Propaganda

=//__Propaganda in the Civil War__//= toc

by Alejandro López-Wheeler

__The Invisible Battle__
During the time of the Civil war, there was a major tool used by many people that came in many different forms. This "invisible" tool is called //propaganda// (Invisibility is not meant literally, rather "behind the scenes"). Propaganda was used by the Union and the Confederacy to shape and distort opinions and disseminate each other's stereotyped ideas as well as gain the support of iconic people and organizations. The two powers mostly concentrated on their own citizens' opinions and occasionally aimed at swaying the public opinion on the opposing side. Propaganda was not only used to change opinions, but was also used as souvenirs and was planned to be preserved after its time of usage for all to see. Propaganda came in many different forms, served different beliefs, and had many different creators and minds behind it all.

**__Types of Propaganda__**
All propaganda is used for political reasons. There different types of propaganda that are used in different ways, and some end up more effective than others. Some types of propaganda are posters documents, pamphlets, poetry, newspapers, clothing, envelopes, stamps, public speeches, commissions and other forms. Some of the most effective types of propaganda were posters, newspapers, commissions and public speeches. These were the most important in the lives of the public out of the rest of the types because they were everyday things for the majority of Americans. Propaganda like clothing, documents, pamphlets, poetry, envelopes and stamps were generally more effective in terms of swaying someone's opinion but were targeted at such a small audience that they made less of an impact than the propaganda targeting the majority of Americans.

===**__Views of the Union and the Confederacy__**=== The Union and the Confederacy had different views, so different that they had a war over these views, which mostly fell under the categories of pro-slavery and anti-slavery. The Union was basically all of the northerners who were anti-slavery with the exception of some Unionists in the South. If the South had won the war, it planned to secede from the Union and keep slavery as a part of its lifestyle.The North planned to abolish slavery and keep the southerners under their control. The Northerners and Southerners despised one another and this hatred gave both sides more reason to fight and more drive to defeat the other side, however since the South had less power it would take a near miracle. The North and South could feed off of this hatred to gain momentum and spirit by creating propaganda that would essentially boost morale and lift spirits.

===**__Strategies of the Union and the Confederacy__**=== The Union and the Confederacy had different strategies for the war. The Union created a lot of propaganda and made people want to enlist in the army, so the north raised all of the troops possible and trained them. The Confederates used more of a "passive" approach, as they did not advertise the war as much in the beginning and they were not persistent in enlisting as many soldiers as they could. Some people who had been asked said that the Confederates resembled the rag-tag Rebel army in the Revolutionary War. However, as scrappy as the Confederates were they held off the Union in the battle of Fort Sumter with no casualties on either side. This stirred many iconic figures' minds and many organizations, and turned out to be a very productive few months for propaganda having to do with Fort Sumter. As the war progressed, the Confederates were winning the majority of the battles and the North was left stunned in the dust. The Union knew they could not let the "inferior" Confederates defeat them and trained extra. The Union got stronger and more confident with the propaganda and support that the volunteer propagandists and organizations had made. The Union made an expected comeback and eventually (obviously) won the war. There are many different reasons for this, but the most likely reason is that most people in the //world// began pooling for the Union to win because of the amount of propaganda being trafficked in and out whether it was material or important people and organizations. The Union had an immense morale boost and, by far, had more confidence than the Confederates, practically rolling out a "red carpet" for the Union army.

__Lincoln's Commission in 1861__
In 1861 president Abraham Lincoln sent a "Propaganda Commission" to Europe to lobby for the Union. His intention was to influence the two biggest countries, England and France, into correct understanding of the circumstances. Lincoln originally intended to send a group of people : Edward Everett, J.P. Kennedy, Archbishop Hughes of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop McIlvaine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and Robert C. Winthrop. Not all of them accepted the mission, so the actual list became: Archbishop Hughes, Bishop McIlvaine, and a new member, Thurlow Weed. McIlvaine intended to appeal to the English clergymen, informing them of the "correct circumstances" and asking them for support in the "Fight for Freedom". Archbishop Hughes would win the support of the Papacy, of Napoleon and of other Catholic rulers in these countries, which included having meetings with each power, informing them as McIlvaine would do, and doing whatever they could to persuade them if they opined otherwise. Thurlow Weed intended to "labor" with the major journalists and public leaders of France and England to counteract the 'Confederate Journalistic Enterprise board'. This mission coincided with the 'Trent Affair' and Weed put in a comment on the matter which gave a suggestion to a "protracted paper negotiation", which did not please the English public and destroyed much of the progress that the mission had made since they were sent. A man named Charles Francis Adams responded and described the comment as "a rare tact, shrewd judgement and a quick insight to men" but he then declared that his comment was useful to England and the rest of the continent.

__Union League__
It turned out that groups and organizations which dedicated their time to creating the propaganda were better at their job than volunteers. An especially efficient organization was the Union League. The Union League did two major things; rallied for the Union cause and they created catchy propaganda that attracted the attention of the public. Originating in Philadelphia in 1863, the Union League movement expanded from the New York City area to the Boston area. It spread quickly to major cities like Baltimore, San Francisco and Washington DC and even to southerners who believed the same that the Union did. Not only did the Union League rally and make propaganda, but it also raised money to help wounded troops and to pay for some of the cost of the army. The League also promoted the hiring of black soldiers into the Union Army, which raised awareness of their cause and promoted free decisions for blacks. The Union League essentially brought responsibility unto themselves, volunteering to take care of emergencies while the government leaders managed the war.

Watch this video to see propaganda used in the Civil War! media type="youtube" key="H8xEsirejQI" height="385" width="480"

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 * Randall and Donald, "Propaganda in the Civil War". 4/27/10
 * "Civil War Propaganda". Philadelphia Website Design. 4/27/10
 * (no FoF Web sources)


 * Andrews, E. Benjamin. "Chapter II Secession". History of the United States. 4/27/10

__All pictures taken from Google Images__
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