Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence public opinion to support US participation in World War I. In just over 26 months, from April 14, 1917, to June 30, 1919, it used every medium available to create enthusiasm for the war effort and to enlist public support against the foreign and perceived domestic attempts to stop America's participation in the war, it used propaganda to accomplish its goals. President Woodrow Wilson established the Committee on Public Information through Executive Order 2594 on April 13, 1917; the committee consisted of George Creel and as ex officio members the Secretaries of: State and the Navy. The CPI was the first state bureau covering propaganda in the history of the United States. Creel urged Wilson to create a government agency to coordinate "not propaganda as the Germans defined it, but propaganda in the true sense of the word, meaning the'propagation of faith.'"
He was a journalist with years of experience on the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News before accepting Wilson's appointment to the CPI. He had a contentious relationship with Secretary Lansing. Wilson established the first modern propaganda office, the Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel. Creel set out to systematically reach every person in the United States multiple times with patriotic information about how the individual could contribute to the war effort, it worked with the post office to censor seditious counter-propaganda. Creel set up divisions in his new agency to produce and distribute innumerable copies of pamphlets, newspaper releases, magazine advertisements, school campaigns, the speeches of the Four Minute Men. CPI created colorful posters that appeared in every store window, catching the attention of the passersby for a few seconds. Movie theaters were attended, the CPI trained thousands of volunteer speakers to make patriotic appeals during the four-minute breaks needed to change reels.
They spoke at churches, fraternal organizations, labor unions, logging camps. Speeches were in English, but ethnic groups were reached in their own languages. Creel boasted that in 18 months his 75,000 volunteers delivered over 7.5 million four minute orations to over 300 million listeners, in a nation of 103 million people. The speakers attended training sessions through local universities, were given pamphlets and speaking tips on a wide variety of topics, such as buying Liberty Bonds, registering for the draft, rationing food, recruiting unskilled workers for munitions jobs, supporting Red Cross programs. Historians were assigned to write pamphlets and in-depth histories of the causes of the European war; the CPI used material, based on fact, but spun it to present an upbeat picture of the American war effort. In his memoirs, Creel claimed that the CPI denied false or undocumented atrocity reports, fighting the crude propaganda efforts of "patriotic organizations" like the National Security League and the American Defense Society that preferred "general thundering" and wanted the CPI to "preach a gospel of hate."The committee used newsprint, radio and movies to broadcast its message.
It recruited about 75,000 "Four Minute Men," volunteers who spoke about the war at social events for an ideal length of four minutes. They covered the draft, war bond drives, victory gardens and why America was fighting, they were advised to keep their message positive, always use their own words and avoid "hymns of hate." For ten days in May 1917, the Four Minute Men were expected to promote "Universal Service by Selective Draft" in advance of national draft registration on June 5, 1917. The CPI staged events designed in their language. For instance, Irish-American tenor John McCormack sang at Mount Vernon before an audience representing Irish-American organizations; the Committee targeted the American worker and, endorsed by Samuel Gompers, filled factories and offices with posters designed to promote the critical role of American labor in the success of the war effort. The CPI's activities were so thorough that historians stated, using the example of a typical midwestern American farm family, that Every item of war news they saw—in the country weekly, in magazines, or in the city daily picked up in the general store—was not officially approved information but the same kind that millions of their fellow citizens were getting at the same moment.
Every war story had been censored somewhere along the line— at the source, in transit, or in the newspaper offices in accordance with ‘voluntary’ rules established by the CPI. Creel wrote about the Committee's rejection of the word propaganda, saying: "We did not call it propaganda, for that word, in German hands, had come to be associated with deceit and corruption. Our effort was educational and informative throughout, for we had such confidence in our case as to feel that no other argument was needed than the simple, straightforward presentation of facts."A report published in 1940 by the Council on Foreign Relations credits the Committee with creating "the most efficient engine of war propaganda which the world had seen", producing a "revolutionary change" in public attitude toward U. S. participation in WWI: In November 1916, the slogan of Wilson's supporters,'He Kept Us Out Of War,' played an important part in winning the election. At that time a large part of the country was apathetic....
