Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign Against American ""Neutrality"" in World War II

This scholarly analysis supports the theory that propaganda is most effective when accelerating natural developments in public opinion. The isolationism that dominated America in the 1930s was challenged by events, specifically ruthless Nazi aggression. British publicists and political leaders assisted the process by highlighting the bonds of a common language, literature and political heritage, transcending what were made to seem minor policy differences. This approach proved especially effective among the Anglophilic elite that dominated U.S. decision making out of all proportion to its numbers. The American people in 1941 joined and fought a war they knew principally through British eyes-a perception fostering the ``special relationship'' that continues to influence U.S. policies a half-century later. Yet for all this analysis about British influence, what choice did the U.S. have once Japan attacked and Germany declared war? (Dec.)