Colonial america, famine suffered by the donner party en route to california, irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine to create new lives in this country, disaster tourism, the johnstown flood of 1889, the impact of the fire in new york city, and disaster art that emerged from the 1930s dust bowl. So, today, we are discussing davids Pulitzer Prize winner book, polio an american story. You all received questions that i posted and im really interested in the topic because i also teach a seminar on the 1950s and of course thats when this takes place and i think just looking at polio, really, so many different issues that affected that decade. Before starting, though, i just want to mention one thing in light of what we were talking about in terms of dust bowl art. I was reading the new york review of poobooks and there is review of a novel that Woody Guthrie wrote, a novel called house of earth. Doesnt get a very good review. But obviously, he gets some attention. And youll be pleased to know that the introduction was by a historian names Douglas Brinkley and johnny depp, so i think theyre trying to sell copies but having a super star on the cover. Okay, i divided the discussion today into four sort of major themes. We cant cover all of the book but i thought the most interesting thing was looking at philanthropy, the research, scientists and their various personalities, which are interesting. Also the ethical issues. So, with that, lets start with the way we always do when looking at anything we have to read, and that is, first of all, who is david . A professor at the university of texas at austin and a distinguished scholar in residence at nyu. Okay. So, fairly reputable, we would say. Probably knows what hes talking about. I saw that he won the cartwright award, reputable. I saw that he won the cartwright prize from Columbia UniversityMedical Center in 2010 and that was for his research into the history of polio. So that deftly adds some credibility. He also won the Pulitzer Prize award in 2006. Yes, winning a pulitzer is substantial. What did you think of his writing . His scholarship . His research . I was impressed by his thoroughne nesness researching scientists, the politicians, and the foundation. There is a lot, he went as far as he could. When we talk to robert cario who it took him even years to write his book. Very indepth and really a nice variety of people he interviewed. I thought it was a good balance between information and story. I found it very readable. I thought it would take me a long time but i found myself getting into it and i thought it was easy to read and interesting. I think he did a zood job of making it accessible. I think this is a gate interesting story. I think also he did a good job describing the historical part of it. There is also politics of each point. Not only a political aspect, but the politics of science which was an interesting point of you for us to read. Did he sderch the prize . Should we vote . I think thumbs up, right . So obviously a man of some repute and the first recorded outbreak of polio was in vermont in 1894. 123 people caught polio. Another outbrake in 1907 and another major in 1916 that occurred in pig town in brooklyn new york. Some 6,000 people dies from that outbreak. He has an interesting comment or thought to make about why these epidemics suddenly broke out. Why it is in the late 19th and then in the early 20th century. Suddenly we see these so many more people affected by this disease. And what is he saying. How does he tie in the determine theory of disease with his comments about the polio epidemic . He describes its as the age of cleanliness. America became so preoccupied with hygiene, sanitation, and cleaning up the cities. And the youth were not as explode exposed to micro organisms and they were more likely to be infected. And carry that forward, what does that mean in terms of children not being explodes to determines. He said when he got polio as a child it was a lesser dose, it was not as effective. When youre old ter can be stronger, like chicken pox. And particularly when youre really young you have mothers antibodies to withstand the impact of those diseases. Suddenly everyone is washing hands, cleaning clothes, i dont think it is an argument for not washing hands, but it made people more susceptible to polio. So americans were in a panic. What had not been through diseases like this before. I think one factor is that it was primarily children that got it and it wasnt they saw no reason for why it wasnt just children, it was children all across the board, maybe even more so in rich and clean areas. And there was no cause. So this would be like those living if phfilthy conditions. There is was no issue. It hit Young Children. It was called infantile paralysis. It hit children between the anyones of one and three. Here it is affecting innocent children. What else was different about this disease . I think it just lettered very quickly. A couple hours later or a day later they got that disease. And they recently came out with an antibiotic of pen sillen. Penicillin did no good. In some of the later cases it said it could wipe out the entire fame. Totally terrifying. You can just imagine it a child succumbing to this disease. No one knew how to cure it. What was the initial response if someone got polio, how did people react . What did they do initially . What did they do with they were quarantined and they shut down public spaces. Rightly so. They understood it was contagious. I can tell you stories of friends of mine, at least, that remember in childhood when they could not go to the local public womening pull swimming pool. No one could conceive of a federal government supporting medical research. We didnt have National Institute of health. Head kal research, if it had to be funded by individuals or foundations, but it was not generating a response. If you really wanted a good medical education, you went abroad. He had millions, what is hoe going to do with his money. This, of course, is the rockerfe rockerfe rockerfeller institute. So this was new. This was very exciting. And the director of a man that was