Additional resources for this issue of History Now World War II Posters America's Depression and War in International Context The World War II Home Front Japanese American Internment African Americans in World War II

Books:

Many points raised in this essay are discussed in greater detail in Dr. Winkler's essay on the home front. You'll see my suggestions for further resources in areas such as general US wartime propaganda, the Office of War Information, the War Production Board, and defense mobilization there.

There's no question that your best additional resource for the specific topic of wartime posters is this booklength study by Dr. Bird and Mr. Rubenstein published in 1998:

Design for Victory: World War II Posters on the American Home Front. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1998.

You should also try to find this book. out of print and from a small press, but very useful:

Nelson, Derek. The Posters that Won the War: The Production, Recruitment and War Bond Posters of WWII. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks, 1991, p. 62

These books focus on war bond drives:

Merton, Robert K. Mass Persuasion: The Social Psychology of a War Bond Drive. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946.

Morse, Jarvis M. Paying For a World War: The United States Financing of World War II. Washington: US Savings Bonds Division, 1971.

Samuel, Lawrence R. Pledging Allegiance: American Identity and the Bond Drive of World War II. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.

World War I posters:

Rawls, Walton H. Wake Up, America! : World War I And The American Poster. New York : Abbeville Press, 1988.

International samples of World War II poster art:

Judd, Denis. Posters of World War Two. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1973.

Gregory, G.H., ed. Posters of World War II. New York : Gramercy Books, 1993.

Darracott, Joseph, and Belinda Loftus. Second World War Posters. [London] Imperial War Museum, 1972.

If you find it easier to access journal articles rather than books, these will be helpful:

Burke, Kathleen. "Winning The Hearts And Minds Of An America Facing War," Smithsonian (1994) 24. Focuses on a traveling exhibition of poster artwork of the 1940's commissioned by the Office of War Information.

Bustard, Bruce . "The World In Flames," Prologue (1991) 23: 315-318. The National Archives facsimile exhibition The World in Flames: World War II.

Ellis, Robert. "Getting The Message Out: The Poster Boys Of World War II" Prologue (2005) 37: 24-31. OWI distribution of posters.

Mahaney, Darlene C. "Propaganda Posters," Magazine of History 16 (2002): 41-46. This includes a lesson plan on the use of government propaganda posters to promote US policies during World War II.

Py-Lieberman, Beth. "Any Bonds Today?," Smithsonian (2002) 32: 64-67.

Internet Resources:

The largest online collection of ww2 poster art comes from the National Archives:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/
powers_of_persuasion_home.html

But there are also many small online exhibitions of poster images -- some of these have more background information and are easier to search:

This Smithsonian Exhibition includes a group of OWI posters:

http://Americanhistory.Si.Edu/Victory/Index.Htm#Contents

This group from the University Of North Texas Librariesis also good:

http://Digital.Library.Unt.Edu/Browse/Collection/Wwpc/

Teacheroz has a very useful segment on wartime propaganda of all kinds: Music, Posters, Pamphlets, Film, Radio:

http://www.Teacheroz.Com/Wwiipropaganda.Htm

The PBS lesson plan on propaganda very good:

http://www.pbs.org/thewar/downloads/propaganda.pdf

Duke University has superb site on advertising industry and World War II, drawn from their archives of advertising art:

http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/wwad-history.html

This book chronicles the birth and life of "Rosie the Riveter," perhaps the most famous "poster child" of World War II:

Honey, Maureen. Creating Rosie The Riveter : Class, Gender, And Propaganda During World War II. Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, 1984.

For a good lesson plan on "Rosie" and other women who contributed to the war effort, see the Teacher's Desk page in this issue of History Now:

http://www.historynow.org/12_2007/teacher.html

Last, but by no means least, "Rosie" " is now immortalized in the name of a new United Parks Department site in Richmond, California, that preserves sites related to the defense workers of the war. This historic site is comparatively new, so keep checking the Website to see what the Parks Service adds:

http://www.nps.gov/rori/