The Minute Men of To-Day Are Going to Plattsburg

The Minute Men of To-Day Are Going to Plattsburg

Recruitment: Military

This U.S. Military Recruitment poster depicts a Revolutionary War “Minuteman” standing side-by-side with a WWI soldier, drawing a natural parallel between the two, who are almost identical in stature and facial features. Cannons, tents, and what can be assumed to be a U.S. flag comprise the background. The poster reads “The Minute Men of To-Day Are Going to Plattsburg,” in hopes of inciting eligible men to attend the National Army’s Officer Candidate School that had been recently erected the year the poster was created (1917). The poster appeals to the natural aspirations of young and middle-aged men to be revered and go down in history as the Minutemen of the Revolutionary War did. By comparing soldiers going off to training camp with the Minutemen, the poster invokes in its viewers the idea that they are directly defending the liberties of their fellow countrymen, inspiring a sense of desire to have that respect in those who have not “answered the call” and pride in those who have. Paralleling those who volunteer to go to the training camp with Minutemen has the added bonus of implying that “anyone with a strong enough passion for their country and its tenets can do it,” as most of the original Minutemen were volunteer fighters who were untrained in the ways of combat.

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McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tulsa. 2933 E. 6th St. Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-3123

Military Training Camp Association

1917

English

1992.004.5.11

United States of America

Poster

68.5 x 52.1 cm