negotiations (Kent 20). Wilson’s hopes for a “just peace” were rivaled by the demands of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, who wanted Germany to pay resourcefully and economically (Kent 21). Wilson would have to use excellent persuasion and intense negotiation in order to secure the peaceful end of war he had outlined a year earlier. While the Paris Peace Conference was ongoing, the influenza outbreak had already reached pandemic proportions.
The specific strain of influenza was particularly virulent and aggressive, often causing the victims to be in a mentally and physically exhausting state, along with the other typical symptoms of the flu (Kent 51). Another particularity of this type of influenza was that even after the disease had passed, patients often had a poor mental state for as much as a month afterwards (Kent 51). In intense negotiations like the ones in Paris, critical thinking, analyzation of dissenting opinion, and a persuasive manner are necessary in order to make a point seem valid. Without full mental and physical capabilities, it would be difficult for even the finest diplomat to effectively negotiate in a typical environment, especially as the outnumbered
opinion. President Wilson was stricken with illness on April 3rd, 1919 (Kent 21). The first reports of Wilson’s illness reached the United States the next day. In the April 4th, 1919 edition of the Trenton Evening Times, it was said that according to Wilson’s physician Admiral Grayson, President Wilson’s illness was expected to “be that of short duration” and that him being bedridden was a “precautionary measure.” Ten days after Wilson fell ill, Grayson wrote a letter to Wilson’s secretary Joseph Tumulty, believing that Wilson’s illness was caused by influenza and that Wilson had not left his room for the last ten days, rendering him unable to participate in negotiations (Grayson Letter 1). Perhaps the most intriguing part of Grayson’s letter was his mention of Colonel House, Wilson’s stand-in to the conference during his illness. Grayson wrote that Colonel House was “the champion Yes, Yes man with Lloyd George, and Yes, Yes with Clemenceau” (Grayson Letter 2). While Wilson was suffering from influenza, his representative had become acquiescent and failed to properly protest the harsh opposite ideals that Wilson had been trying to change.