VOICE ONE:
THIS IS RAY FREEMAN.
VOICE TWO:
AND THIS IS SHIRLEY GRIFFITH WITH THE VOA SPECIAL ENGLISHPROGRAM, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. EVERY WEEK WE TELL ABOUT A PERSON WHOWAS IMPORTANT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. TODAY WE TELLABOUT A WOMAN WHO SPENT HER LIFE CARING FOR OTHERS, CLARA BARTON.
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VOICE ONE:
CLARA BARTON WAS A SMALL WOMAN. YET SHE MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE INMANY LIVES. TODAY HER WORK CONTINUES TO BE IMPORTANT TO THOUSANDS OFPEOPLE IN TROUBLE.
CLARA BARTON WAS AN UNUSUAL WOMAN FOR HER TIME. SHE WAS BORN ONCHRISTMAS DAY, DECEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH, EIGHTEEN-TWENTY-ONE. IN THOSEDAYS, MOST WOMEN WERE EXPECTED TO MARRY, HAVE CHILDREN AND STAY HOMETO TAKE CARE OF THEM. BARTON, HOWEVER, BECAME DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THEWORLD.
BY THE TIME OF HER DEATH IN NINETEEN-TWELVE, SHE HAD BEGUN AREVOLUTION THAT LED TO THE RIGHT OF WOMEN TO DO RESPONSIBLE WORK FORSOCIETY. AS A NURSE, SHE CARED FOR THOUSANDS OF WOUNDED SOLDIERS.SHE BEGAN THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. AND, SHE SUCCESSFULLY URGED THEAMERICAN GOVERNMENT TO ACCEPT THE GENEVA CONVENTION. THAT TREATYESTABLISHED STANDARDS FOR CONDITIONS FOR SOLDIERS INJURED ORCAPTURED DURING WARTIME.
VOICE TWO:
CLARA BARTON REALLY BEGAN HER LIFE OF CARING FOR THE SICK WHENSHE WAS ONLY ELEVEN YEARS OLD. SHE LIVED WITH HER FAMILY ON A FARMIN THE NORTHEASTERN STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. ONE OF HER BROTHERS,DAVID, WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED WHILE HELPING BUILD A BARN. FOR TWOYEARS, CLARA BARTON TOOK CARE OF DAVID UNTIL HE WAS HEALED.
MOST ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRLS WOULD HAVE FOUND THE JOB IMPOSSIBLE.BUT CLARA FELT A GREAT NEED TO HELP. AND SHE WAS VERY GOOD AT IT.SHE ALSO SEEMED TO FEEL MOST SAFE WHEN SHE WAS AT HOME WITH HERMOTHER AND FATHER, OR RIDING A HORSE ON HER FAMILY’S LAND.
AS A YOUNG CHILD, CLARA HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY STUDYING AND MAKINGFRIENDS AT SCHOOL. HER FOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WERE MUCH OLDERTHAN SHE. SEVERAL OF THEM WERE TEACHERS. FOR MOST OF CLARA’S EARLYYEARS, SHE WAS TAUGHT AT HOME. SHE FINISHED SCHOOL AT AGE FIFTEEN.THEN SHE WENT TO WORK IN HER BROTHER DAVID’S CLOTHING FACTORY. THEFACTORY SOON BURNED, LEAVING HER WITHOUT A JOB.
VOICE ONE:
CLARA BARTON DECIDED TO TEACH SCHOOL. IN EIGHTEEN THIRTY-SIX, SHEPASSED THE TEACHER’S TEST AND BEGAN TEACHING NEAR HER HOME IN NORTHOXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS. SHE BECAME AN EXTREMELY POPULAR AND RESPECTEDTEACHER.
AFTER SIXTEEN YEARS TEACHING, SHE REALIZED SHE DID NOT KNOW ALLSHE WANTED TO KNOW. SHE WANTED MORE EDUCATION. VERY FEW UNIVERSITIESACCEPTED WOMEN IN THOSE DAYS. SO CLARA WENT TO A SPECIAL SCHOOL FORGIRLS IN MASSACHUSETTS. WHILE IN THAT SCHOOL, SHE BECAME INTERESTEDIN PUBLIC EDUCATION.
VOICE TWO:
AFTER SHE GRADUATED, A FRIEND SUGGESTED SHE TRY TO ESTABLISH THEFIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. OFFICIALS THERESEEMED TO THINK THAT EDUCATION WAS ONLY FOR CHILDREN WHOSE PARENTSHAD ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
THE OFFICIALS DID NOT WANT BARTON TO START A SCHOOL FOR POORPEOPLE. BUT SHE OFFERED TO TEACH WITHOUT PAY FOR THREE MONTHS. SHETOLD THE OFFICIALS THAT THEY COULD DECIDE AFTER THAT IF SHE HAD BEENSUCCESSFUL. THEY GAVE HER AN OLD BUILDING WITH POOR EQUIPMENT. ANDTHEY GAVE HER SIX VERY ACTIVE LITTLE BOYS TO TEACH.