Yet, within a short period after America had joined the belligerents, the nation appeared to be enthusiastically and overwhe
Four Minute Men
The Four Minute Men were a group of volunteers authorized by United States President Woodrow Wilson, to give four-minute speeches on topics given to them by the Committee on Public Information. In 1917-1918, around 7,555,190 speeches were given in 5,200 communities; the topics dealt with the American war effort in the First World War and were presented during the four minutes between reels changing in movie theaters across the country. The speeches were made to be four minutes so that they could be given at town meetings and other places that had an audience; this is an instance of "viral marketing" before its time. On April, 6th 1917 the US Congress declared war on Germany. President Wilson was determined to rouse the public. Wilson established the first modern propaganda office, the Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel. Creel set out to systematically reach every person in the United States multiple times with patriotic information about how the individual could contribute to the war effort.
It worked with the post office to censor seditious counter-propaganda. Creel set up divisions in his new agency to produce and distribute innumerable copies of pamphlets, newspaper releases, magazine advertisements, school campaigns, the speeches of the Four Minute Men. CPI created colorful posters that appeared in every store window, catching the attention of the passersby for a few seconds. Movie theaters were attended, the CPI trained thousands of volunteer speakers to make patriotic appeals during the four-minute breaks needed to change reels, they spoke at churches, fraternal organizations, labor unions, logging camps. Speeches were in English, but ethnic groups were reached in their own languages. CPI Director George Creel boasted that in 18 months his 75,000 volunteers delivered over 7.5 million four minute orations to over 300 million listeners, in a nation of 103 million people. The speakers attended training sessions through local universities, were given pamphlets and speaking tips on a wide variety of topics, such as buying Liberty Bonds, registering for the draft, rationing food, recruiting unskilled workers for munitions jobs, supporting Red Cross programs.
Ethnic groups were reached in their own languages. With many millions of German Americans in the United States, as well as Irish Americans and Scandinavian Americans and poor rural Southerners, with strong isolationist feelings, there was a strong need for a propaganda campaign to stir support for the war; this effort had many unique challenges to meet to address the existing political climate. Wilson needed to spread out audience in the United States, he had to address the country's self-perception to generate support for the war. The Four-Minute Men provided an answer to these challenges. In addition, the Four Minute Men urged citizens to purchase Liberty Bonds and Thrift Stamps; the Four Minute Men idea became a useful tool in the propaganda campaign because it addressed a specific rhetorical situation. One of the challenges of the effort was the fragmented audience of the United States. Many different heritages were represented in the United States, the president needed their support for the war.
To address each groups specific needs, the director of the Four Minute Men, William McCormick Blair, delegated the duty of speaking to local men. Well known and respected community figures volunteered for the Four Minute Men program; this gave the speeches a local voice. The four minute men were given general topics and talking points to follow and rotated between theaters to help the speeches seem fresh, instead of generic propaganda speeches; these speeches celebrated Woodrow Wilson as a larger than life character and the Germans as less-than-human huns. The four minute men was a division of the Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel; the Committee on Public Information appointed William McCormick Blair as director of the Four Minute Men. Blair appointed state chairmen of the Four Minute Men, who would appoint a city or community chairman; each of these appointments needed to be approved in Washington. The local chairman would appoint a number of speakers to cover the theaters in the city or community for which he is responsible.
Augustus Post, automotive pioneer, founder of American Automobile Association, champion balloonist and early aviator Lambert Estes Gwinn, Four Minute Man from Covington, Tennessee Benjamin Newhall Johnson, Four Minute Man from Lynn, Massachusetts Albert Dutton MacDade, Pennsylvania State Senator and Judge Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas Otto J. Zahn, a Southern California Four Minute Man Charles Chaplin, a famous comedian Douglas Fairbanks Mary Pickford William S. Hart Ellwood J. Turner, Pennsylvania State Representative from Delaware County, 119th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Reinhold J. Schaaf BibliographyCornebise, Alfred E. War as Advertised: the Four Minute Men and America's crusade, 1917-1918. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1984. ISBN 0871691566 OCLC 11222054 Cornwell, Elmer E. Jr. "Wilson and the Presidency." The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol 23, No. 2, pages 189–202. ISSN 0033-362X Creel, George. "Propaganda and Morale". The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 47, No. 3.
