Date of Award
Summer 2025
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
History
First Advisor
Joseph November
Abstract
In the Aftermath of the “Lost” Pandemic: Philadelphia, 1918-1923 examines the enduring legacy of the 1918–1920 global influenza pandemic. In Philadelphia, the epidemic and its fallout were not limited to the fall of 1918 when more than 12,000 residents died. This dissertation examines oral histories, public and private institutional records, local media, and medical files, recounting influenza’s medical, political, and economic impact into 1923, when local institutions no longer specified influenza survivors among aid recipients.
Influenza historiography traditionally focuses on the acute wave of influenza in the fall of 1918, highlighting the shocking mortality and morbidity of the disease and the lack of structural change or cultural impact following the outbreak. I argue that lingering medical conditions, political tensions, and economic hardship shifted assumptions about the “deserving” poor for many Philadelphians in the five years following the acute crisis. I utilized environmental and social history methodologies to explore the ongoing influenza fallout in Philadelphia’s urban industrial neighborhoods, contending that atmospheric pollution likely heightened mortality rates and exacerbated the pandemic’s devastating medical and microeconomic toll.
In dialogue with scholarship on epidemic endings, I consider how class, race, and gender status shaped survivors’ experiences, highlighting the challenges of enduring a pandemic before the existence of a social safety net. Without adequate government support, Philadelphians from all classes and private institutions provided influenza relief for years, keeping the epidemic and its victims in the public consciousness. I found community resilience that outlasted government failures, with families developing unique living and working arrangements, while institutions offered hourly nursing visits, respite parties, and mortgage relief.
In the Aftermath advances epidemic studies by presenting a model for "aftermath studies," which focuses on the period following an acute outbreak when individuals and institutions develop innovative responses to the suffering left in the wake of an epidemic. Aftermath studies enhance our understanding of how individuals and communities navigate epidemic endings and offers valuable insights. This subfield can highlight the differing experiences of marginalized communities during and after epidemics and, grounded in historical knowledge, suggest a wider range of responses to current and future pandemics.
Rights
© 2025, Bethany Lynn Johnson
Recommended Citation
Johnson, B. L.(2025). In the Aftermath of the “Lost” Pandemic: Philadelphia, 1918-1923. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8357