The Father of Our Country

u0003_0004200_0000094
Title The Father of Our Country
Creator Ryan & Hart Co. Printers
Date 1917
Format 30 x 40 in
Description This poster printed by the Ryan & Hart Company is a poster within a poster that aims at recruiting citizens to enlist in the Army through the appropriation of imagery from the Revolutionary War. In large blue text, the poster announces that “THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY APPEALED FOR SOLDIERS AS FOLLOWS,” and includes below a copy of a recruitment poster used during the nation’s founding featuring a quotation from George Washington and an illustration of uniformed soldiers displaying a variety of regimented stances. At the bottom, the poster implores audiences to “DO AS OUR FOREFATHERS DID IN 1776” by enlisting in the army. In red ink is a stamp of the address for the recruitment office in New York City where citizens could enlist, evidence that posters were often modified to address regional audiences. While the usage of early American rhetoric to spur patriotic sentiments is a creative strategy, the poster contains a great deal of text that is difficult to quickly discern.
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