Who is Woodrow Wilson from the nonfiction book, The Great Influenza?

Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States during the 1918 flu epidemic. Barry describes how Wilson, with his intentions of making the people of the country united in the war effort, made conditions ripe for an epidemic. Wilson insisted that workers flood to the cities to work in the munitions factories to make needed material for war. He also had new soldiers drafted into the county’s army. These new soldiers were crammed into overcrowded camps to train for the war. Wilson also controlled the newspapers and would not allow anyone to print anything about the epidemic because he worried that it would hurt the country’s morale regarding the war. Wilson was so focused on the war that he did not put any effort into preparing for the pandemic.

Barry also suggests that Wilson was personally impacted by mental instability as a result of the flu. He describes how Wilson suffered a bout of the flu during peace talks in Paris, France. Before he was sick, Wilson had adamantly refused to make concessions on his ideas about the peace treaty. He had even threatened to leave talks when it was suggested that he reconsider his ideas. After he was sick, Wilson conceded to the demands of Clemenceau, the things he had earlier refused to reconsider. Four months later, Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, another medical condition that is said to be tied to the flu.