Death was Creeping Through the Air: Post-War American Politics and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic
Location
King Building 101
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-27-2019 7:00 PM
End Date
4-27-2019 8:00 PM
Abstract
My capstone explores the United States of America from 1918 to 1919. Although the devastation of the first World War had ended, questions of liberty, security, democracy continued to divide the American public. This in combination with the devastating influenza epidemic exposed social divides and tensions. Scholars have examined the flu, and others have investigated the successes and failures of Wilson era Progressivism; however, my research places these simultaneous events in conversation with one another. I use both primary sources that indicate contemporary rhetoric as well as scholarly analysis. Through my research I hope to indicate how the tensions of this historical moment were further exacerbated by the flu, and how historical memory.
Keywords:
American history, Influenza, Progressivism
Recommended Citation
Baker, Emma, "Death was Creeping Through the Air: Post-War American Politics and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic" (04/27/19). Senior Symposium. 2.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2019/panel_24/2
Major
History; Comparative American Studies
Advisor(s)
Matt Bahar, History
Shelley Lee, Comparative American Studies and History
Project Mentor(s)
Len Smith, History
April 2019
Death was Creeping Through the Air: Post-War American Politics and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic
King Building 101
My capstone explores the United States of America from 1918 to 1919. Although the devastation of the first World War had ended, questions of liberty, security, democracy continued to divide the American public. This in combination with the devastating influenza epidemic exposed social divides and tensions. Scholars have examined the flu, and others have investigated the successes and failures of Wilson era Progressivism; however, my research places these simultaneous events in conversation with one another. I use both primary sources that indicate contemporary rhetoric as well as scholarly analysis. Through my research I hope to indicate how the tensions of this historical moment were further exacerbated by the flu, and how historical memory.
Notes
Session VIII, Panel 24 - Public | Health
Moderator: Matthew Senior, Chair of the Department of French & Italian and Ruberta T. McCandless, Professor of French