Pages 340–351. ISSN 0002-9602 Creel, George. How We Advertised America: The First Telling of the Amazing Story of the Committee on Public Information That Carried the Gospel of Americanism to Every Corner of the Globe Corner Larson and James R. Mock. "The Lost Files of the Creel Committee". The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1. Pages 5–29. ISSN 0033-362X Larson and James R
Joseph Pennell
Joseph Pennell was an American artist and author. Pennell was born in Philadelphia, first studied there, but like his friend James McNeill Whistler he made his home in London, taught at Slade School of Art, he won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle, 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. He taught at the Art Students League of New York. Pennell made etchings, his main distinction is as an original etcher and lithographer, notably as an illustrator. He wrote and illustrated an anti-Semitic travel book, The Jew at Home: Impressions of a Summer and Autumn Spent with Him, based on his travels in Europe, he produced many of them in collaboration with his wife, Elizabeth Robins Pennell. In 1886 he published Two Pilgrim's Progress, an illustrated book of his journey with Elizabeth from Florence to Rome, riding a heavy tricycle; the Pennells wrote a biography of Whistler in 1906, after some litigation with his executrix on the right to use his letters, the book was published in 1908. Pennell visited San Francisco in March 1912, where he undertook a series of "municipal subjects".
These were exhibited in December 1912 at "the prestigious gallery of Vickery, Atkins & Torrey". It is possible that Pennell's visit inspired San Francisco printmakers Robert Harshe and Pedro Lemos, along with sculptor Ralph Stackpole and painter Gottardo Piazzoni, to found the California Society of Etchers in 1912, now the California Society of Printmakers. Pennell designed the poster for the fourth Liberty Loans campaign of 1918, it showed the entrance to New York Harbor under aerial and naval bombardment, with the Statue of Liberty destroyed. In 1880 Joseph Pennell created Little Wakefield, an etching of the Little Wakefield estate; the building is a home located on what is now South Campus of La Salle University, is called St. Mutiens hall; this estate was occupied by his families for generations. The etching depicts. During World War I it was used as demonstration center for a local branch of the National League of Women's Service. Little Wakefield was the location where Thomas R. Fisher ran the first knitting factory in America.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Pennell, Joseph". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press. Works by Joseph Pennell at Project Gutenberg Works by Joseph Pennell at Faded Page Works by or about Joseph Pennell at Internet Archive The Winterthur Library Overview of an archival collection on Joseph Pennell. Joseph and Elizabeth R. Pennell's papers at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin Joseph Pennell: an account by his wife, Elizabeth Robins Pennell, issued on the occasion of a memorial exhibition of his works, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries Finding aid for the Pennell family papers from the University of Pennsylvania Libraries Texts on Wikisource: "Pennell, Joseph". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. "Pennell, Joseph". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914. "Pennell, Joseph". New International Encyclopedia. 1905
3rd Liberty Loan Act
The Third Liberty Loan Act was a liberty bond sold during World War I that helped cover the war expenses of the United States. In effect, the bonds were loans from citizens to the US Government which would be repaid with interest in the future. There were two previous loan acts, The Liberty Loan Act and The Second Liberty Loan Act, each providing additional money to the US Government to fund the war; the Third Liberty Loan Act was enacted on April 5, 1918. The third act allowed the US government to issue $3 billion worth of war bonds at a rate of 4.5% interest for up to 10 years with an individual aggregate limit of $45,000. The bonds produced by the Third Liberty Loan Act were not redeemable until September 15, 1928; the Third Liberty Loan Act was an amendment to the previous two Liberty Loan acts. The first Liberty Loan have been enacted on April 24, 1917, issued $5 billion in bonds at a 3.5 percent interest rate. However, this loan was not sufficient to support the United States presence in the war.
The second act was put into place on October 1917, only a few months after the first. This time the loan allowed for an additional $3 billion in bonds at a 4 percent interest rate; the third loan was still insufficient and a fourth act was created on September 28, 1918, which allowed for an higher amount - $6 billion at 4.25 percent interest rate. These bonds were sold by the boy and girl scouts; the most famous of bonds poster depicted a boy scout handing a sword to Lady Liberty, suited for battle. The scouts ended up selling 2,328,308 liberty bonds between 1917 and 1918; this totaled $354,859,262 that the government owed to the people of the United States and $43,043,698 allocated to the Allied forces. The expenses covered by these loans included weaponry and surgical supplies, vehicles. Though the liberty loans were to be used only to fund the war they are still used to this day to fund matters of extreme cost; the most recent use was in 2001 to offset the cost of rebuilding the areas affected by the terrorist attacks.
