Clara Barton who founded the American Red Cross had many significant accomplishments in her life, and possessed many of the traits for success, but her inability to work as part of a team, be held accountable to others, and also delegate, placed her in an embarrassing situation.
Name: Clara Barton
Birth Date: December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912
Job Functions: Nurse, Teacher, Administrator
Fields: Nursing, Teaching, Administration
Known For: Founding the American Red Cross
Lessons from Clara Barton
- Clara Barton knew how to get things done. However, she was not a team player, refused to consult others and delegate responsibilities and did not like to be accountable to anyone. She was unable to manage the American Red Cross and was placed in an uncomfortable situation so she resigned.
- On the other hand, Barton knew how to build alliances with power brokers.
- Responded quickly and practically to an immediate need, welcomed the opportunity to spearhead difficult enterprises, was persistent, courageous and fiercely independent which contributed to her success
Application
If possible, align and work with people whose skills complement yours.- Seek the advice of others, and based on what you have heard, make your own decisions.
- Delegate responsibilities when you can.
- Have safeguards in place to hold you accountable.
- Be willing to assist others.
Clara Barton’s Steps to Success
- At age 15, Clara began teaching, which was her profession for 18 years. She started her teaching career at village schools.
- Was a distinguished student. In 1851, when she felt that she needed more education. At that time, she enrolled for a course at the Liberal Institute, an experimental college in Clinton, New Jersey.
- After completing the course she accepted a teaching position at Bordentown, New Jersey, and at the time students had to pay school fees, which was the teacher’s salary. Barton noticed that the practice excluded many students so she offered to work without a salary so that school would be free for all. Although there was fierce opposition to the idea of free education, she persuaded the key stakeholders, and it was such a great success that they needed a bigger schoolhouse and had to hire a teaching assistant.
- Sexism reared its ugly head when the town officials appointed a male administrator, after she had invested so much time and energy in establishing the school. Barton resigned and her career as a teacher was over.
- Suffered from nervous breakdown, partly from the uncertainty now facing her career, and in 1854 went to Washington to recover from her illness. While there, she accepted an appointment as copyist at the Patent Office – it was the first independent clerkship held by a women.
- Resigned from the Patent Office in 1861 at the start of the American Civil War to serve the Federal troops. She nursed sick and wounded solders. A problem she encountered was lack of supplies, so Barton took the initiative and advertised in the Worcester Spy for the wounded – the response was so overwhelming and that she had to establish a distributing agency. She never discriminated between soldiers in the North or the South.
- In September 1869, once again suffering from illness, Barton traveled to Switzerland to rest and recover. While in Europe, the Franco-Prussian war broke out and once again she immersed herself in relief work.
- Became associated with the International Red Cross of Geneva, and distributed relief in Strassburg, Paris, Lyons, Belfort, and Montpellier. A supporter of the marginalized, Barton devised a plan for destitute women to get paid for work they performed. She started in Strassburg and replicated her plan in Lyons.
- Thirty-two nations held membership under the neutral flag of the Red Cross, but the United States was not among them. Gustave Moynier, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, asked Barton to serve as the official bearer of an invitation to the President of the United States to endorse the articles of the Geneva Convention.
- Returned to the US in 1873, but President Rutherford Hayes ignored the invitation. His successor, President James A. Garfield offered to support the initiative, however he was assassinated. Fortunately his successor, President Chester A. Arthur urged her to establish the American Red Cross to prepare for America’s accession to the Geneva Treaty.
- In 1881, the American National Red Cross was formed. In 1882, it became a member of the International Red Cross. Barton served as the president for 23 years until 1904 when she resigned.
Biggest Accomplishments Why Clara Barton’s Contribution Matters
- One of Clara Barton’s biggest accomplishments was establishing the American Red Cross.
- She was awarded the Iron Cross of Merit, which was presented by the Emperor and Empress of Germany, and the Gold Cross of Remembrance, presented by the Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden.
- Barton was always willing to lend a hand. When she was young, her father often talked to her about his wartime experience. He also nursed her brother back to health, which gave her the experience she needed to nurse wounded soldiers. She did what needed doing.
- Because she dedicated so much time with the wounded soldiers, she became known as the “Florence Nightingale of America” and “Angel of the Battlefield.” People would write asking her to family members who were soldiers. After the Civil War ended, Barton devoted herself to finding out what happened to those soldiers who were missing in action. Shortly before Abraham Lincoln’s death, he gave her some money to finance the project.
Why would Clara Barton make a good invisible mentor?
She always took the initiative and performed tasks that needed sponsors.
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Sources Cited/Referenced
Encyclopedia of World Biography
Dictionary of American Biography
Science and Its Times
Historic World Leaders
Women in World History
Spanish-American War: Biographies
American Civil War: Biographies
Who Was Clara Barton?
Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross (Childhood of Famous Americans)Clara Barton: Spirit of the American Red Cross (Ready-to-read SOFA)Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire (Heroes of History) (Heroes of HistoryTime For Kids: Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield (Time for Kids Biographies)A Story of the Red Cross: Glimpses of Field Work (History of Nursing Series)
