Academic research
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Influenza Encyclopedia
University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine
Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
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Epidemics & public health · 28 September 1918Open article references →
The Philadelphia Liberty Loan Parade and Influenza
Broad Street parade route through central Philadelphia · United States
Why editors use it hereDetailed city chronology using health reports and newspapers to document the parade, closures, and mortality.
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Quick read
On 28 September 1918, roughly 200,000 people crowded Philadelphia's Broad Street for a war-bond parade while a lethal influenza wave was already spreading among sailors and civilians.
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Trigger and conditions
Liberty Loan organizers treated the parade as essential to financing and morale.
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Uncertainty
Exact parade attendance and influenza death totals vary by source and time window.
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Why it matters
The parade illustrates how political urgency, reassuring official messages, and delayed action can turn an emerging outbreak into a systems crisis.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Quick read