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Propaganda in the United States: From World War I to the Present
Christian A. Morse
San Jose State University

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Introductory Essay
The task of understanding the importance of propaganda in relation to
American society naturally begins with an examination of the Progressive Era
(1890s to the 1920s). It was during this period that mass communications and the
public relations industry gained ascendency while being integrated into the nation’s
state-corporate apparatus. These developments ultimately paved the way for
widespread use of propaganda techniques as a means of influencing public opinion.
This process was influenced most prominently by progressive politicians and
intellectuals aiming to rally public support for American involvement in World War
I. In reference to the Woodrow Wilson administration, historian David M. Kennedy
(2004) notes that, “the administration commenced American participation in the
war with a campaign to agitate the deepest levels of the popular psyche, employing
all the techniques of persuasion and manipulation that the infant industries of
advertising and mass entertainment could provide” (p. 106). Ultimately, it is from
examining these origins that a broader understanding can be gained regarding the
uses of propaganda and its impact on the public mind.
This work aims to provide a framework for understanding propaganda and
its uses in the United States from World War I to the present. The works listed in
this bibliography are not intended as a comprehensive examination on the study of
propaganda in American life. Rather, the goal is to provide readers with an
understanding of how elite interests often work to shape and manipulate public
opinion for specific purposes. This understanding is of particular import for citizens
participating in a democratic society. The works listed in the bibliography were

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chosen with this in mind.
The works compiled in this bibliography weren’t selected through any
database or formal method. All of the works selected are books and articles, and
their importance and relevance toward the study of propaganda were determined
by a careful and thorough reading of United States history. This careful reading
involves examining sources, checking notes, and reading widely on the subject
matter. The perspectives provided in these works are meant to give readers a sense
of how fundamental propaganda has been as a means for shaping thoughts and
attitudes in the United States. Some of the works listed come from those who have
advocated the use of propaganda as a means of controlling public opinion. Other
works are listed in order to provide perspective and context for those concerned
with the impact of propaganda on public attitudes and understanding.
The bibliography is formatted so as to deal with each historical period
chronologically. However, some of the works listed cover multiple eras, making it
difficult to fit them into such a framework. In such cases, the work is listed within
the historical period of its most relevant contributions toward an understanding of
propaganda in the United States. This format is intended to give readers a sense of
historical continuity and context regarding the issues surrounding propaganda in
American society.

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Propaganda in the United States
Kennedy, D. M. (2004). Over here: The First World War and American society (25th
anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kennedy’s history provides a contextual framework for understanding the
dynamics of U.S. society during World War I. The book’s early chapters focus
on the creation and activities of the Committee on Public Information (CPI)
and its attempts to mobilize public opinion around U.S. involvement in the
war. While the CPI began largely as a publicity organ for the Wilson
administration’s views, Kennedy notes that, “as the war went forward, the
CPI strayed ever farther from its original, exclusively informational mission
and increasingly took on the character of a crude propaganda mill” (Kennedy,
2004, p. 61). Other areas of U.S. society soon followed. War hysteria
eventually infiltrated the country’s schools, universities, and businesses,
among other groups and institutions. Much of this paved the way for one of
the most repressive periods in American history. Kennedy’s work is an
excellent starting point for understanding these developments.
Bernays, E. (2005). Propaganda. Brooklyn, NY: Ig Publishing. (Original work
published 1928)
In this work, Bernays offers readers transparent insight into understanding
the methods of propaganda and how it can be used in a democratic society.

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Bernays himself was a full participant in this process of manipulation, and
spent much of his career propagandizing on behalf of powerful state and
corporate interests. This book is required reading for anyone interested in
how propaganda is used to shape public opinion.
Lippmann, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and Co.
Walter Lippmann was one of the most prominent public intellectuals of the
Progressive Era and was involved in the early stages of the CPI. Kennedy
(2004) notes that Public Opinion “constituted a learned polemic against the
idea that the public might ever know or act rationally in the modern world.
Contemporary society was ‘too big, too complex, and too fleeting’ for
mankind’s puny powers of comprehension” (p. 91). From this, Lippmann
argued for a management class of intellectuals that would ultimately work to
manufacture the consent of the public on important matters.
McChesney, R. W. (1993). Telecommunications, mass media, & democracy: The battle
for the control of U.S. broadcasting, 1928-1935. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
This book documents the conflict over commercial broadcasting in the 1920s
and 1930s, and the efforts of democratically minded reformers to make these
communication mediums more in line with the values of a democratic