appointed director of this institute was a man named simon flexler. Did yo get any sense of his personality . Of the man with his institute. Yes, okay, headstrong. And it was like polio was his thing. Te is like one way for the polio research. He ran this institute with an ire fist in the way. This institute took on many, many diseases. They really put polio on the map. They gained a lot more attention. That was frankly roosevelt coming down with polio. He is not an infant. He is a very good, how does oshinsky explain how someone like roosevelt got polio. What happened in his past or recently to him to explain this . He says he was extremely vulnerable because as a child he didnt have many illnesses and as he was growing up he became very active. He was traveling the world, and he also became exhausted and stressed with the amount of work, and his immune system was down. And he was orlando a lot of other people that he could have contracted the disease from. Anyone know about his childhood . Wealthy, so he was celebrated from main stream population that meant that he didnt contract common childhood businesses that wou diseases that would have boosted his immune system. His mother was very controlling, she made sure he was proekted from everybody, and she was something. That was just exactly what was not food for a child. Not having normal exposure. This was a unique dmild this privileged privileged child in this upbringing. He was kaexhausted. Where has he been . The boyscouts convention . A boy scout meeting the day before, that is probably where he contracted polio, what else . He had n been in washington dc. Going through these con if he thinks, so getting exhausted. Were you going to Say Something . Yeah, it was the navy scan l scandal. I dont know if he fell off of a boat or went swimming. He went into really cold water, it is frigid, and he stayed in his bathing suit. He got chilled and it interfered with his immune system. Suddenly we have he woke up and he was paralyzed. And from that point forward he never walked alone. He wore braces. He was breektlyfrequently assis people. He was typically always sitting. He was often in pain. His mother felt the best path would be to come home to hyde park, she would take care of him, but his wife convinced him otherwise. She felt the best thing was for him to reenter public life to try to get back to some kind of normal life if at all possible. And fortunately, of course, that is what he did. Its amazing how many people in this country never realized that roosevelt was was handicap. I have had students do oral histories of people who lived in the 1930s and 40s, and theyre like no, he wasnt paralyzed, they really did not know so e he was determined not to make a big deal of this. Not to become a sympathetic character, and there was a stigma mad being handicap. Youre not, in a sense, a whole person. He didnt want people to know and he did a great job of really hiding this fact. So he returned to a normal life. He partnered with a young man named basil o connor. And the roosevelt heard about this seedy spa down called warm springs, georgia. The waters bubble up and there are minerals in the water and its warm and wonderful. Did any of you see the movie called warm springs . Okay. It was a good movie. He, roosevelt travelled there, and he got into the waters, and this was just enter. It was sooting, it was exactly what he needed. So he spent like two thirds of inheritance buying this property. This is what he needed and other Polio Victims needed the same. So he formed the warm springs foundation. And he built his own cottage, and every summer he would spend weeks there just enjoying these wonderful warm mineral waters. In 1928 life changed again. Roosevelt was asked to be a Vice President ial candidate. So after soul searching, he agreed. They didnt win that, in fact it was pretty cataclysmic outcome. Herbert hoover won, as we know, but roosevelt became government of new york. Well in 1932, of course, Democratic Party decided that roosevelt would be the perfect candidate to run against herbert hoover. Roosevelt ran an incredible upbeat campaign. His song was happy days are here again. And of course he won the presidency and took office in 1933. Now many, now a number of scholars have looked at roosevelt and his character and found that pohl owe had an incredible impact. What did you get out of oshinsky in terms of what polio did for roosevelt as a man. Did it have a positive impact . A negative exact . I think there was a stigma that he realized if he could go in and be such a fundamental challenge that other people that were down and outside out could be the same thing. I didnt really agree that he hid it, but proved that just because you have a physical handicap doesnt mean you can go on to do impressive things. And people would praise this man. Before he had polio, he was called a lightweight, you know . I would not say a playboy, but he was not regarded as a man of great substance. Just a realitiy man who had every privilege in life, but he feels like the polio had a big impact on him. He went through this oshl situation of having to live through this horrible disease, and he emerged, what would you imagine he would emerge with. Here millions of people are suffering economically. How might that affect him as a person . I this it might make him more empathetic. He was able to empathize with feels less than and inferior to people around you. I think it also gave him an inner drive to success. And that just because he was physically handicap didnt mean he wasnt an effective leader. Yes, i think that was very important, the idea that he could overcome this and that it would not cause him to not do his best in any respect. He was going to become a great president despite the disease. And empathy. You know . That was a huge issue. When he ran against herbert hoover, he seemed to be a man that had no question with people who were suffering. And he really suffered physically and he could identify with whatever problem someone was suffering. All right, so obviously roosevelt being in albany as governor of new york, then occupying the white house, suddenly he is extremely