Cost of War List of combat vehicles of World War I List of infantry weapons of World War I Scouting War bond
East York
East York was a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toronto; the borough was dissolved in 1998, when it was amalgamated with the other lower-tier municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto to form the new "megacity" of Toronto. Prior to its amalgamation, East York was Canada's last remaining borough, it is separated by the Don River from the former City of Toronto. Traditional East York is southeast of the river, the neighbourhoods of Leaside, Bennington Heights and densely populated Thorncliffe Park are northwest of the river; the heart of East York is filled with middle-class and working-class homes, with extensive high-rise developments along peripheral major streets and in Crescent Town and Thorncliffe Park. East York was part of York Township. Following the incorporation of the Township of North York in 1922, York Township was divided by Toronto and North Toronto.
With the rapid growth that followed the opening of the Bloor-Danforth Viaduct in 1918, the residents of the eastern half of York Township felt they had been neglected by the township when it came to roads and other municipal services. Left with the option to either join the City of Toronto or branch out on its own, 448 East Yorkers voted to incorporate a new township, while 102 voted to amalgamate with Toronto; the Township of East York was incorporated on January 1, 1924 with a population of 19,849. The western half of York Township retained its name. East York was populated by working class English people who valued the opportunity to own small homes of their own, with front lawns and back gardens. Many had immigrated from Yorkshire. In 1961, 71.7% of the population identified themselves as having British origins. In the late 1940s, after World War II, East York became home to many returning veterans and their families. Many inexpensive homes were built, including the houses around Topham Park, by the government, to house the returning veterans and the baby boomers.
The local government was both conscious and frugal, fitting the residents' self-image of East York as filled with supportive neighbours and non-government organizations. For many years, East York did not allow the serving of alcoholic beverages in any restaurants, etc; the result was a heavy concentration of alcohol-serving restaurants and bars on Danforth Avenue, a main street in the city of Toronto running east-west just south of East York. The prohibition of serving alcohol was eliminated in the 1970s; the borough of East York was established in 1967 through the amalgamation of the former township of East York and the former town of Leaside. Leaside was a planned residential community. East York has over the years been a residential enclave for senior citizens, as the original owners from the 1940s age and as younger families move out to suburbs to live in larger houses. East York had its own fire department with three stations, which are still in operation today under the combined Toronto Fire Services.
Rapid and accelerated gentrification has changed many neighbourhoods. Many one-story bungalows have added second floors, many shops have been converted to more upscale shops. Canada's only borough, East York was semi-autonomous within the greater municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. In 1998, East York, along with North York, Scarborough and Old Toronto, were amalgamated into the new "megacity" of Toronto. East York's last mayor was Michael Prue who went on to become city councillor for East York, a Member of Provincial Parliament for Beaches—East York in 2001. Between 2002 and 2005, the East York Civic Centre's "True Davidson Council Chamber" was used to hold the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry/Toronto External Contracts Inquiry. East York is located just near the mouth of the Don River; the municipality borders Scarborough to the east, Old Toronto to the west, North York to the north. East York's population was 115,185 in 2001. By the 2006 census, the population had dropped to 112,054. Since the 1970s, the population composition has changed from predominantly British, as East York has become a major arrival point for immigrants, many of whom have established their first Canadian residence in the apartments that became plentiful in Thorncliffe Park, Crescent Town and elsewhere on or near main streets.
Half of the population in 2001 was foreign-born, of these, 49.0% had immigrated to the area between 1991 and 2001. These groups include Bengalis, Pakistanis, Jamaicans and Sri Lankans. East York has a well established Greek population and a growing Chinese community. In 2006 the percentage of visible minorities was 38.4%, the percentage of immigrants was 44.4%. The religious affiliations of the East York population are consistent with its ethnic composition; some 63.4% of the population adheres to Christianity, with an even split between Catholics and Protestants. Christian Orthodox and unspecified types of Christianity make up 12.0% and 2.5% respectively. The largest non-Christian religious group is Muslim, who make up 12.6% of religious adherents, followed by Hinduism and Judaism. A sizable percentage of the population has no religious affiliation. There is Estonian House, the unofficial Estonian Consulate in Toronto; the building houses a banquets, social events, an Estonian school for the Estonian community of Toronto.
