Changes

The Covid-19 pandemic is not the first time in the United States that public health officials encouraged people to wear masks to limit the spread of a deadly virus. In the United States, many a surprising number of Americans have been angered by this simple request. This is reaction should not newbe unexpected. Similarly, during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic , mask-wearing was also politicized. In desperation, public health officials then turned to a variety of various tactics to convince Americans to wear masks.

By the autumn of 1918 in the United States, it was clear the flu pandemic was becoming out of control and that surging cases across the country required public health officials to issue direct guidance for people to wear masks. For some states, masks were seen as part of broader set of policies such as social distancing, washing hands, and general cleanliness to avoid the spread of spreading the virus. Some cities in the Western United States, including some cities towns now where we see hostility to wearing masks, passed laws that required masks to be worn at all times by the autumn of 1918. This included These laws were implemented in places all over the United States, including Phoenix, San Francisco, and even Juneau, Alaska (Figure 1).

Punishments ranged from fines to imprisonment in cities. While most punishments for not wearing a mask were fines, prison sentences did occur. There was one One infamous incident in San Francisco, where a special officer hired by the Board of Health to enforce mask-wearing, shot a man who had earlier refused to wear a mask; two bystanders even were hit during the shooting.

In another case in San Francisco, at a boxing match attended by many dignitaries from the city and government, a photographer shot a photo of that night and the well-known individuals present. That photograph led to many officials being shamed for not wearing masks. People who were caught not wearing masks included a congressman, a court justice, a Navy rear-admiral, a health officer, and the mayor. This These violations led to fines for these officials and public shaming. Still, although none of these individuals were imprisoned as others had been.

Nevertheless, most people or places that had rules requiring masks generally had no major issues or incidents. Only after substantial declines in deaths and infections did most of these cities that passed mask-wearing laws gradually removed the requirement about masks.<ref>For more on laws , and ways cities got people to wear masks in the 1918 flu pandemic, see: Crosby, Alfred W. <i>America’s America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.</ref>

Masks in 1918, however, have been were criticized for both being ineffective or at least and having limited value in preventing slowing the spread of the 1918 virus. The American Public Health Association in December 1918 concluded that wearing mask masks should be compulsory for medical staff, barbers, dentists, and other occupations that come into close contact with other individuals. However, Even though it found that masks were not always beneficialeffective, but that mainly had to do with the materials they most of their concerns were a result of masks made from inappropriate materials or the incorrect usage of these masks. In essence, they supported the use of masks, but only if they were used properly and created with the correct materials.

Not all cities passed such laws requiring masks in 1918, but there were still efforts to get people to wear masks. One effort attempted to get people to wear masks by stating that the effort was patriotic since it helped prevent the spread of the virus to US soldiers, who were severely impacted by the pandemic both in the US and in Europe while serving. This seems to have worked as it appealed to people's patriotism and feeling of supporting the war effort. There were still some dissenters and even an Anti-Mask League was formed in San Francisco. Other cities, such as Seattle, did try appealing to people's fashion sense as a way to get people to wear masks. One newspaper, <i>Seattle Daily Times</i>, even created a headlines titled: “Influenza "Influenza Veils Set New Fashion: Seattle Women Wearing Fine Mesh With Chiffon Border to Ward Off Malady."