Date of Award
12-1-1998
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. Harl Dalstrom
Abstract
Influenza, or the flu as it is commonly called, is considered nothing more than a mild physical nuisance that requires little more than bed rest and aspirin. In 1918, however, this acute respiratory ailment elicited a greatly different response from the ordinary citizen. A deadly and highly contagious strain of the influenza virus emerged in 1918 that encompassed the globe in a matter of months. Although the 1918 influenza pandemic killed over twenty-two million people world-wide, of which over seven-hundred thousand were Americans, the deadly pandemic is rarely acknowledged as a catastrophic event. This study investigates Omaha, Nebraska's response to the pandemic and the effect that the virus had upon the economic, political, and social mechanisms of a large urban center in the central United States.
Recommended Citation
Gernhart, Gary, "A Forgotten Enemy: Omaha Encounters the 1918 Influenza Pandemic" (1998). Student Work. 2543.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/2543
Comments
A thesis presented to the Department of History and the faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts, University of Nebraska at Omaha. © 1998 Gary Gernhart. All Rights Reserved.