I Want You for U.S. Army – Nearest Recruiting Station

Description

This image which was created by James Montgomery Flagg, is probably the most famous of all the American posters of the Great War. Its picture of Uncle Sam pointing directly at the viewer with the simple caption, "I want you!" is a direct demand for everyone's participation, in one form or another, in the total war effort.
In the United States, as in England, during the war years recruitment and war loans were the chief subjects of the poster artist, both of which were part of a propaganda campaign which eventually brought the Americans in on the Allied side. Flagg borrowed the famous pointing finger of Lord Kitchener from the poster designed by Alfred Leete for his Uncle Sam image which appeared on various recruiting posters and liberty loan posters. But Flagg's image of Uncle Sam was used to recruit more than men for active duty: it served to recruit everyone in the aim of total support. The image of Uncle Same created by Flagg has hardly lost is appeal and is even used today as a part of the recruiting propaganda for the United States armed forces.