Clara cared for both the northern and southern soldiers, feeding them, dressing wounds, and comforting the dying on the battlefield. She worked cooperatively with the Sanitary Commission, the Christian Commission, and Dorothea Dix's professional nurses, although she was never officially affiliated with these organizations.
Clara served on the front line from to Near the end of the war, exhausted from her battlefield work and disappointed over a failed wartime romance with a married Colonel, she moved back to Washington D. In Washington, she obtained President Lincoln's approval to search for missing soldiers.
She began publishing lists of missing men and invited the public to write to her if they knew what had happened to the men. She used money made through public speaking engagements where she discussed her experiences on the battlefield to fund her search.
At times, Barton located men who did not want to go back to their old lives and they were angry she had found them. Through her efforts over 20, men were found. In , she suffered a severe emotional and physical breakdown and traveled to Europe to recuperate.
After resting and recovering, she volunteered for the Red Cross' efforts in the Franco-Prussian war. Barton was amazed at how much was accomplished through systematic organization.
She also learned about the Treaty of Geneva that set guidelines for humane treatment of the wounded in wartime. The treaty was accepted by many countries but not the United States.
Clara returned home in after receiving news of her sister's illness. Following her sister's death the following year, Clara suffered a debilitating nervous breakdown from which she was unable to recover on her own. She admitted herself to a sanitarium in Dansville, New York, in Treatment consisted of therapeutic baths, fresh air, sunshine and rest.
It was after this lengthy illness, at the age of sixty, Barton began the work for which she would be most remembered the founding of the American Red Cross.
In May of , with the support of the International Red Cross, she began her crusade for ratification of the Treaty of Geneva and establishment of the American Red Cross. She spent months lobbying senators and congressmen. She also determined the role of the American Red Cross in peacetime to assist victims of natural disasters.
By publicizing this expanded mission of the organization, Barton hoped to win political support. She became involved with any organization or person she thought could further her cause. The Associated Press assisted with publicity.
The GAR an association of Union army veterans provided political power. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony who saw the Red Cross as an opportunity for women to hold positions of importance within a large organization assured her the support of feminists.
The next year, the Treaty of Geneva was ratified by the U. This allowed the American Red Cross to become a formal member of the international organization. Clara believed the ratification of the treaty was the most important achievement of her life's work.
She discussed the peacetime work of the American Red Cross helping victims of natural disasters; her organization's mission was to fill the gap immediately after the disaster, before government was able to respond, providing victims with food, shelter, and clothing.
After Barton's speech, an amendment to the treaty was made stating "Red Cross societies engage in time of peace in humanitarian work—such as taking care of the sick and rendering relief in extraordinary calamities where, as in war, prompt and organized relief is demanded.
Clara Barton's leadership and management style were often criticized. Although she believed that she needed assistance and support, those working for her often left due to frustrations over her dictatorial style. She kept poor records, particularly financial records, and failed to keep her personal income separate from donations to the Red Cross.
Many within the organization thought she was too old to lead it. This infuriated her and she frequently lied about her age and used makeup and dress to present the image of a younger, healthier woman. The President agreed, as he was not impressed with the response of the Red Cross under her leadership in the Spanish-American War. In , a Senate investigation of the American Red Cross cleared Clara Barton of any intentional wrong-doing; though there had been a great deal of internal pressure for her resignation prior to the outcome of the investigation, she waited to resign until after her name was cleared.
Extremely hurt and disappointed by her departure from the Red Cross, Barton knew that keeping busy was the best way to handle her depression. So, in , she started the National First Aid Society. Based on an unsuccessful first aid program she had initiated within the Red Cross, the National First Aid Society did succeed. She made all of the decisions and did not listen to the insight and ideas of other members of the group.
This is why she was asked to step down as the president of the American Red Cross and why they chose to go for a more democratic type of leadership. Clara leadership and management styles are the things about her that are criticized the most.
She was a very authoritarian leader and she did not keep good records especially financial records. It is said that she took money from donations as her personal income. Clara is also criticized as being too old to be in charge of an organization and often lied about her age and used makeup to make herself look younger. Cobb, Kristine. Clara Barton Birthplace Museum. Clara Barton at Antietam.
National Park Service. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Jane Addams was a peace activist and a leader of the settlement house movement in America. As one of the most distinguished of the first generation of college-educated women, she rejected marriage and motherhood in favor of a lifetime commitment to the poor and Dorothea Lynde Dix was an author, teacher and reformer.
Charged during the Her experiences as a nurse during the Crimean War were foundational in her views about sanitation. Women gained the right to vote in with the passage of the 19 Amendment. On Election Day in , millions of American women exercised this right for the first time.
Cultural anthropologist and writer Margaret Meade was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Barnard College in Appointed assistant curator of ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History in , she embarked on two dozen trips to the South Pacific to She came from a privileged background and decided early in life to fight for equal rights for women.
Stanton worked closely with Susan B. Raised on the Quaker tenet that all people are equals, Mott spent her entire life fighting for social and political reform on behalf of Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Organizing an Unprecedented Letter Campaign Whenever possible, Barton recorded the personal information of the soldiers she cared for. Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Florence Nightingale. Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Jane Addams Jane Addams was a peace activist and a leader of the settlement house movement in America.
0コメント