The Power of Fear Project

Emilija Worthington
U.S. History B
2.22.17

The Exploitation of Fear by the U.S. Government During World War II

World War II was a conflict rife with fear around the earth. The blatant disregard for human
rights, the war crimes, and the genocide (now called the Holocaust) committed during it caused
fear in people around the world as they felt their sense of security being threatened by the major
powers involved, and some nations governments capitalized on their peoples fear through the
use of propaganda (propaganda is a persuasive media that was utilized extensively throughout
World War II by almost all countries involved, especially Germany and the United States).
Through propaganda, the U.S. government channelled fear into Americans to increase
productivity and effectiveness in manufacturing, increase loyalty to the U.S., and increase the
American peoples willingness to sacrifice for the war effort.
The war effort in America included all citizens of America during World War II. All
citizens were, in some way, contributing to the war effort, and many of them, worked in factories
that manufactured weapons and equipment for the war. It was the goal of the government to, in
President Franklin Roosevelts words, out-produce [the enemy] overwhelmingly, so that there
can be no question of our ability to provide a crushing superiority of equipment in any theatre of
the world war.1 Although the U.S. was already producing quite a bit due
to their efforts to reverse the Great Depression, it had taken an
isolationism policy that made their production much less impressive
compared to the production of countries involved in
the war (like Germany and Britain). With this
objective in mind, war propaganda like Work the
Way they Fight2 (pictured left) was released so the
public would feel both scared for their soldiers and
inspired to work harder for victory. With the release
of propaganda that exploited fear, propaganda like
the famous We Can Do It poster of Rosie the Riveter3 (pictured right),
was also released so that fear worked in tandem with determination to
manufacture, and so win the war. This collaboration of intense propaganda
usage by the government stimulated fear in Americans, and thus motivated them to produce at

1
http://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_war_production.htm Paragraph 1
2
https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/World%20War%20II%20and%20Propaganda.htm
3
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/rosie-the-riveter
very high levels which, as it turns out, were higher than any other country, and in fact higher
than all of the Axis powers production combined by the end of the war.4
Another fantastic example of the United States exploitation of fear for increased American
(albeit limited) involvement in the war effort was propaganda that called for the safety of
soldiers from American citizens ability to be quiet about information
they may know about the military. This particular propaganda varied in
intensity, but almost all of them related to the Navy aspect of the
American military, with phrases like Loose Lips Might Sink Ships5
(pictured left). It was the goal of the U.S. government to make average
American citizens feel accountable for the deaths of soldiers by exploiting
their fear of losing soldiers, and thus the war. The use of this kind of
propaganda was especially effective for the Pacific Theater of the war, as
many Americans were afraid of Japanese spies in western America at the
time. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, all of America became
intensely afraid of Japanese spies, and so President Franklin Roosevelt gave Executive Order
9066 which called for the relocation of more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to
internment camps in the western United States6a further example of how the U.S. government
utilized and encouraged the fear of the American people through propaganda to accomplish its
own agenda for the war effort.
Perhaps the most important objective in the U.S. governments use of propaganda was
loyalty and a willingness to sacrifice to the U.S. itself. By using
propaganda that made the American public fearful of the Axis powers
and what they could do, the U.S. government attempted to inspire the
public to sacrifice more from their home lives for the war effort. For
example, a major home sacrifice by Americans was the rationing of food
and gas, which at the time were commodities that most Americans felt
were precious due to their helpfulness in the war effort. War
bondsanother thing average Americans could be involved in for the war
effortwere advertised extensively in propaganda like the Keep These
Hands Off poster (pictured right)7. Fear of the Nazi and Japanese
powers was utilized considerably in these particular propaganda, especially pictured with
children so as to connect with the average American and make them more afraid of the outcome
of the war should the Axis powers win. Buying things like war bonds and rationing kept
American citizens involved yet separatedtheir fears were slightly diminished because they felt

4
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/ww2-by-the-numbers/wartime-production.html
5
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/at-a-glance/propaganda-posters.html
6
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
7
http://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=honors_proj
as though they had done their part by contributing through investment, which it did, as war bonds
actually funded much of the American military at the time.
So, in conclusion, propaganda based in fear played a huge role in motivating the American
people for the war effort. The exploitation of fear by the U.S. government kept Americans
motivated to work to make military equipment and technologies, to keep quiet about the military
for the lives of soldiers and ships, to contribute money and to ration food, and to stay loyal to the
U.S.. Fear, in a word, is what really inspired American production and sacrifice to lead to the
Allied victory over the Axis powers.
 Works Cited

"War Production." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, Sept. 7. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

"PROPAGANDA POSTERS AT A GLANCE:." The National WWII Museum New Orleans.

National World War II Museum, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

History.com Staff. "Rosie the Riveter." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 24

Feb. 2017.

"BY THE NUMBERS: WARTIME PRODUCTION:." The National WWII Museum | New

Orleans: Learn: For Students: WWII by the Numbers: Wartime Production. National World War

II Museum, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

History.com Staff. "Japanese-American Relocation." History.com. A&E Television Networks,

2009. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

Foley, Connor. "An Analysis of American Propaganda in World War II and the Vietnam War."

N.p., 5 Dec. 2015. Web.