While English is the dominant language in the area, nearly half of the population reports that their first language was ne
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the United States of America referred to as Girl Scouts in the US, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized after Low met Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, in 1911. Upon returning to Savannah, she telephoned a distant cousin, saying, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, all of America, all the world, we're going to start it tonight!"Girl Scouts prepares girls to empower themselves and promotes compassion, confidence, leadership and active citizenship through activities involving camping, community service, learning first aid, earning badges by acquiring practical skills. Girl Scouts' achievements are recognized with various special awards, including the Girl Scout Gold and Bronze Awards. Girl Scout membership is organized with activities designed for each level. GSUSA is a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and accepts girls of all backgrounds.
A 1994 Chronicle of Philanthropy poll showed Girl Scouts ranked by the public as the eighth "most popular charity/non-profit in America" among more than 100 charities. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated to girls." Girl Scouting in the United States of America began on March 12, 1912, when Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low organized the first Girl Guide troop meeting of 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia. It has since grown to 3.7 million members. Low, who had met Baden-Powell in London while she was living in the United Kingdom, dreamed of giving the United States and the world "something for all the girls." She envisioned an organization that would bring girls out of their homes to serve their communities, experience the out-of-doors, have the opportunity to develop "self-reliance and resourcefulness." From its inception, the Girl Scouts has been organized and run by women, for girls and women. Juliette Gordon Low was the granddaughter of Juliette Magill Kinzie and John Harris Kinzie, whose childhood family was one of the earliest settlers of Chicago, IL.
Juliette Kinzie wrote about her experiences in the Northwest Territory in her book Wau-Bun: The Early Day. Some of what her granddaughter, Juliette Gordon Low, knew firsthand about her grandmother's experiences on the frontier were incorporated into the beginnings and traditions of Girl Scouts; the early home of Juliette Low's grandparents can be visited May 15 through October 15 in Portage, Wisconsin. In late 1912, Low proposed that the Camp Fire Girls merge with the Girl Guides but was rejected in January 1913 as Camp Fire was the larger group. Next, Low attempted to merge her organization with the Girl Scouts of America, founded in Des Moines, Iowa by Clara Lisetor-Lane, she thought their similarities would make this easier but Lisetor-Lane felt Daisy copycatted her organization and threatened to sue. Lisetor-Lane claimed Low's organization was luring members away but the GSA's growth was limited by a lack of financial resources which led to its eventual demise; the Girl Guides of America in 1913 changed its name to Girl Scouts of the United States and moved its headquarters to Washington, DC.
In 1915 the organization was incorporated and the national headquarters was moved to New York City. The name reached its current form, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, in 1947; the organization was given a congressional charter on March 16, 1950. GSUSA started with 18 members. Within months, members were hiking through the woods in knee-length blue uniforms, playing basketball on a curtained-off court, going on camping trips. In 1916, Low established an aviation badge --. By 1920, there were nearly 70,000 members. By 1923 the organization had branches in every state in the union, Alaska and Puerto Rico, a total membership of 125,738. In 1930 it had over 200,000. In 2013 there were over 3.2 million Girl Scouts: 2.3 million girl members and 890,000 adult members in the United States. More than 50 million American women have participated in Girl Scouts. Through its membership in WAGGGS, GSUSA girls and adults are among over 10 million members in 146 countries; the names and ages of the levels and the larger structure of the program have changed over time.
In 1923 Girl Scouts were organized into patrols, local councils, the National Council. Troops were fairly independent before joining together into small councils, which merged to form larger councils. Today there are over 100 councils across the U. S; the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, located in Savannah, Georgia, in the former Gordon family home, became the national Girl Scout program center in 1956. It provides tours to thousands of Girl Scouts yearly. Upon Low's death in 1927, she willed her carriage house, which would become The Girl Scout First Headquarters, to the local Savannah Girl Scouts for continued use. In 1923 national headquarters was located at New York. During World War II, 1943–1945, many young Japanese American girls were confined in internment camps with their families. Girl Scout troops were organized in these camps; these girls participated in many activities, including dramatic presentations that took place in the Crystal City Internment Camp in Crystal City, Texas. Most Girl Scout units were segregated by race according to state and local laws and customs.
