The Polio Crusade

From WGBH American Experience video series is this 2009 film, a one-hour documentary from filmmaker Sarah Colt that looks back at the 1950s--when the disease was ravaging young lives--and chronicles the Salk and Sabin quest to create a vaccine. Based in part on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky, the film interweaves intimate personal accounts of polio survivors, historians, authors and journalists with the stories of the ardent crusaders and scientists who raced to eradicate the dreaded disease.

Highlighted is the decades-long effort, fueled by the bold leadership of a single philanthropy, The March of Dimes, and its innovative public relations campaign, as well as the bitter battle between two scientists and the breakthrough of a forgotten woman researcher. The eradication of polio ranks high on the list of American achievements. The story of the polio crusade pays tribute to a time when Americans banded together to conquer a terrible disease. The medical breakthrough saved countless lives and had a pervasive impact on American philanthropy that continues to be felt today.

The website also contains further reading resources, including an interview with polio survivor Larry Becker, and a Teacher's Guide.

Click this link to watch the entire video on-line.