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[[File:mask_violations.jpg|thumb|left|Figure 1. Men being escorted away from a building in 1918 San Francisco because they were not wearing masks. ]]__NOTOC__
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, a surprising number of Americans have been angered by this simple request. This reaction should not be unexpected. Similarly, during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, mask-wearing was also politicized. In desperation, public health officials then turned to various tactics to convince Americans to wear masks.
====The 1918 During the Flu Pandemic and Masks==were people punished if they did not 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 part of a broader set of policies such as social distancing, washing hands, and general cleanliness to avoid spreading the virus. Some cities in the Western United States, including some 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. 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. 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. These violations led to fines for these officials and public shaming. Still, none of these individuals were imprisoned as others had been.
==Did medical professionals support wearing masks?==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 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 Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.</ref>
[[File:3a049913-e8f6-4e22-927c-df23ca2fa036-Mask style article.jpg|thumb|left|Figure 2. Masks being shown as fashion items that also potentially made the masks useless. ]]
Masks in 1918, however, were criticized for both being ineffective and having a limited value in slowing the spread of the 1918 virus. The American Public Health Association in December 1918 concluded that wearing masks should be compulsory for medical staff, barbers, dentists, and other occupations that come into close contact with other individuals. Even though it was found that masks were not always effective, 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 masks' use of masks, but only if they were used properly and created with the correct materials. Thus, the board recommended that only workers in close contact wear them, and others who wish to do so should be instructed on the proper way of making and wearing masks. However, a later study in 1927 showed that those who wore masks generally did help limit the spread of the 1918 virus. The study also determined many misconceptions of what masks were for, which was part of the problem.
==Other Efforts Related to Masks should be presented ==Not all cities passed such laws requiring masks in 1918, but there were still efforts to the public as devices that help infected people from spreading their infection, whereas many get people saw them differently and took them to even be a stigma. The study recognized also there is likely hostility in wearing wear masks in countries emphasizing individual freedom. The study made clear that One action attempted to get people to wear masks should be presented as something by stating that should be worn because the effort was patriotic since it reflects helped prevent the presence spread of a serious disease where public and community health is more important than individual rights at a given timethe virus to US soldiers.<ref>For more on this study looking at The pandemic severely impacted the effectiveness of masks United States troops both in 1918, see: Jordan, Edwinthe US and Europe. <i>Epidemic Influenza: A Survey</i>. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1927This effort worked because it appealed to people's patriotism and gave them a tangible way to support the war effort. </ref>
==Why did people refuse to wear masks? ==The idea of calling them veils, rather than masks, was intended to get standard complaints people to feel did give in 1918 on why they were more of a fashion itemdid not wear masks did vary, perhaps similar to how besides the main reason being that some masks today are relatively decorative (Figure 1)saw them as impinging on their personal freedom. Perhaps also One of the newspaper took liberty with interpreting them as a new fashionable trendmost common complaints was they were hot and stuffy. Some ways suggested by newspapersbusinesses worried masks would limit sales, howeveras people would not want to wear them, made so they would not go outside and shop. Others pointed out that masks useless, despite any positive intentions were ineffective. Many of these newspapers complaints had (Figure 2). Finallysome merit, embarrassing people was also tried by the authorities. In some placesalthough they could have been remedied or at least minimized, local newspaper printed the names of people who were caught not such as wearing masks. <ref>For properly to make them more direct comfortable and indirect methods effective and providing information as to why they were being used to get people to wear masks, see: Bristow, Nancy K. <i>American Pandemic the Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017for public health.</ref>
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