English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

English - Essay Example She worked as a school teacher for several years, but decided to further her education in western New York. After a year, she moved to New Jersey and established New Jersey’s first free public school. She was removed from her position at this school simply because she was a woman, prompting her to begin a personal quest for equal rights for women (National Park Service). Clara moved from New Jersey to work in the U.S. Patent Office as a clerk. While there, wounded soldiers began to stream into Washington D.C. She saw that the supplies the surgeons and doctors needed to adequately care for the wounded were not available. She was determined to do something. Barton solicited funds for supplies by advertising the plight of wounded soldiers in papers and magazines in New England. The effort was so successful, Clara Barton was appointed Superintendant of Nurses in 1861 and granted permission to travel to war zones to deliver supplies and care for the wounded (Faust). Clara Barton’s efforts during the Civil War were not limited to nursing. At the end of the war, 13,000 soldiers were still unidentified. She worked tirelessly to investigate who these men were so their families could receive word of their deaths. This daunting task left Clara exhausted physically and emotionally. She was sent to Europe to recuperate and to rest. While there, however, she witnessed the plight of civilians resulting from the Franco-Prussian War. A new chapter of caring was about to begin in Clara Barton’s life. While in Europe, Clara was introduced to a new organization known as the Red Cross. The Red Cross cared for the victims of war. Clara Barton returned to the United States eager to start the Red Cross here. She tried for many years but was unsuccessful because most Americans could not imagine fighting another war after the Civil War. After seven years of effort, the first American Red Cross chapter was opened in