Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu

Hyunmin Lee

doi:doi:10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu

Hyunmin Lee

Published in History Research (Volume 11, Issue 1)

Received: 6 February 2023 Accepted: 7 March 2023 Published: 16 March 2023

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Abstract

Millions of people worldwide were affected by the Spanish flu, often known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was a major global health emergency. The epidemic in the United States happened during World War I, and the fighting significantly impacted how the government handled the pandemic. The U.S. administration employed propaganda to downplay the epidemic's seriousness and encourage the population to carry on with their regular routines to maintain morale and support for the war effort. There were other messages urging people to keep working, supporting the war, and spreading the illusion that the flu was no worse than the ordinary cold. This strategy for dealing with the epidemic significantly impacted the public's image of the sickness. The spread of the virus was aided by the fact that many individuals did not take the threat of the flu seriously. Furthermore, the people's anxieties and worries were made worse by the propaganda that was used to minimize the severity of the epidemic. This undermined popular confidence in the government's ability to manage the issue. In the end, propaganda employed by the U.S. government during the Spanish flu epidemic significantly influenced how the public viewed the sickness. The government was able to preserve morale and support for the war effort by downplaying the severity of the epidemic. Still, this strategy also aided in the spread of the illness and damaged public confidence in the administration's response to the crisis.

Published in	History Research (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.history.20231101.12
Page(s)	8-12
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

US Government, Spanish Flu, Pandemic, Wartime Propaganda

References

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[15]	Soraya McDonald, "In 1918 and 2020, Race Colors America's Response to Epidemics," Andscape, last modified April 1, 2020, accessed December 16, 2022, https://andscape.com/features/in-1918-and-2020-race-colors-americas-response-to-epidemics/.
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Hyunmin Lee. (2023). Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu. History Research, 11(1), 8-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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ACS Style

Hyunmin Lee. Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu. Hist. Res. 2023, 11(1), 8-12. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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AMA Style

Hyunmin Lee. Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu. Hist Res. 2023;11(1):8-12. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20231101.12,
  author = {Hyunmin Lee},
  title = {Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {11},
  number = {1},
  pages = {8-12},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20231101.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20231101.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20231101.12},
  abstract = {Millions of people worldwide were affected by the Spanish flu, often known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was a major global health emergency. The epidemic in the United States happened during World War I, and the fighting significantly impacted how the government handled the pandemic. The U.S. administration employed propaganda to downplay the epidemic's seriousness and encourage the population to carry on with their regular routines to maintain morale and support for the war effort. There were other messages urging people to keep working, supporting the war, and spreading the illusion that the flu was no worse than the ordinary cold. This strategy for dealing with the epidemic significantly impacted the public's image of the sickness. The spread of the virus was aided by the fact that many individuals did not take the threat of the flu seriously. Furthermore, the people's anxieties and worries were made worse by the propaganda that was used to minimize the severity of the epidemic. This undermined popular confidence in the government's ability to manage the issue. In the end, propaganda employed by the U.S. government during the Spanish flu epidemic significantly influenced how the public viewed the sickness. The government was able to preserve morale and support for the war effort by downplaying the severity of the epidemic. Still, this strategy also aided in the spread of the illness and damaged public confidence in the administration's response to the crisis.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu
AU  - Hyunmin Lee
Y1  - 2023/03/16
PY  - 2023
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DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20231101.12
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AB  - Millions of people worldwide were affected by the Spanish flu, often known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was a major global health emergency. The epidemic in the United States happened during World War I, and the fighting significantly impacted how the government handled the pandemic. The U.S. administration employed propaganda to downplay the epidemic's seriousness and encourage the population to carry on with their regular routines to maintain morale and support for the war effort. There were other messages urging people to keep working, supporting the war, and spreading the illusion that the flu was no worse than the ordinary cold. This strategy for dealing with the epidemic significantly impacted the public's image of the sickness. The spread of the virus was aided by the fact that many individuals did not take the threat of the flu seriously. Furthermore, the people's anxieties and worries were made worse by the propaganda that was used to minimize the severity of the epidemic. This undermined popular confidence in the government's ability to manage the issue. In the end, propaganda employed by the U.S. government during the Spanish flu epidemic significantly influenced how the public viewed the sickness. The government was able to preserve morale and support for the war effort by downplaying the severity of the epidemic. Still, this strategy also aided in the spread of the illness and damaged public confidence in the administration's response to the crisis.
VL  - 11
IS  - 1
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Author Information

Hyunmin Lee

The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas, USA

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Hyunmin Lee. (2023). Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu. History Research, 11(1), 8-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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ACS Style

Hyunmin Lee. Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu. Hist. Res. 2023, 11(1), 8-12. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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AMA Style

Hyunmin Lee. Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu. Hist Res. 2023;11(1):8-12. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20231101.12

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20231101.12,
  author = {Hyunmin Lee},
  title = {Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {11},
  number = {1},
  pages = {8-12},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20231101.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20231101.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20231101.12},
  abstract = {Millions of people worldwide were affected by the Spanish flu, often known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was a major global health emergency. The epidemic in the United States happened during World War I, and the fighting significantly impacted how the government handled the pandemic. The U.S. administration employed propaganda to downplay the epidemic's seriousness and encourage the population to carry on with their regular routines to maintain morale and support for the war effort. There were other messages urging people to keep working, supporting the war, and spreading the illusion that the flu was no worse than the ordinary cold. This strategy for dealing with the epidemic significantly impacted the public's image of the sickness. The spread of the virus was aided by the fact that many individuals did not take the threat of the flu seriously. Furthermore, the people's anxieties and worries were made worse by the propaganda that was used to minimize the severity of the epidemic. This undermined popular confidence in the government's ability to manage the issue. In the end, propaganda employed by the U.S. government during the Spanish flu epidemic significantly influenced how the public viewed the sickness. The government was able to preserve morale and support for the war effort by downplaying the severity of the epidemic. Still, this strategy also aided in the spread of the illness and damaged public confidence in the administration's response to the crisis.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Propaganda and Public Health: Impact of Wartime Propaganda on U.S. Public Perception of the Spanish Flu
AU  - Hyunmin Lee
Y1  - 2023/03/16
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20231101.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20231101.12
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 8
EP  - 12
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20231101.12
AB  - Millions of people worldwide were affected by the Spanish flu, often known as the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was a major global health emergency. The epidemic in the United States happened during World War I, and the fighting significantly impacted how the government handled the pandemic. The U.S. administration employed propaganda to downplay the epidemic's seriousness and encourage the population to carry on with their regular routines to maintain morale and support for the war effort. There were other messages urging people to keep working, supporting the war, and spreading the illusion that the flu was no worse than the ordinary cold. This strategy for dealing with the epidemic significantly impacted the public's image of the sickness. The spread of the virus was aided by the fact that many individuals did not take the threat of the flu seriously. Furthermore, the people's anxieties and worries were made worse by the propaganda that was used to minimize the severity of the epidemic. This undermined popular confidence in the government's ability to manage the issue. In the end, propaganda employed by the U.S. government during the Spanish flu epidemic significantly influenced how the public viewed the sickness. The government was able to preserve morale and support for the war effort by downplaying the severity of the epidemic. Still, this strategy also aided in the spread of the illness and damaged public confidence in the administration's response to the crisis.
VL  - 11
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download