"Come On!" WWI Home Front Bonds Poster by Walter Whitehead (1917)

“Come on! Buy More Liberty Bonds” was one of many posters issued by the U.S. government during World War I to encourage support of the war. This poster was created by American artist Walter Whitehead in 1918. Whitehead’s colorful poster shows an American soldier standing aggressively over a dead German soldiers body with his bayonet in hand. The German soldier is wearing his distinctive pointed helmet which was known as a Pickelhaube.

The Pickelhaube became an item of fear and hatred for the American public. Dehumanizing Germans became a common tactic in American propaganda posters. This tactic influenced Americans to stop the evil barbarians from invading by buying liberty bonds. This is emphasized by the caption: “Come on! Buy more Liberty Bonds!” Personifying the enemy as non human was a common propaganda practice to drive Americans to purchase Liberty Bonds in order to finance the war.

This poster was created and reproduced as a lithographic print at the time of its distribution.