The first troop for African American girls was founded in 1917. In 1933, Josephine Groves Holloway f
Curtiss JN-4
The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" was one of a series of "JN" biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was produced as a training aircraft for the U. S. Army, the "Jenny" continued after World War I as a civil aircraft, as it became the "backbone of American postwar aviation." Thousands of surplus Jennys were sold at bargain prices to private owners in the years after the war and became central to the barnstorming era that helped awaken the U. S. to civil aviation through much of the 1920s. Curtiss combined the best features of the model J and model N trainers, built for the Army and Navy, began producing the JN or "Jenny" series of aircraft in 1915. Curtiss built only a limited number of the JN-2 biplanes; the design was commissioned by Glenn Curtiss from Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas of the Sopwith Aviation Company. The JN-2 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons controlled by a shoulder yoke in the aft cockpit.
It was deficient in performance climbing, because of excessive weight. The improved JN-3 incorporated unequal spans with ailerons only on the upper wings, controlled by a wheel. In addition, a foot bar was added to control the rudder; the 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps received eight JN-2s at San Diego in July 1915; the squadron was transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in August to work with the Field Artillery School, during which one JN-2 crashed, resulting in a fatality. The pilots of the squadron met with its commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois, to advise that the JN-2 was unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, overly sensitive rudder. Foulois and his executive officer Capt. Thomas D. Milling disagreed, flights continued until a second JN-2 crashed in early September, resulting in the grounding of the six remaining JN-2s until mid-October; when two new JN-3s were delivered, the grounded aircraft were upgraded in accordance with the new design.
In March 1916, these eight JN-3s were deployed to Mexico for aerial observation during the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916–1917. After the successful deployment of the JN-3, Curtiss produced a development, known as the JN-4, with orders from both the US Army and an order in December 1916 from the Royal Flying Corps for a training aircraft to be based in Canada; the Canadian version, the JN-4 known as the "Canuck", had some differences from the American version, including a lighter airframe, ailerons on both wings, a bigger and more rounded rudder, differently shaped wings and elevators. As many as 12 JN-4 aircraft were fitted with an aftermarket Sikorsky wing by the fledgling company in the late 1920s; the Curtiss JN-4 is North America's most famous World War I aircraft. It was used during World War I to train beginning pilots, with an estimated 95% of all trainees having flown a JN-4; the U. S. version was called "Jenny", a derivation from its official designation. It was a twin-seat dual-control biplane.
Its tractor propeller and maneuverability made it ideal for initial pilot training with a 90 hp Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine giving a top speed of 75 mph and a service ceiling of 6,500 ft. The British used the JN-4, along with the Avro 504, for their primary World War I trainer using the Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. indigenous variant. Many Royal Flying Corps pilots earned their wings on the JN-4, both in Ontario and in winter facilities at Camp Taliaferro, Texas. Although ostensibly a training aircraft, the Jenny was extensively modified while in service to undertake additional roles. Due to its robust but adapted structure able to be modified with ski undercarriage, the Canadian Jenny was flown year-round in inclement weather; the removable turtle-deck behind the cockpits allowed for conversion to stretcher or additional supplies and equipment storage, with the modified JN-4s becoming the first aerial ambulances, carrying out this role both during wartime and in years. Most of the 6,813 Jennys built were unarmed, although some had machine guns and bomb racks for advanced training.
With deployment limited to North American bases, none saw combat service in World War I. The Curtiss factory in Buffalo, New York, was the largest such facility in the world, but due to production demands, from November 1917 to January 1919, six different manufacturers were involved in production of the definitive JN-4D. Production from spare or reconditioned parts continued sporadically until 1927, although most of the final orders were destined for the civil market in Canada and the United States. Like the re-engined'JN-4H' version of the most-produced JN-4 subtype, the final production version of the aircraft was the JN-6, powered by a Wright Aeronautical license-built, 150-hp Hispano-Suiza 8 V-8, first ordered in 1918 for the US Navy. A floatplane version was built for the Navy, so modified, it was a different airframe; this was designated the N-9. In U. S. Army Air Service usage, the JN-4s and JN-6s were configured to the JNS model; the Jenny remained in service with the US Army until 1927.
After World War I, thousands were sold on the civilian market, including one to Charles Lindbergh in May 1923, in which he soloed. Surplus US Army aircraft were sold, some still in their unopened packing crates, for as little as $50 "flooding" the market. With private and commercial flying in North America unhampered by regulations concerning their use, pilots found the Jenny's stability and slow speed made it ideal for stunt flying and aero
