The POTUS Timeline
Crisis Response

Philadelphia Liberty Loan Parade sparks catastrophic influenza outbreak

A massive Liberty Loan parade in Philadelphia on September 28 drew large crowds and immediately preceded a severe local surge in Spanish influenza cases and deaths.

The parade is widely cited as a major catalyst for one of the deadliest municipal spikes of the 1918 pandemic during Wilson's presidency, overwhelming local hospitals and illustrating the domestic public-health crisis confronting the federal government.

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