Clara Barton

Every eight minutes, the American Red Cross responds to an emergency. The staff assists the victim however possible. Helping the community is the main goal of the association. Shelter, food, and clothing are provided during natural disasters. The International Organization all began with the work of Clara Barton. Through Clara Barton’s abilities, attitude, and achievements, she is the most influential woman of the twentieth century.
Clara Barton was born in Oxford, Massachusetts on Christmas Day, 1821 to her parents, Stephen and Sarah Barton (Biography.com Editors). As a very productive father, Stephen, was a farmer and miller. He also served in the military during the Indian Wars. He donated money to the poor for houses. Being a very active

War started to break out between Turkey and Russia. It reminded Barton of the time spent working with the Red Cross (Hamilton 86). She greatly expressed the establishment of the American Red Cross (Hamilton 86). Being a U.S. representative of the International Committee, Barton asked America to sign the Geneva Treaty which allowed the organization of the Red Cross and they did so (Hamilton 86). The first time Clara and the Red Cross helped soldiers during wartime was the Spanish-American War (“Founder Clara Barton”). She worked with the American Red Cross during the 1889 Johnstown Flood and the 1900 Galveston Flood (Biography.com Editors). She used lumber from the reconstruction of the Johnstown Flood to build her home (Hamilton 104). Even at the age of seventy-nine, she was still helping people after struggles from a hurricane. She was no longer able to do all of the physical work because of her age, although she did do several things in the hotel rooms (Whitelaw 98). In 1904, she moved on from her organization because of financial problems (Biography.com Editors). She donated so much of her time and money into the organization and never took money for her work (Biography.com Editors). During her time at the American Red Cross, complaints came with the compliments. People saw Clara as an enforcer instead of a leader. They thought she lived off of funds from the Red Cross. She actually had economic problems most of her career but

Learning and living through the struggles of life benefitted Clara. Her work during the Civil War and time spent organizing The American Red Cross both support the idea of true courage. Still saving lives today, the American Red Cross is influencing many individuals tremendously helping those stuck in poverty to those affected by