Clara Barton's Impact On American History

Clara Barton
Throughout the course of human history, nothing we do has ever had as rapid and drastic an effect on history as war. Disasters would be near second place, and coincidentally Clara Barton affected both. Out of a multitude of achievements things, she was a nurse during the Civil War, did many things women of her day could not, and started the American Red Cross. Clara Barton was revolutionary for her influence on society and medicine in American history.
Women in her time had little to no power or privilege. She did many amazing things considering this, including the way she entered nursing. “Nursing education was not very formalized at that time and Clara did not attend nursing school” (Summers). Women did not get into nursing easily. Not to mention, she got so prevalent in the field without any formal schooling. Her ideals were unheard of as well. "’I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing,’" she once said, "’but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man's pay.’" (LaFantasie 34). She was let go from her clerk job out of people’s outrage by this. This was one

The Red Cross organization already existed, but she brought it to America and revolutionized it as well. “She wanted the American Red Cross to help the victims of natural disasters, not just war, and she later persuaded the International Red Cross to do that too” (Summers). Along with this, she helped the Red Cross push many treaties. International human kindness had never been this influential. On top of everything, she came up with new ways to care for people. During the war, “She made sure that the leaves were replaced by clean linen dressings from out of her wagon.” (LaFantasie 34). Infection and disease was a leading killer of the Civil War. She pushed this level of sanitation before such a concept was anywhere near common practice. The practice of saving lives has been furthered by miles thanks to