Propaganda is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: ideas, facts, or allegations deliberately propagated to advance one cause or to harm an opposing cause. In the very definition of propaganda, we can see that it can either build a nation or destroy it. It is used to exaggerate your emotions, to get you hyped, and to manipulate your thoughts (Taylor 1). Propaganda rallies citizens to a cause, for or against. It is distributed in many forms such as newspapers, films, music and television. Often a form is used in conjunction to reach a wider audience. By looking at some of the different forms of propaganda that have been used throughout American history, we will be able to see how it played a central role in building the foundations of what the United States has become today. American history, both gaining and losing public favor for wars, politics, and religion. We can trace the unofficial use of propaganda as far back as the Boston Massacre, which led to the American Revolution (Taylor 133-134). John Adams said that a revolution occurred in the colonists' thinking before blood was shed, because political campaigns had prepared them to do so (Cull, Culbert, and Welch 344). This was only the beginning of a long and enduring use of propaganda by the United States. In April 1917, on the eve of the Great War, the Committee on Public Information (CPI) was formed by President Woodrow Wilson. The ICC was the first presidential committee to be officially recognized and designated for official use in spreading propaganda. President Wilson hired journalist George Creel to become director of the CPI. Creel's team consisted of other journalists, who subsequently published over six thousand news articles to gain support for President Wilson's international war efforts (Parry-Giles 3). It would also be the very first time, through the use of radio, that propaganda would be quickly and widely disseminated. The film entertainment industry was also widely used to further spread the message of support for the Great War. President Wilson and his propaganda committee proved that propaganda was a valuable instrument, and in doing so he laid the foundation for future official use. During World War II, the government used propaganda in both print and film (Brewer 88), to portray the Japanese as savages and primitives..