Category: 1900–1919: Progressive era & early public health

When film fuels harm

Exposure in early life to the social and racial hostility sparked by the 1915 film Birth of a Nation led to significant long-term health impacts on Black Americans.

Polio’s lifelong toll

This study reveals that early-life exposure to the 1916 polio epidemic had long-term consequences on male longevity.

Childhood flu, shorter lives

This study finds that boys who lived through the deadly 1918 influenza pandemic, especially in high-exposure cities, died earlier as adults than those who didn’t.