This article examines the use of propaganda to promote enlistment in the Union military during the American Civil War. The concept of propaganda offers historians of the Civil War a useful framework for understanding the means by which power structures and community pressure manifested in Northern recruitment. In addition to arguing for the importance of these power dynamics, this article explores Union recruiting propaganda as an unstudied body of media in its own right, assessing its origins and major themes. This research offers insights for scholars interested in Northern mobilization, soldier motivation, the Union cause, and communication/media history.
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