Four Minute Men

"The Four Minute Men" were a group of volunteers authorized by the President of the United States to give four minute speeches on topics given to them by The Committee on Public Information. The topics dealt with the American war effort in the First World War and were presented during the four minutes between reel changing in movie theaters across the country.

History

In 1917 the war in Europe had been raging for three years and America's involvement had not begun. Woodrow Wilson had just been re-elected president under the slogan "He Kept Us Out of War". The British had been calling for the United States involvement and eventually helped convince Wilson through items like the Zimmerman Telegram and the sinking of the Lusitania. Eventually on April, 6th 1917 the US Congress declared war on Germany.

Purpose

With a large number of germans in the United States at this time of american heritage and many others with strong isolationist feelings there was a strong need for a Propaganda campaign in order to stir up support for the war. This effort had many unique challenges to meet in order to address the rhetorical situation of the time. Wilson needed a way to speak directly to the fragmented and spread out audience in the United States and to use the countries self-perception in order to gather the kind of support needed for the war. The Four Minute Men provided an answer to these challenges.

Addressing Challenges

The Four Minute Men became such a useful tool in the propaganda campaign because it addressed a specific rhetorical situation. One of the challenges of the effort was the fragmented audience of the United States. Many different heritages were represented in the United States and the president needed their support for the war. In order to address each groups specific needs the director of the Four Minute Men, William McCormick Blair, delegated the duty of speaking to local men. Well known and respected community figures often volunteered to be a four minute men. This gave the speeches a local voice. Also, the four minute men were given general topics and talking points to follow and shuffled between theaters in order to help the speeches seem fresh and from the heart instead of generic propaganda speeches.

Organization

The four minute men was a division of the Committee on Public Information which was headed up by George Creel. The director of four minute men was William McCormick Blair, who was appointed by the Committee on Public Information. In each state Blair appointed a chairman of the four minute men, who then would appoint a city or community chairman. Each of these appointments needed to be approved in Washington. The local chairman would then appoint a number of speakers to cover the theaters in the city or community for which he is responsible for.

Significance

The Four Minute Men provided Americans with valuable information and also served as a connection between the American government and its citizens. Their speeches were heard by over 11,000,000 people in the eighteen month life span of the Four Minute Men. By the end of this eighteen month period over 75,000 citizens had volunteered and served as a part of the Four Minute Men.

By the American government creating a positive source of propaganda, United States citizens were informed as well as educated about the events taking place in the war. The Four Minute Men performed a service of maintaining home morale and focusing attention on the principles at stake in the war. Very effective as a propaganda tool the four-minute men spoke directly to the rhetorical situation of the time this helped the program become very successful. These men were an effective form of propaganda during the war and their messages influenced the opinion of the nation.

References

*Cornebise, Alfred E. War as Advertised. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1984. 1-18.
*Cornwell, Elmer E. Jr. "Wilson, Creel, and the Presidency." The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol 23, No. 2. pp 189-202
*Creel, George. "Propaganda and Morale". The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 47, No. 3. (Nov., 1941), pp. 340-351.
*Larson, Cedric, and James R. Mock. "The Lost Files of the Creel Committee".The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1. (Jan., 1939), pp. 5-29.
*Larson, Cedric, and James R. Mock. "The Four-Minute Men." The Quarterly Journal of Speech: 97-112. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Augustana Library, Rock Island. 2 Nov. 2006. Keyword: Four Minute Men.
*Oukrop, Carol. "The Four Minute Men Became National Network During World War I." Journalism Quarterly: 632-637. 2 Nov. 2006.
*United States. The White House. Committee on Public Information. Purpose and Plan of Four Minute Men. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1917.