson abolished that group on August 21, 1919 under executive order 3154. They were used to gear up citizens for war and just that.

Links & Sources

utk.edu
state.or
imsa.edu