Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States during the 1918 flu epidemic. Barry describes how Wilson, with his intentions of making the people of the country united in the war effort, made conditions ripe for an epidemic. Wilson insisted that workers flood to the cities to work in the munitions factories to make needed material for war. He also had new soldiers drafted into the county’s army. These new soldiers were crammed into overcrowded camps to train for the war. Wilson also controlled the newspapers and would not allow anyone to print anything about the epidemic because he worried that it would hurt the country’s morale regarding the war. Wilson was so focused on the war that he did not put any effort into preparing for the pandemic.

Barry also suggests that Wilson was personally impacted by mental instability as a result of...