How Did The Influenza Affect 1918-1919

As the Great War came to a conclusion in 1918 with the armistice signalling the end of battle, the challenge was put on the Allied nations to ensure a war of this magnitude would never occur again. President Wilson arrived to the Paris Peace Conferences in early 1919, prepared to negotiate the implementation of his “Fourteen Points” into the post-war treaty. The European side of the negotiating table sought to administer harsh penalties on the Germans for their involvement in the war, which was contradictory to the hopeful idealism that Wilson was trying to sell. While in the process of negotiating, President Wilson was stricken with a case of influenza, a part of the larger worldwide pandemic that was transpiring during 1918-1919. The strict outcome of the Treaty of Versailles was impacted significantly by Wilson’s inability to negotiate properly due to the influenza (Kent 22). President Wilson’s arrived to the post-war Paris Peace Conference in 1919 hopeful to negotiate his “Fourteen Points,” which were the terms that Germany had agreed to sign the armistice for, into the finalized version of the peace
The specific strain of influenza was particularly virulent and aggressive, often causing the victims to be in a mentally and physically exhausting state, along with the other typical symptoms of the flu (Kent 51). Another particularity of this type of influenza was that even after the disease had passed, patients often had a poor mental state for as much as a month afterwards (Kent 51). In intense negotiations like the ones in Paris, critical thinking, analyzation of dissenting opinion, and a persuasive manner are necessary in order to make a point seem valid. Without full mental and physical capabilities, it would be difficult for even the finest diplomat to effectively negotiate in a typical environment, especially as the outnumbered