...The Life of Clara Barton...

 

 
     

Clara Barton made a lasting impression on the world with her courage, her mercy, and her willingness to make a difference. In her lifetime, she was a nurse, a teacher, a battle hero and legend, and the founder of America 's greatest emergency aid organization.

Born in New England , Clara Barton was the youngest of five children in a middle-class family. At the age of 17, she became a schoolteacher. In the twelve years of her teaching career, she started her own school and opened the first free school in New Jersey. .

 


At thirty, Clara Barton moved to Washington , D.C. , where she worked in the U.S. patent office. When the Civil War began, she resigned her work and volunteered to be a part of the war effort. She began by delivering supplies and bandages to wounded soldiers, but was soon granted permission to bring aid to the front lines. She served the soldiers with courage and selflessness for two years.

After the war, she petitioned President Lincoln and was permitted to launch a search for missing soldiers. For four years, she was deeply committed to this cause, while delivering lectures on the war, working towards women's suffrage, and participating in black rights acitivism. Her passion and dedication kept her working for the rights of others, even through times of physical weakness.

 

During a visit to Europe on account of her health, Clara Barton began to work for the International Red Cross aid organization. She returned to America with the Iron Cross of Merit from the German emperor—and the idea for an American Red Cross, to help victims of national disasters. At the age of 60, she brought this idea to fruition, singlehandedly starting the organization and directing relief efforts for the next 23 years. The effects of her life work are still evident today, and her example of courage, mercy, and loyalty to a cause shines through the generations.

“Clara Barton was one of America 's greatest heroines - a true patriot and philanthropist who, when she saw a practical need, gave every ounce of her strength to address it.”

 

"I have an almost complete disregard of precedent,
and a faith in the possibility of something better.
It irritates me to be told how things have always been done.
I defy the tyranny of precedent.
I go for anything new that might improve the past." - Clara Barton


"The door that nobody else will go in at,
seems always to swing open widely for me." - Clara Barton