The COVID-19 pandemic represents the second time in U.S. history where an entire nation was essentially shut down to prevent the spread of a virus. The first pandemic that shut our country down was one hundred years ago, during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. Here are some images from the Library of Congress that depicts life in early twentieth century American during the Spanish Flu.
According to the Library of Congress, “Between the spring of 1918 and the spring of 1919 a highly virulent and fatal influenza sweeps the country in three waves, killing the youngest and the strongest, devastating entire communities.” There were three waves of the flu.
St. Louis Red Cross Motor Corps on duty Oct. 1918 Influenza epidemic. Photograph shows mask-wearing women holding stretchers at backs of ambulances.
US Postal Carrier in New York City.
