I am writing this paper on Clarissa Harlowe Barton also known as Clara Barton. I will show how Clara Barton was a pioneer in American nursing. My paper will examine Clara’s life as the founder of the Red Cross and her work to aid soldiers during major battles during the Civil War. I will show how nursing was a profession that was looked down upon during this time and how her perseverance to care for those less fortunate set many of the ground rules that many of today’s nurses follow even with all the technological innovations in modern medicine.
Clara Barton was born December 25, 1821 in Oxford Massachusetts. She was the youngest of her 4 siblings in a middle class family, Clara was home schooled until the age of 15, where she excelled in academics before she became a teacher at 17. When Clara was 10 her brother david became ill, Clara nursed him back to health for 2 years after medical doctors gave up this is where she learned her medical beginings.
One of the most earliest accomplishments of Clara Barton was to aid the underprivileged kids of her neighborhood by opening a free school in Bordentown, New Jersey.” She started the program in 1852 with six children and very little else, by 1853 there were over 600 children in the program, receiving lessons from teachers housed in locations all over the city”. (http://bordentownhistory.org/) When Clara was unable to run her own school because she was not a man she quit teaching at the school she created and continued to accomplish greater things.
America was in a crisis during this time due to the great many war’s in our country. Women were thought to be the care takers at home while the men went out and fought for our country. When the Clara heard of the shor...
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...ials for shelter.” The American Red Cross still help’s those around the world today . Clara also innovated other policies that are still used today to help guide nurses on the best and proper way to care for the whole individuals we treat today dispite inovations in modern medicine and technology
Works Cited
(http://bordentownhistory.org/
Clara Barton Authors: van Hartesveldt, Fred R.
Source:Great Lives from History: The Nineteenth Century; September 2007, p1-4
A. JONES, M. (2011). Race, Class and Gender Disparities in Clara Barton's Late Nineteenth-Century Disaster Relief. Environment & History (09673407), 17(1), 107-131.
Frantz, A. K. (1998). Nursing Pride: Clara Barton in the Spanish-American War. American Journal Of Nursing,98(10), 39
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross.
Pryor, Joan S.
Social Education, v60 n2 ps1-12 Feb 1996
Born on December 25, 1921, Clara grew up in a family of four children, all at least 11 years older than her (Pryor, 3). Clara’s childhood was more of one that had several babysitters than siblings, each taking part of her education. Clara excelled at the academic part of life, but was very timid among strangers. School was not a particularly happy point in her life, being unable to fit in with her rambunctious classmates after having such a quiet childhood. The idea of being a burden to the family was in Clara’s head and felt that the way to win the affection of her family was to do extremely well in her classes to find the love that she felt was needed to be earned. She was extremely proud of the positive attention that her achievement of an academic scholarship (Pryor, 12). This praise for her accomplishment in the field of academics enriched her “taste for masculine accomplishments”. Her mother however, began to take notice of this and began to teach her to “be more feminine” by cooking dinners and building fires (Pryor, 15). The 1830’s was a time when the women of the United States really began to take a stand for the rights that they deserved (Duiker, 552). Growing up in the mist of this most likely helped Barton become the woman she turned out to be.
From childhood to death Clara Barton dedicated her life to helping others. She is most notably remembered for her work as a nurse on the battlefield during the Civil War and for the creation of the American Red Cross. Barton was also an advocate for human rights. Equal rights for all men, women, black and white. She worked on the American equal Rights Association and formed relations with civil rights leaders such as Anna Dickensen and Fredric Douglass. Her undeterred determination and selflessness is undoughtably what made her one of the most noteworthy nurses in American history.
Clara Barton attacked many social problems of the 1800’s. From creating a free school, to being on the front lines helping soldiers in the Civil War, to creating the American Red Cross, Clara Barton was a humanitarian. She fought for what she believed in and because of her never-ending fight for people, the world is a different place.
Clara Bartonś life before the civil war molded her to be an influential person in our nation's history. Born in Massachusetts in 1821 Clara Harlowe Barton was the youngest of six children. Barton reinforced her early education with practical experience, working as a clerk and bookkeeper for her oldest brother (civil war trust). Her siblings and family helped her with her education. Sally and Dorothy, her two sisters, taught Clara how to read. Stephen,
One of Harriet’s greatest achievements is that Harriet had worked as a nurse in the civil war. During the Civil war Harriet had worked in a hospital helping wounded soldiers. For four years and hard effort she did not ...
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Joseph Campbell). Clara Barton could be regarded as a hero because she went into several military battles during the civil war with a strong mindset to help the soldiers who were wounded and to provide supplies that were needed but scarce17.She was a woman of many talents who accomplished a lot but became best known for the founding of the Red Cross in America. Her humanitarian contributions and compassionate personality allowed her to connect with many people. As inspiring as Clara Barton was, she wasn’t born a hero but became one with the influence of her younger years. Clara Barton’s family life and personal struggles when she was younger, ultimately shaped
Almost all Americans have learned about the iconic people in American history including George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln. Although all of them deserve their recognition, they aren’t the only ones who have changed history. Many Americans, not just a select few, changed history and created the America we know today. One in particular is Clarissa Harlowe Barton, who went by the name of Clara. At the time Clara lived, women were still considered inferior to men. Throughout her work, she faced much sexism, but she worked past it and created a legacy for herself. Also occurring during her life was the Civil War, which she was a very helpful part of. Clara’s most well known achievement is her founding of the American Red Cross. In addition to that, Clara also established the nation’s first free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey, worked as a field nurse during the Civil War, and supported the movement for women’s suffrage. Barton has received little recognition for her efforts, but the work she did is still being continued today at the American Red Cross where they give relief to the victims 70,000 every year. By understanding her life and the work she did, people are able to realize the impact she had on the world, for it far exceeds that of which she is recognized with.
Shortly after the Civil War began, both sides realized that they were running short on staffing for their hospitals. Usually, “A working woman was an object of pity or scorn in Victorian America.” (USAHEC.org). Women were usually devoting their lives to caring for their husband and children; creating a nice, clean home (The History Channel Website, 2013). If they did nurse, it was only in their homes and for their family members (Egenes, 2009). The Civil War was the first time that women really played an important role in a war effort (The History Channel Website, 2013). When they found out that each side was in need of nurses, women immediately started volunteering to “help the war efforts of their side” (Freemon, 1998). Most of the women focused on helping wounded and sick soldiers (Freemon, 1998). Women of all ages and social classes nursed both Union and...
Over 5000 volunteer nurses’ north and south served in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses were of all sorts and came from all over. Women wanted to be involved in this national struggle in any way they could. They did not want to stay home and play their traditional domestic roles that social convention and minimal career opportunities had confined the majority of their sex to. Many women thought of nursing as an extension of their home duties, almost like taking care of “their boys.” They recall the Civil War as a time when their work as nurses made a difference. It gave them an opportunity to prove they had the ability and courage to help.
In the 1800’s, representation among women was rare and not necessarily a cherished thing. In a time where women were just starting to recognize their capabilities, and men started to cling desperately to their power, Ms. Clarissa Harlowe Barton, or “Clara,” as she preferred to be called, emerged as a beacon of hope, love, and devotion (Redcross). Throughout her lengthy life, Clara Barton worked toward the admirable goal of changing the world and healing all those who needed it. Clara Barton helped to shape the history, and unforetold future of America, by founding the American Red Cross, helping those in need to the best of her ability, and remaining today as an astounding symbol of female empowerment.
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