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In 1918, there was a huge parade in Philadelphia, a kind of political rally, really. It was September 28th,

a clear fall Saturday. War planes and weapons and marching bands floated their way down

Broad Street, one of Philadelphia's main arteries. American flags swayed with the wind.

It was called the Liberty Loan Parade. There were actually a ton of Liberty Loan parades held

across the country at the same time, but this one in Philadelphia was one of the biggest.

The city organized the parade to drum up morale and more importantly money for World War One.

It was an idea devised by President Woodrow Wilson's administration.

Every major U.S. city in region was expected to sell a certain number of Liberty bonds issued

by the Treasury Department. Citizens would buy these bonds from their personal savings. The government

would get an influx of money for the war effort, and then it would promise to pay Americans back.

The Wilson administration expected the city of Philadelphia to raise 500 million dollars in

Liberty bond sales in the fall of 1918. Thus, the big parade. Government ads and flyers urged

Philadelphiaans to come out that fall Saturday, and they did 200,000 people crowded the streets.

They watched the military floats go by and they chanted songs, and in the midst of it all,

they were approached to buy war bonds. It was a masterclass in the psychology of patriotism.

Only three days later though, an entirely different scene blanketed Philadelphia.

Gone was the intoxicating positive energy of the parade, in its place was pandemic.

Church bells told throughout the city as people started dying.

...