Year 9 NSW » History » Australia and World War I » Recruitment and conscription

Topic : Recruitment and conscription

In this topic you will learn...

Chapter 1 : Propaganda

The Australian people were so keen to show their support that minimum standards were implemented to enable selectors to choose only the fittest and healthiest men
While enthusiasm for the war reached a summit with news of Gallipoli, the number of casualties soon changed the focus and people's impression of war
As numbers dropped after the initial excitement, recruitment campaigns had to be carried out and some standards were lowered to enable more men to apply
During recruitment campaigns, meetings were held, speeches were given and films were shown
Propaganda posters took several different approaches to entice young men, ranging from appealing to their sense of patriotism, to making them feel like cowards for not joining
As with all propaganda at the time, posters omitted the realities of war and often led men to have the false impression that war was more of a sport
By the end of 1916, support for the war had plummeted and society was forced to resort to other measures, including the issue of conscription
Conscription propaganda posters utilised various techniques of persuasion, notably fear and guilt to influence people to vote for 'the moral choice'

Chapter 2 : The conscription debate

Chapter 3 : The arguments for and against

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