Presidents and Pandemics: The "Spanish Flu" and the 1918 Midterm Elections
As mentioned in an earlier post in this series, from January of 1918 to December of 1920, the world was in the grip of an influenza pandemic inaccurately named the "Spanish Flu". Over 500 million people were infected by the virus, roughly about a quarter of the world's population at the time. The death toll from the pandemic was estimated to have been anywhere from 17 to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million. In the U.S., about 28% of the population of 105 million became infected, and somewhere between 500,000 and 675,000 Americans died (in the range of 0.5% of the population). It was while this was taking place that the United States held its midterm elections in November of 1918. President Woodrow Wilson and his fellow Democrats were trying to keep control of Congress, as the Great War was coming to an end, and the fight for the League of Nations was just beginning.
The first wave of the the flu was reported in the spring of the year, when cases were reported at Camp Funston, a U.S. Army training camp at Fort Riley, Kansas. A second wave hit in September 1918 at an army training camp and naval facility near Boston. The flu spread quickly into the civilian population of Boston and other cities on the East Coast and in October of that year, a total of 195,000 Americans died. Public health officials called for quarantines and state and local officials around the country banned public gatherings, closing schools, churches, theaters, bars and other spots where people typically met in groups. The question was how the nation would hold its upcoming election.
Candidates in the 1918 midterm elections could not campaign in the typical ways. Rallies and other public events were prohibited, and candidates had to look for more creative or costly ways to reach voters, such as trying to get newspaper coverage, sending campaign literature through the mail or paying for news paper advertising.
Accusations soon arose from some candidates that public health officials were trying to influence the election by limiting voter turnout and preventing the candidate from reaching more voters directly, ignoring the fact that the rules applied to both sides. In New York, local authorities canceled a speech scheduled to be given by future Democratic Presidential Candidate Alfred E. Smith in Haverstraw, New York due to concerns over the flu. A Smith campaign worker complained to the New York Times, calling the cancellation a “Republican quarantine against Democratic campaign speeches.” (Despite crying foul, Smith was still able to win his race for Governor of New York, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent, Charles Whitman).
Voting in the 1918 midterms took different forms, depending on what the local authorities decided. In November of 2018, the flu was starting to decline in the east, but flu cases were increasing in the West. In Sacramento, California, some poll sites were closed. A story in the Sacramento Bee said that this was because there were not enough healthy citizens to man the polls. In San Francisco, health officials issued an order in late October requiring voters to wear face masks while in public or in a group of two or more people. All poll workers and voters were required to wear masks on Election Day.
Meanwhile on the East Coast, public health officials in Washington, D.C. decided to reopen churches on October 31, and to reopen schools and theaters on November 4, the day before the midterm election. In New York City, many restrictions were also lifted in advance of election day. Despite the heavy death toll that had occurred in October, nobody really ever suggested postponing the election that year. In part, this may gave been because the war was still going on and with troops fighting overseas, many Americans were too proud to consider cancelling an election in light of what the soldiers were risking.
Voter turnout was low, with only around 40 percent of eligible U.S. voters casting their ballots on November 5, 1918, The last midterm only had a 50 percent turnout. Around 2 million men were fighting in the war at the time, and American women would not get the right to vote until 1920.
In the midterms that year, Republicans won control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1908. The loss was devastating for Wilson, who hoped to push an aggressive foreign policy agenda through Congress that would include his fight for a League of Nations.
Following the mid-term elections, the United States experienced an increase in flu infections and deaths, blamed in part due to the lifting of quarantine restrictions. Six days after Election Day, an armistice was signed, ending fighting in World War I. Many Americans left their homes to celebrate the war’s end. However the mass return of soldiers coming home from the war would lead to a new surge of influenza cases.
With majorities in Congress, Republicans blocked ratification of the Versailles Treaty and U.S. membership in the League of Nations. In 1920, Warren G. Harding won the presidency back for the Republicans and the nation would confront the challenges of a post-pandemic economy.
The first wave of the the flu was reported in the spring of the year, when cases were reported at Camp Funston, a U.S. Army training camp at Fort Riley, Kansas. A second wave hit in September 1918 at an army training camp and naval facility near Boston. The flu spread quickly into the civilian population of Boston and other cities on the East Coast and in October of that year, a total of 195,000 Americans died. Public health officials called for quarantines and state and local officials around the country banned public gatherings, closing schools, churches, theaters, bars and other spots where people typically met in groups. The question was how the nation would hold its upcoming election.
Candidates in the 1918 midterm elections could not campaign in the typical ways. Rallies and other public events were prohibited, and candidates had to look for more creative or costly ways to reach voters, such as trying to get newspaper coverage, sending campaign literature through the mail or paying for news paper advertising.
Accusations soon arose from some candidates that public health officials were trying to influence the election by limiting voter turnout and preventing the candidate from reaching more voters directly, ignoring the fact that the rules applied to both sides. In New York, local authorities canceled a speech scheduled to be given by future Democratic Presidential Candidate Alfred E. Smith in Haverstraw, New York due to concerns over the flu. A Smith campaign worker complained to the New York Times, calling the cancellation a “Republican quarantine against Democratic campaign speeches.” (Despite crying foul, Smith was still able to win his race for Governor of New York, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent, Charles Whitman).
Voting in the 1918 midterms took different forms, depending on what the local authorities decided. In November of 2018, the flu was starting to decline in the east, but flu cases were increasing in the West. In Sacramento, California, some poll sites were closed. A story in the Sacramento Bee said that this was because there were not enough healthy citizens to man the polls. In San Francisco, health officials issued an order in late October requiring voters to wear face masks while in public or in a group of two or more people. All poll workers and voters were required to wear masks on Election Day.
Meanwhile on the East Coast, public health officials in Washington, D.C. decided to reopen churches on October 31, and to reopen schools and theaters on November 4, the day before the midterm election. In New York City, many restrictions were also lifted in advance of election day. Despite the heavy death toll that had occurred in October, nobody really ever suggested postponing the election that year. In part, this may gave been because the war was still going on and with troops fighting overseas, many Americans were too proud to consider cancelling an election in light of what the soldiers were risking.
Voter turnout was low, with only around 40 percent of eligible U.S. voters casting their ballots on November 5, 1918, The last midterm only had a 50 percent turnout. Around 2 million men were fighting in the war at the time, and American women would not get the right to vote until 1920.
In the midterms that year, Republicans won control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1908. The loss was devastating for Wilson, who hoped to push an aggressive foreign policy agenda through Congress that would include his fight for a League of Nations.
Following the mid-term elections, the United States experienced an increase in flu infections and deaths, blamed in part due to the lifting of quarantine restrictions. Six days after Election Day, an armistice was signed, ending fighting in World War I. Many Americans left their homes to celebrate the war’s end. However the mass return of soldiers coming home from the war would lead to a new surge of influenza cases.
With majorities in Congress, Republicans blocked ratification of the Versailles Treaty and U.S. membership in the League of Nations. In 1920, Warren G. Harding won the presidency back for the Republicans and the nation would confront the challenges of a post-pandemic economy.