Essay On Clara Barton And The American Red Cross

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Clara Barton and the American Red Cross Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. She was the youngest child of four. Her parents were Stephen and Sarah Barton. Her father served in the Revolutionary War under General Anthony Wayne. At the age of 15 Clara Barton began teaching at nearby schools. In 1850 she went to teach at Bordentown, New Jersey, where state tradition required paid schooling and thus served few children. Barton offered to teach without salary if payment were waived. She later established the first free school in New Jersey and raised enrollment in Bordentown from 6 to 600. When town officials decided to appoint a male administrator over her, she resigned.…show more content…
There, officials of the International Red Cross, organized in 1864, urged her to seek United States agreement to the Geneva Convention recognizing the work of the Red Cross; the powerful U.S. Sanitary Commission had been unable to obtain it. But before Barton could turn to the task, the Franco-Prussian War began. She offered her services to the Grand Duchess of Baden in administering military hospitals. Her most original idea (developed further in later situations) was to put needy Strasbourg women to work sewing garments for pay. Later, with the French defeated and Paris held by the Commune, she entered the starving city to distribute food and clothing. She served elsewhere in France — in Lyons, again instituting her work system. She was awarded the Iron Cross of Merit by the German emperor, William I, in 1873; this was one of many such honors. Clara Barton settled in Danville, NY, for several years, until in 1881 she started a new career. She incorporated the American Red Cross, with herself as president. A year later her extraordinary efforts brought about United States ratification of the Geneva Convention. She herself attended conferences of the International Red Cross as the American

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