Our Country Needs Ships
A vignette of shipyard cranes, slipway scaffolding and a large American flag sits above red and black type asking shipyard workers to do 'a better day's work every day'. The text ties the pace of ship completion to each worker's effort and ends 'Be True to the Boys Who Are Giving Their Lives for You'. The tell: the flag and the soldiers 'Over There' are made the measure of ordinary daily output, with loyalty to the troops as the lever.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1918
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, Publications Section, Philadelphia
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Wilson Administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- War and the military, Labor, Home front
- Event
- World War I
- Regime
- Wilson administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 4 (U.S. Food Administration), World War I Posters (NAID 512439), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, Publications Section, Philadelphia. National Archives and Records Administration, 4-P-42.
Text on the object
OUR COUNTRY NEEDS SHIPS to carry our boys "Over There" and keep them well supplied with Food, Clothing and the Munitions of War. The product made in this plant is used for building ships. The ships can be completed only as fast as the material and equipment for each ship arrives at the shipyard. If every man does a better day's work every day, the ships can be built faster. BE TRUE TO THE BOYS WHO ARE GIVING THEIR LIVES FOR YOU UNITED STATES SHIPPING BOARD EMERGENCY FLEET CORPORATION ISSUED BY PUBLICATIONS SECTION, PHILADELPHIA [credit line under the picture: THOMSEN-ELLIS CO. BALTIMORE · NEW YORK] [flag in the picture: U.S. SHIPPING BOARD, partly shown]
