How a flu virus shut down the US economy in 1872 – by infecting horses
- Written by Ernest Freeberg, Professor of History, University of Tennessee
Henry Bergh (in top hat) stopping an overcrowded horsecar, from Harper's Weekly, Sept. 21, 1872.
Library of CongressIn 1872 the U.S. economy was growing as the young nation industrialized and expanded westward. Then in the autumn, a sudden shock paralyzed social and economic life. It was an energy crisis of sorts, but not a shortage of fossil...
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