On top of the death and destruction of warfare, a global epidemic of the Spanish Influenza (aka the flu) broke out in 1918. One quarter of all Americans were affected, and the economy came to a halt as people died within days of contracting the disease. Those in poverty could not afford to bury their dead quickly enough, and there were often corpses in the streets. The disease spread rapidly in the army due to close quarters and unsanitary conditions. By the time the epidemic stopped a year later, some 30 million people worldwide had died.The US Enters World War IIn 1914, most Americans saw no reason to join a struggle 3,000 miles away. The war did not threaten American lives or property. US President Woodrow Wilson vowed to maintain US neutrality but was ultimately unable to keep the United States out of the war, largely because of escalating German aggression. On May 7, 1915, the Germans used submarines to sink the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania, killing over 100 American civilians on board. Wilson warned that the United States would not permit unrestricted submarine warfare or any further violations of international law. In January 1917, the Germans resumed submarine warfare. Submarine warfare not only harmed Americans, it made trade with our allied difficult. A few days after this announcement, the Wilson administration obtained a copy of the Zimmermann Telegram, which urged Mexico to join the war effort on the side of Germany and pledged that in the event of a German victory, the territories of Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico would be stripped from the United States and returned to Mexico. The publication of the Zimmermann Telegram and the escalation of German submarine attacks on US merchant vessels led the US Congress to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917. In his declaration of war, Wilson claimed that America needed to fight to fulfill the progressive goal to “make the world safe for democracy” and spread American values. While this might have been a motivation for Wilson, Germany’s aggression, and its negative economic impact on the US, was a more convincing reason for many Americans.QUESTION 210 pointsWhy did the US enter WWI? In your opinion, should the US have gotten involved?

The Spanish Flu of 1918 occurred during World War I and killed between 30 to 50 million people worldwide. Which best explains the spread of this virus? A. The Spanish Flu quickly became a pandemic due to the close quarters and distances traveled by troops. B. The Spanish Flu quickly became an epidemic due to the close quarters and distances traveled by troops. C. The Spanish Flu quickly became a pandemic due to the lack of antibiotics and poor hygiene of the troops. D. The Spanish Flu quickly became an epidemic due to the lack of antibiotics and poor hygiene of the troops.

According to John Barry, even though public officials downplayed the 1918 influenza, ordinary people knew it wasn’t the “same old’ flu for all of the following reasons EXCEPT Group of answer choicesPresident Wilson closed off the borders between statesVictims were dying within hours of the first symptomsTowns and cities ran out of coffinsThe numbers of deaths were so staggering

According to John Barry, during the first wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic, all of the following occurred EXCEPTGroup of answer choicesThe United States issued a "stay-at-home" order for the West Coast states after the governor of California suffered through an intense case of influenzaIt set off few alarms, because in most places it rarely killed, despite the enormous numbers of people infectedOne ominous sign was that while deaths from the flu were rare, it was often healthy young adults who diedIt became known as the "Spanish flu" after the Spanish press, which wasn't censored, reported that Spain's king was sickened by the influenza

According to John Barry, why did so many young adults die during the 1918 influenza pandemic?Group of answer choicesTheir immune systems were not yet developed to full maturityThey tended to drink more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes than other age groupsThey were the first generation of Americans to eat junk food, which lowered their bodies' resistance to diseaseThey have the strongest immune systems, which fought the virus by releasing intense amounts of microbe-fighting toxins

According to John Barry, what exceptional impact on history occurred during the third wave of the virus?Group of answer choicesWorld population growth decreased by more than 20 percentPresident Wilson caught the flu while in Paris and was unable to secure a better peace plan at the end of World War IIt was less severe than the previous two waves so many soon-to-be famous artists, musicians, and writers survived to create the Jazz Age 1920sAmericans began riding in cars to avoid catching the flu thereby catapulting the United States into the "automobile age"