Wake up America! Civilization calls every man, woman and child!
Date
Credits
- James Montgomery Flagg 4 Designer
Publishers
Media
- paper 1699
Techniques
- lithography 196
Dimensions
Locations Made
- United States 895
- New York 397
Links
This World War I poster by James Montgomery Flagg was an advertisement piece published in New York about 2 weeks after America had officially joined the war. The poster depicts a woman in a hat and dress containing American flag motifs such as the red and white stripes and stars. She sleeps against an antiquity style column as dark clouds loom in the background. This image is paired with a call to action, “Wake up, America! Civilization calls every man, woman, and child!”
The poster displays a sense of urgency, of impending doom as the woman, who echoes the iconic symbol of Lady Liberty stays asleep at her station. The poster clearly denotes the government's efforts to encourage citizens to contribute to the war effort. But upon closer analysis, one has to consider if “civilization” not only called for, but included people of color and minorities in America at the time.
The woman in the image wearing American symbols raises the question of how, in the depiction of Americans in war propaganda posters, minorities had access to these powerful symbols and in what way did they interact with them compared to their white counterparts?
All contextual information derived from the Library of Congress.
