The Film & More
Program Transcript
Hello, I'm David McCullough. Welcome to The American Experience.
David McCullough, Series Host: Hello and welcome to The American Experience.
I'm David McCullough.
In Boston the stock market closed. In Pennsylvania a statewide order shut down
every place of amusement, every saloon. In Kentucky the Board of Health
prohibited public gatherings of any kind, even funerals.
In 1918 America was caught up in the last horrific year of World War I. Yet
the war had nothing to do with the extreme measures being taken. Deadly
influenza, the so-called "Spanish-flu," was sweeping the country, spreading
terror everywhere.
The first documented deaths were in Boston. Explanations were offered, but in
fact no one had an answer. Viruses were still largely unknown. But then to
this day that particular flu virus is still one of the mysteries of the
story.
Once started, the disease moved west in lethal waves that appeared to follow
the lines of the railroads. The speed with which it killed was appalling, the
loss of life unimaginable. By the time it had run its course in America, the
epidemic took more than 600,000 lives.
It would be as if today, with our present population, more than 1,400,000
people were to die in a sudden outbreak for which there was no explanation and
no known cure.
It was said every family lost someone. Certainly it seemed that way. I know
my own family was no exception. Sarah Cowles, my great aunt--Sarah McCullough
before she married--was one of 50,000 cases in Pittsburgh, and one of the 4,500
who died there--in just one medium-sized city.
Could it happen again. Yes, indeed, which is part of the haunting power of
this film.
Influenza 1918...
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