Mind Mobilization, 1909–1919

Abstract

This chapter examines how Betsy Ross became a powerful instrument of “mind mobilization” between the early 1900s and the end of the World War I, revealing the modern symbiosis of patriotism, profit, and political persuasion. It argues that Ross’s image was deliberately activated across education, commerce, art, and wartime propaganda to shape beliefs, behaviors, and consumer practices. It documents how artists and publishers transformed Ross into a marketable icon whose image circulated through postcards, magazines, advertisements, sheet music, and patriotic merchandise. During World War I, her story energized war-bond drives, youth sewing societies, and campaigns to police loyalty. As free speech returned in the aftermath of the war, historian Albert Cook Myers debunked the Betsy Ross story to American servicemen while leading historical hikes of old Philadelphia landmarks, and suffragists sewed stars on a Betsy Ross–inspired ratification banner to publicize states’ ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.