The ACER Women Who Changed the World - Clara Barton's Story

The Acer Women Who Changed the World Clara Barton's Story Most people know Clara Barton as the woman who started the Red Cross, but many people do not know that she also was a very successful schoolteacher and the first woman to work in a government position where she earned the same wages as a man. Barton's first job was as a schoolteacher. She eventually opened her own school and instead of electing her as the principal, the school board selected a man for the position. Frustrated with social politics, Barton left education to pursue a career in Washington, D.C., where she was hired at the U.S. Patent Office. It was there that she became the first woman to work as a clerk for the federal government. She further shocked the public when it became known that she was earning a man's salary. Her call to medicine came during the Civil War. She decided to collect and distribute medical supplies to soldiers and eventually obtained permission to go to the battlefield to nurse wounded soldiers where she quickly became known as the Angel on the Battlefield. After the war, Barton traveled to Europe where she learned about the Red Cross. Seeing a need for a branch in the United States, Barton returned to the U.S. where she began to set up the American Red Cross. Barton's interest in helping others was so profound that she never married or had children of her own. Instead, she felt that those she helped were like her children. This remarkable woman died of pneumonia at age 91. Clara Barton left a profound example of love and kindness to the world.