A parade that killed thousands?

How the refusal to ban large public gatherings during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic led to disaster. Here's everything you need to know:

Why hold a parade?

America was in the waning months of World War I, and officials across the country were under enormous pressure to sell war bonds, or Liberty Loans. Big parades were staged in major cities to rally the public behind the war bond effort. On Sept. 28, 1918, Philadelphia city officials refused to cancel their parade amid the Spanish flu pandemic, with devastating health consequences....