The Great Influenza

As science was trying to attack the epidemic, society too began to challenge its effects, largely without the help of the government. By 1918, the government was involved in virtually all aspects of American life, especially as wartime led to food and fuel rations and, of course, the military draft. Provost Marshal Enoch Crowder was in charge of the draft and issued a “work or fight” order in May 1918, meaning all men between the ages of 18 and 45 had to either join the military or have a full-time job. And even as the war was winding down in September 1918, with Austria and Germany trying to engage the allies in peace negotiations, Wilson would not relent. Nor would he offer any leadership about the virus. He made no public statement about the pandemic and offered no help from the federal government. And even after Gorgas warned all camps and bases that influenza was spreading, the army pressed on, ignoring his warnings. Crowder did eventually cancel the draft in September 1918, likely saving thousands of lives, but his efforts and Gorgas’s would be the only positive interventions at the federal level.