University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Master's Theses Student Research 2002 The impact of the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic on Virginia Stephanie Forrest Barker Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Barker, Stephanie Forrest, "The impact of the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic on Virginia" (2002). Master's Theses. Paper 1169. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Impact of the 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic on Virginia By Stephanie Forrest Barker Master of Arts in History, University of Richmond, 2002 R. Barry Westin, Thesis Director In the fall of 1918 an unparalleled influenza pandemic spread throughout the world. More than a quarter of Americans became ill, and at least 600,000 died. For many Virginians, this was a time of acute crisis that only could be compared to the days of the Civil War. This thesis describes Spanish influenza's impact on Virginia, primarily focusing on the cities of Newport News, Richmond, and Roanoke. It details influenza's emergence in Virginia and explores how state and city officials dealt with this unprecedented epidemic. This study examines how the epidemic disrupted daily routines of life and overwhelmed the state's medical community. This thesis briefly discusses the effect that the segregation of races had on the spread of influenza and the role that women played in battling the epidemic.