Author: katacharin – Red-Cross « WordPress.com Tag Feed
Clara Barton is one of those names most of us know, but many of us don’t know much about her. Maybe we know that Barton was a nurse during the American Civil War, or that she went on to found the American Red Cross. But the immensity of her impact and the incredible woman behind it remains mostly a mystery.
For instance, did you know:
- Clara started her career as a teacher. She even established two schools.
- She was one of the first women to work for the federal government in a federal government building.
- She was one of the first women to serve as a battlefield nurse in America.
- After the Civil War, tens of thousands of soldiers were missing. Clara took it upon herself to find them.
- Clara Barton is not only the reason we have an American Red Cross. She’s the reason the Red Cross responds to natural disasters and the reason America ratified the Geneva Convention.
Clara Barton was born December 25, 1821, in Massachusetts. After finishing school herself, she began teaching. Clara went on to establish two schools: one for the children of workers at her brother’s mill and the first free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey. The school in Bordentown was so successful that the powers-that-be felt it was necessary to hire a male principal to run the school. Clara was indignant, exclaiming, “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay.” She left Bordentown, left teaching, and embarked on career number two: working in the United States Patent Office.
Clara began working at the Patent Office in 1854. She was one of the first women to work for the federal government in a federal government building … and it wasn’t easy. Some of her male colleagues teased her, cat-calling her, spreading scandalous rumors about her personal life, and trying to get her fired. In spite of all this, Clara persevered.
However when James Buchanan became president, he demanded loyalty and fired his opponent’s outspoken supporters, including Clara. Barton returned home and essentially waited out Buchanan’s presidency. When Abraham Lincoln was elected, she returned to Washington, DC and to the Patent Office. Then the war broke out—the American Civil War. Clara was staunchly loyal to Union, motivated by the love of her country more than anything else.