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society. The movement ultimately lost with the passage of the 1934
Communications Act. This work provides a framework for understanding the
factors that helped shape the broadcasting model in the United States
throughout the 20th Century.
Lasswell, H. D. (1946). Describing the contents of communications. In B. L. Smith, H.
D. Lasswell, & R. D. Casey (Eds.), Propaganda, communication, and public
opinion (pp. 74-94). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Lasswell’s essay provides a number of examples of how communication can
be used to advance subtle nuances inherent to prominent propaganda
techniques.
Peck, J. (2010). Ideal illusions: How the U.S. government co-opted human rights. New
York, NY: Metropolitan Books.
Peck examines the post war ideological framework of U.S. policy planners
and the efforts to create a compelling narrative in order to gain support for
the imperial ambitions coming out of Washington. The author documents
and traces the evolution of narratives used to justify many of these policies.
It wasn’t until the Carter years that human rights became a rhetorical and
administrative focus. Peck notes that, “Carter’s call for a new idealism based

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on human rights was a response not only to popular and congressional
revulsion of the Vietnam War but also to pressing ideological needs in the
national security establishment” (Peck, 2010, p. 45). Peck ultimately
documents how soaring rhetoric around human rights has often been
selectively used by Washington to further American power.
Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (2002). Manufacturing consent: The political economy
of the mass media (Updated ed.). New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
The title of this book comes from Walter Lippmann’s phrase arguing for “the
manufacture of consent” in regard to public opinion. This study works off of
what the authors refer to as a “propaganda model,” providing “an analytical
framework that attempts to explain the performance of the U.S. media in
terms of the basic institutional structures and relationships within which
they operate” (Herman & Chomsky, 2002, p. xi). The authors offer five
“filters” that ultimately shape this model. These filters include: (1)
concentration of ownership and the “profit orientation” of the media; (2)
“advertising as the primary income source;” (3) reliance on government,
business, and “expert” sources “funded and approved by these primary
sources and agents of power;” (4) “’flak’ as a means of disciplining the
media;” (5) and “anticommunism” (p. 2). The authors use this framework
to assess a handful of case studies from the Cold War period involving the
media’s treatment of U.S. foreign policy. Specific examples include historical

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narratives around the Indochina wars, “worthy” and “unworthy” victims
from around the world, and the treatment of Third World elections in official
client states versus disfavored states. Herman and Chomsky’s work is an
essential resource for any reader interested in how the media frame issues
relating to U.S. foreign policy.
Chomsky, N. (1989). Necessary illusions: Thought control in democratic societies.
London, UK: Pluto Press.
In this work, Chomsky builds off of the propaganda model and case studies
laid out in Manufacturing Consent. The author also traces the debates about
democracy in the United States back to the beginning of the republic, and the
general trend of elite opinion to discount popular interests.
Oreskes, N., & Conway, E. M. (2010). Merchants of doubt: How a handful of scientists
obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming. New York,
NY: Bloomsbury Press.
In this work, the authors cover specific scientific issues where a handful of
scientists and corporate interests have worked to undermine sound science
and public policy. The book documents the methods used by these interests
in order to create doubt in the public mind around these issues. The cases

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covered include the political fights over the implications of acid rain, tobacco
smoke, the depleted ozone layer, DDT, and global warming.
Bagdikian, B. (2004). The big five. In The new media monopoly (pp. 27-54). Boston,
MA: Beacon Press.
Bagdikian’s chapter focuses on the increased concentration of media
ownership and control over newspapers, magazines, books, movies, and
broadcast mediums. The author notes that, “by 2003, five men controlled all
these media once run by the fifty corporations of twenty years earlier”
(Bagdikian, 2004, p. 27). These “big five” conglomerates include, Time
Warner, Disney, News Corp, Viacom, and Bertelsmann. Bagdikian traces the
rise and influence of each of these media conglomerates, and addresses some
of the concerns that such consolidation poses for democratic values. An
understanding of the concentration of media ownership is crucial to the
study of propaganda in U.S. society.
Friel, H., & Falk, R. (2007). The record of the paper: How the New York Times
misreports US foreign policy. New York, NY: Verso.
Friel and Falk’s study is particularly concerned with how NY Times coverage
of US foreign policy fails to take into account the perspective of international
law. Many of the case studies deal with the Times’ coverage of foreign policy

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issues that took place during the second Bush administration. These include
the Times’ coverage of the lead up to the Iraq War, the torture scandals, and
the attempted overthrow of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Other case
studies covered include the Times’ coverage of international legal issues
regarding the Vietnam War, as well as the World Court’s condemnation of
“unlawful use of force” by the U.S. against Nicaragua in 1986.
McChesney, R. W. (2008). The problem of journalism. In The political economy of
media: Enduring issues, emerging dilemmas (pp. 25-66). New York, NY:
Monthly Review Press.
In this essay, McChesney lays out a number of issues with regard to
professional journalism. McChesney documents the rise of professional
journalism along with the rise of the public relations industry, and criticizes a
number of the inherent assumptions that often go along with professional
journalism. These criticisms include the over reliance on official sources,
avoidance of contextualization, and the selection of stories conducive to
commercial aims. The essay closes with a discussion on the shortcomings of
right-wing critiques regarding journalism and the media in general.