Thomas Hoerzer

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic in Saint Paul, Minnesota Thomas Hoerzer

The question, whether or not Spanish Influenza influenced the poor and rich alike, is a still debated question. The following work attempts, by an analysis of death certificates from the U. S. city Saint Paul, Minnesota, to shed further light on this topic. Death certificates provide various socio-economic indicators such as occupation, age, marital status, neighborhood, etc. By using this information, and the 1920's census data, it was possible to describe the social environment during the influenza pandemic of 1918/19. Succumbed individuals have been tracked down to their last place of abode, by which mortality rates on the precinct level were obtained. Graphs and maps provide an overview of the pandemic's course and its spatial impact. Sources concerning the social environment of the city's neighborhoods helped to put the data into context. Results point to a clear influence of socio-economic factors on influenza and pneumonia mortality, respectively. However, apparently some neighborhoods with strong social ties seemed to withstand the pandemic better than others. Additionally, a comparison of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the so-called Twin Cities, indicated that local politics had immense impact on influenza mortality, for good or for bad.