Influenza Rhetorical Analysis

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Historical/Rhetorical Context for Public Leadership In 1918, as public leaders focused their attention on the war effort, a new unseen enemy emerged. An influenza pandemic, commonly referred to as the “Spanish flu,” initially struck United States military camps. As soldiers were shipped en masse to the frontlines, influenza silently followed, eventually infecting every corner of the globe. The 1918 flu ravaged humanity for eighteen months, claiming the lives of roughly fifty million people and racking up more victims than the war itself. Unprepared for this unprecedented viral onslaught, public leaders and news sources in the United States faced a unique rhetorical situation. In the beginning stages of the influenza outbreak, censorship and …show more content…
The bright banners, rousing music, and cheering crowds only furthered the spread of the disease. The United States’s main focus is on winning the war. Addressing the pandemic would cause further anxiety and distract the country. As summer rolled around, newspapers boasted that the warm weather meant the flu was over. The public, following this misinformation, continued to crowd in city centers, use public transportation, and shop at markets– all of which worsened the spread of a now-mutating virus. The second wave of the virus continued to be marked by a lack of public leadership. At this time, the only nation to enact protective measures was Switzerland, which restricted public gatherings. Back in the United States, army bases continued to be hubs of infection. Camp Devens in Massachusetts was hit the worst, with 500 infected in one month. Come September, the influenza was killing soldiers as fast as the war. Hundreds of soldiers passed away from illness without ever seeing the battlefield. When the virus escaped military camps and invaded public cities, doctors called for stricter public health …show more content…
The headline read: “Not a Turkish Harem, But Red Cross Workshop Unit Making ‘Flu’ Masks.” Another ad features a spinographer capitalizing on public confusion to advertise his business: “Not one cantonment death has occurred from Spanish Flu when the patient had received adjustments by a chiropractor,” (Omaha Daily Bee, October 1918). A week later, New York held its annual Columbus Day Parade. The event was attended by President Woodrow Wilson, who had been remaining notably silent on the pandemic. He refused to give any public comment that would distract Americans from the war abroad– even when influenza spread so severely after the parade that more than 5,000 New Yorkers died in a single week. The 1918 pandemic is now the gravest health crisis in history. Doctors and healthcare workers felt helpless, admitting that their knowledge of medicine was useless in fighting influenza. Uncertainty from medical professionals contributed to the spread of
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