The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic In America: A Short History

By Doug West

If you want to learn about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book, then this is the short and concise book for you!!
The book “The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic in America: A Short History” covers many aspects of the flu pandemic, including:
•The virus is believed to have originated in Kansas, from there it spread rapidly throughout the armies on both sides of World War I.
•The state of medicine in the early twentieth century was such that it was of little help to the unlucky many that fell ill with the virus. Researchers in America and Europe searched in vain for an effective vaccine for the Spanish flu.
•Troop ships, such as the massive “Leviathan”, became virtual death ships as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean spreading the viral contagion between the shores of North America and the continent of Europe.
•The second wave of the flu appeared in the fall of 1918 and was more deadly than the initial wave. This second wave targeted young adults, robbing families of their parents, leaving many orphans.
•On the east coast of America in the cities of Philadelphia and New York, the outbreaks were handled in quite different ways. Reminiscent of the fourteenth century black death plague, in Philadelphia, priests went throughout the city with horse drawn carts calling for the resident to bring out the dead.
•Kansas City, situated not far from the epicenter of the initial outbreak was racked by political wrangling and suffered greatly from the disease.
•On the west coast of America, in the cities of San Francisco and Seattle they fearfully waited for the contagion to spread from the east, just to realize how unprepared they were for the coming wave of illness.
•The events of 1918 and 1919 and the spread of the Spanish flu are eerily similar to the COVID-19 flu pandemic of 2020 and 2021. Many lessons can be learned from events of over a century ago that are applicable today.
•And more...
The book “The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic in America: A Short History” gives a crisp look at the viral pandemic that swept through America and the world. To illustrate the story of this horrendous event there are numerous pictures of the people, places, and events that were part of this life and death struggle. In addition, the book contains: a list of reference books for further reading, a timeline of the pandemic and events of that period of history, and a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Mar 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005995935

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic in America

A Short History

By Doug West, Ph.D.

C&D Publications

The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic in America

A Short History

By Doug West, Ph.D.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2021 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

For my son-in-law Walter. He is a COVID-19 ICU nurse who has worked diligently to care for the sick and dying.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The Outbreak

Chapter 2 - World War I and the Spread of the Spanish Flu

Chapter 3 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Spanish Flu

Chapter 4 - New York City and the Spanish Flu

Chapter 5 - Kansas City, Missouri, and the Spanish Flu

Chapter 6 - San Francisco, California, and the Spanish Flu

Chapter 7 - Seattle, Washington, and the Spanish Flu

Chapter 8 - End of the Pandemic and Its Legacy

Timeline of the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu Pandemic in America

Biographical Sketches

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Additional Books in the 30 Minute Book Series

Preface

Welcome to the book, The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic in America: A Short History. This book is volume 52 of the 30 Minute Book Series, and as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book should take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing story of the pandemic, you may want to know more about this horrific historical event. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events in the pandemic, and a section titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book. In the text, those individuals who are in one of the biographical sketches will have their name in bold print the first time they appear in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy your time reading about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.

Doug West

January 2021

Introduction

What started as a simple flu outbreak in rural Kansas in 1918 spread across the globe in less than two years to become the most lethal pandemic the world has known. Called the Spanish flu, even though it had nothing to do with Spain, it would claim the lives of some 675,000 Americans, about five times the number of Americans lost in the First World War. Suffering from the virus was not limited to America; before the virus faded mysteriously in the spring of 1919 it had killed over 50 million worldwide. Most influenza epidemics target the very young or the elderly; not this one. Healthy adults in their prime fell prey to the deadly scourge, robbing many children of their parents and ripping families apart.

Even though in 1918 America was entering the modern age, the movies were still silent, communication was seldom