Originally posted by: O2bnVegas
Bio about the 1917-18 pandemic on Smithsonian channel, including Dr. Barry who wrote a book about it, It sickened and killed a lot of people, then it 'magically' disappeared. Nobody knows why. Then it ROARED back ("second phase) and rapidly killed millions all over the world including the US. President Woodrow Wilson said not a word, listened to his advisors who said "send more men on the [packed] troop ships so you go down in history as having won the Big War. He did. Instead of addressing the scourge. Philadelphia, among others, ignored the warnings of the few virus scientists to at least socially distance, had a super spreader parade for the War effort. People also died of starvation, so much fear that neighbors wouldn't go near another house to bring food and the ones who stayed in were too scared to go out for food. Get the book.
The author had started out writing a book about WWI, but kept getting into the 1918 influenza pandemic, and eventually switched course to that pandemic. Years of research into it, what/how it came about.
Candy
I saw a very interesting documentary on PBS about that period; I think it was called "The American Experience." The most interesting takeaway was that until late 1916, the American public was unilaterally, thoroughly opposed to getting involved in the European war. Then big business interests started to perceive potential profit from a long war (which presumably, wouldn't touch US home soil); the US government saw it as a potential chance to seize colonies and build up the military; and wealthy industrialists started clamoring to get involved. The sinking of the Lusitania was a provident trigger for the war hawks.
The following propaganda campaign was impressive. This was the beginning of the age of mass media. Newspapers and radio (in its infancy), the same outlets that had only recently broadcast their full-throated opposition to the war, now pounded the war drums. The government subsidized propaganda efforts (such as paying the writer of "Over There" a handsome sum to disseminate sheet music). People who continued to demonstrate against involvement in the war were surprised to find themselves arrested and charged with sedition. Troop recruitment efforts drew millions. In much less than a year's time, the US flipped from isolationism and denouncement of the war to "patriotic" belligerence. Notably, no real concrete reason was ever given to enter the war---Wilson's speech asking Congress to declare war was full of orotund generalities and half-truths. Nevertheless, war was declared, with very little dissent.
So, fast forward to 1918. The Germans realized that if the US got enough troops into France, they were essentially doomed, so they launched a desperate preemptive attack. Unfortunately for them, it failed; enough US troops had arrived to tip the balance. I think the decisive battle was called Bellau Wood.
The German attack had the effect, though, of speeding up efforts to ship more troops across the Atlantic. Thise who warned about the dangers of doing so were silenced, removed from government positions, and in many cases, prosecuted. It was painted as unpatriotic to even mention how dangerous the Spanish Flu was and how social distancing and quarantining were absolutely necessary. President Wilson deliberately suppressed data showing how bad the pandemic really was, because it would be bad for "national morale." And lots of people died.
Does any of the above sound familiar?
