Military - Overview
The Museum's superb military collections document the history of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States. The collections include ordnance, firearms, and swords; uniforms and insignia; national and military flags and banners; and many other objects.
The strength of the collections lies in their enormous depth. Some 3,000 military small arms and 2,400 civilian firearms document the mechanical and technological history of the infantryman's weapons from the beginning of the gunpowder era to the present. Among the 4,000 swords and knives in the collection are many spectacular presentation pieces. The collections also include Civil War era telegraph equipment, home front artifacts from both world wars, early computers such as ENIAC, Whirlwind, and Sage, and materials carried at antiwar demonstrations.
"Military - Overview" showing 2 items.
"Enlist in a Proud Profession ... U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps" Poster
- Description
- Physical Description
- Four-color print on paper.
- Specific History
- The Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years. Recruiting as an activity of the military is important to the understanding of who serves in uniform during both war and peace and the visual materials used to market military service. The collection contains examples of early Civil War broadsides; World War I posters, including the original artwork for Uncle Sam as drawn by Montgomery Flagg; and World War II posters, which show the recruiting of men and women for all services and auxiliary organizations. The collection contains primarily Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II recruiting posters for the army, navy and some marines. More modern-day recruiting materials are also contained in the collection, and cover a broad range of army recruiting slogans.
- General History
- Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1942
- associated dates
- 1942
- distributor
- Office of War Information
- printer
- US Government Printing Office
- issuing authority
- U.S. Public Health Service
- ID Number
- 1977.0020.041
- catalog number
- 1977.0020.041
- accession number
- 1977.0020
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Poster, You Bet I'm Going Back to Sea
- Description
- During World War II, the United States government recognized that full public support and dedication to the war effort was essential to victory. To bolster support, the government hired artists to create propaganda posters, designed to promote patriotism with simple, catchy slogans and colorful images. Toiling factory workers, thrifty home front mothers, and fearless soldiers were among the most popular images used by artists to communicate the message.
- This 1942 poster commissioned by the War Shipping Administration encouraged a specific mission, designed to attract former seamen back into the Merchant Marine. At the time, American shipyards were producing cargo ships faster than crews could be assembled, forcing recruiters to rely not only on new volunteers, but also to persuade experienced mariners to leave retirement and go back to sea.
- The creation of incentive posters mainly fell under the watch of the Office of War Information, a government agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in June 1942 to consolidate public information services and coordinate the sanctioned release of war news. The OWI reviewed and approved the content of newsreels, radio broadcasts, and billboards, in addition to producing hundreds of posters. Initially, the most pressing message to be communicated through posters was a warning to Americans about the dangers of discussing sensitive information like production schedules and troop movements that could be overheard by enemy spies. Over the course of the war, posters covered a variety of topics, such as encouraging the purchase of war bonds and galvanizing the work force at shipyards to keep production going on the assembly line.
- date made
- 1942
- commissioned poster
- War Shipping Administration
- directed poster program
- Office of War Information
- ID Number
- 1991.0856.07
- catalog number
- 1991.0856.07
- accession number
- 1991.0856
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center