The Life and Death of Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross
Nurses throughout history all have a different story to tell. Whether it is involving a traumatic event or just an overwhelming experience they endured in their life, their impact in the nursing community will always be one to remember. One nurse in particular that has a major impact on society still to this day is Clarissa Harlowe Barton. One interesting thing about Clara that many people don’t know is that she was actually named after a character from a novel. It is said that her aunt was reading a book called Clarissa or the History of a Young Lady when she was born, so her parents chose the name Clara. Ms. Barton played a significant role in the founding of the American Red Cross that we currently have today and in the practice of nursing since the mid-eighteen hundreds.
Background
Clara Barton was born on Christmas Day of 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Clara’s family consisted of her parents, her four older siblings, and herself. Her father was Stephen Barton, who was a former soldier before she was born and then became a successful farmer. Her mother, Sarah Barton, on the other hand was a fiery-tempered homemaker (King, Mann, Nolan, Pryor, Quackerbush, The Standard Reference Work et al, 1997). Clara struggled most days to please either of her parents in any
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She knew the needs of the wounded in the battle and got a group of people together to help them. In order to protect herself while she was out helping the wounded soldiers, Clara made a cross out of red ribbon and wore it. (Barton et al, 1956). More than anything Barton was being a nurse at this time because she distributed supplies for anyone in need of medical care and also helped people in the city of Strasbourg create new clothes that were