The Forgotten Plague Analysis

In the film The Forgotten Plague by Chana Gazit, the story of a disease that usually resulted in death unfolds. Beginning in the early 19th century a disease named consumption swept the American nation, killing “one in seven of all the people who had ever lived”. This was devastating for the country and caused many people to travel towards the south and also to the west in hopes of a cure.
After being told that he had consumption, Edward Trudeau (a young physician) traveled from New York City to the Adirondack Mountains in New York in 1873. He went there to spend his last days on earth in nature. It was in the Adirondack Mountains that Trudeau’s health improved and he believed this was because of the fresh air the mountains had to offer. Those with the consumption disease often experienced extreme weight-loss but while living in the mountains, Trudeau put on weight. This was the beginning of what would later be known by many as the climate cure. The climate cure campaign took off and thousands of people travelled to places like Colorado, Los Angeles, and Denver to breath in their fresh air. The climate change did seem to improve the health of some, but

It became very important to teach American’s how to cough in a way to where they were not spreading the disease as well as to be aware of germs and how they spread. Dr. Lawrence F. Flick organized the Pennsylvania Society for Prevention of Tuberculosis in 1892. Brochures were made to discourage people from spitting, coughing and sneezing. It was during this time that Kleenex made a name for itself that would last for years to come. This new found discovery of germs also changed how women wore their dresses. Women began to where dresses that did not drag on the floor in an effort to not bring germs from the dirt home. As for men, they began shaving their beards because they did not want to give their children or wife tuberculosis through