Randolph Bourne a progressive intellectual and political thinker, wrote that “war is the health of the state.” Although this may have been exaggerated rhetoric, it is undeniable that war efforts require and thrive on patriotism. Consequently, governments need to persuade their citizens to support their decisions through propaganda. This lesson examines how government posters portrayed women differently across three separate conflicts—Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. The lesson will further challenge students to think about how the US government’s public information campaigns might have affected American women’s social and economic choices.