busy. And he has no time to really Pay Attention to his foundation down in warm springs. So he appoints Basil Oconnor to take care of it. And the first fund raiding events were what . That used roosevelt effectively. The Birthday Balls . Yeah. Right. What was a Birthday Ball . Wasnt it just a big party or fundraiser basically on his birthday and they would drive in a bunch of not dimes yet. Still into the fancy balls. Just u you have fancy balls, and they are all across the coin try country. And why might people begin to think this is not a good hour. Okay, he is the president , so he is a political party. So you have the political issue, and what message does this deliver . This Birthday Balls. If youre in the heart of the sbregs, how might you the way i look at it is it is not very inviting to the lower class. To say the least, yeah. Definitely some class variances there. Very, very strong issues. So these Birthday Balls are for the elite, people are celebrating, getting dressed up, and there is the democratic president. They created a foundation for the National Foundation for infantile paralysis. It was basil again that took charge of this new foundation. This is when celebrities started to be drawn to this cause. He was a major radio personality and he was the one that coined the afraid march of dimes. There was newsreels before movies and it was call march of times. So it was a new approach. Now what happened . How did this foundation really transform philanthropy in this country. They made it so it was not just the wealthy that could want contribute. Even if you were poor you could send in a couple dimes. It involved the whole country. Yeah, everybody, okay . There is literally the march of dime. Send in your dimes. We dont need a 1,000, and they were inundated. Piles and piles and piles of dimes came in from people who found this really, really appealing. They could do their part, there was radio announcements about the importance of the march of dimes. There was collections in movie theaters. I guess people were now going to the movies. I cant quite figure that out, but they said that the foundation raised about 40 of its contributions in movie theaters. There would be a collection and they would put a dime or quarter in the buckets. If grow to a broadway show in november, in new york city ci, y have this plead for aids research. The actors stand in the lobby and ask you to contribute. The same kind of thing still goes on today far different purpose into what did this do . What did this fundraising do for people in america . How would you feel about it . I think it brought together the nation, it was not just a few people contributes to a cau contributing to a cause. It was a whole nation coming together to fight against polio. And people probably didnt know, didnt have televisions and didnt have no televisions, right. And they didnt have the ability to see newscasts and stuff like that. So it got out the whole notion that polio was there and it was killing a lot of people in the United States. Yeah, this is so new. Draw everybody together. Everybody is invested in this fundraising event. You know . This is your disease, this is what you contribute to. It raeched a class of people that had not even been asked to fundraise before. There is like a little piece oaf cardboard where you put your dimes, so we were all we all had to fill in this little piece of card board. They will hand it into the foundation in some way. So this was huge way to raise money. Then there was the annual Fashion Shows. And while there is this outreach to the people of there was still some events that certainly had a class issue about it. And the Fashion Shows were apparently just amazing. They wow draw all of the hollywood starlets. Harry winston would donate his jewelry for them. So this was incredibly effective. And there was one more aspect that had to do with mothers of america. And who was that. There is a lights on campaign so everyone for one night left their porch lights on and the mothers would go collect change from them and they could focus, everyone knew one night were going out to collect money. It was like a volunteering mother arm. And you would collect money. People would turn on a money. You put out a pair of shoes, please knock, please ring the doorbell. Nothing like this has happened by. I just wanted to mention this briefly. That outbreak in hickory, north carolina, in 1944. A foundation reacted so quickly. There was a outbreak of polio. The foundation moved in with nurses, with doctors, they took over a summer camp. There was very few people who died. This response was really effective. Major change in 1945. Roosevelt died in april of 1945. So that caused a huge change. Movie theaters stopped collecting for polio. Now they decided that the money they collected would go to the united way. Which is a community and polio cases are on the ride. As yet there is no vaccine to off set this. So on to the scientists and on to the medical research. Wondering if you found some of the behavior of these scientists as shocking as i did. Are we dealing with Young Children . Or are we dealing with grown men . I know, oshinsky does a good job getting into the heart of this. So there is an effort by many researchers to fend an effective virus to off set the horrible disease. And three things had to be discovered about polio before any researcher could engage in effective research. What were those three things. They were how many strains or types of the virus there were, how it got to the body and the Central Nervous system, and how to develop a supply of the vaccine for each type. So they had to start typing the strains, and what did they find . Only three strains, rather than 300. They were able to determine just three polio strains. So the point of origin, what had people long believed about how polio entered the body . Do you remember what . That it entered through the nose yeah, simon flexler absolutely knew. No one challenged him. But researchers started to study this and discovered what . That it comes through the mouth. The point of entry is through the mouth, the die digestive track. And the man who discover