AT THE END OF FIVE WEEKS, THE SCHOOL WAS TOO SMALL FOR THE NUMBEROF CHILDREN WHO WANTED TO ATTEND. BY THE END OF THE YEAR, THE TOWNBUILT HER A BIGGER, BETTER SCHOOL. THEY HAD TO GIVE HER MORE SPACE.SHE THEN HAD SIX-HUNDRED STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL.
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VOICE ONE:
WITHIN A YEAR, CLARA BARTON HAD LOST HER VOICE. SHE HAD TO GIVEUP TEACHING. SHE MOVED TO WASHINGTON, D.C. TO BEGIN A NEW JOBWRITING DOCUMENTS FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
CLARA BARTON STARTED HER LIFE AS A NURSE DURING THE EARLY DAYS OFTHE CIVIL WAR IN EIGHTEEN SIXTY-ONE. ONE DAY, SHE WENT TO THE TRAINCENTER IN WASHINGTON TO MEET A GROUP OF SOLDIERS FROM MASSACHUSETTS.MANY OF THEM HAD BEEN HER FRIENDS. SHE BEGAN TAKING CARE OF THEIRWOUNDS.
NOT LONG AFTER, SHE LEFT HER OFFICE JOB. SHE BECAME A FULL-TIMENURSE FOR THE WOUNDED ON THEIR WAY FROM THE FIELDS OF BATTLE TO THEHOSPITAL.
SOON, BARTON RECOGNIZED THAT MANY MORE LIVES COULD BE SAVED IFTHE MEN HAD MEDICAL HELP IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY WERE HURT. ARMYRULES WOULD NOT PERMIT ANYONE EXCEPT MALE SOLDIERS TO BE ON THEBATTLEFIELD. BUT BARTON TOOK HER PLANS FOR HELPING THE WOUNDED TO AHIGH ARMY OFFICIAL. HE APPROVED HER PLANS.
VOICE TWO:
BARTON AND A FEW OTHER WOMEN WORKED IN THE BATTLE AREAS AROUNDWASHINGTON. SHE HEARD ABOUT THE SECOND FIERCE BATTLE AT BULL RUN INTHE NEARBY STATE OF VIRGINIA. SHE GOT INTO A RAILROAD CAR ANDTRAVELED THERE.
BULL RUN MUST HAVE BEEN A FEARFUL SIGHT. NORTHERN FORCES WERELOSING A MAJOR BATTLE THERE. EVERYWHERE BARTON LOOKED LAY WOUNDEDAND DYING MEN.
DAY AND NIGHT SHE WORKED TO HELP THE SUFFERING. WHEN THE LASTSOLDIER HAD BEEN PLACED ON A TRAIN, BARTON FINALLY LEFT. SHE WASJUST IN TIME TO ESCAPE THE SOUTHERN ARMY. SHE ESCAPED BY RIDING AHORSE, A SKILL SHE GAINED AS A YOUNG GIRL.
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VOICE ONE:
FOR FOUR YEARS, CLARA BARTON WAS AT THE FRONT LINES OF THEBLOODIEST BATTLES IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH. SHEWAS THERE AT ANTIETAM, FREDERICKSBURG, AND CHARLESTON. SHE WAS THEREAT SPOTTSYLVANIA, PETERSBURG, AND RICHMOND. SHE CLEANED THE WOUNDSOF BADLY INJURED SOLDIERS. SHE EASED THE PAIN OF THE DYING. AND SHEFED THOSE WHO SURVIVED.
WHEN SHE RETURNED TO WASHINGTON, CLARA BARTON FOUND SHE WAS AHERO. SHE HAD PROVED THAT WOMEN COULD WORK IN TERRIBLE CONDITIONS.SHE MADE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WOMEN COULD PROVIDE GOOD MEDICALCARE. SHE ALSO SHOWED THAT NURSING WAS AN HONORABLE PROFESSION.
AFTER THE WAR ENDED, BARTON’S DOCTOR SENT HER TO EUROPE TO REST.INSTEAD OF RESTING, SHE MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THEINTERNATIONAL RED CROSS. THE ORGANIZATION HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED INEIGHTEEN-SIXTY-THREE TO OFFER BETTER TREATMENT FOR PEOPLE WOUNDED ORCAPTURED DURING WARS. SHE WAS TOLD THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS THEONLY MAJOR NATION THAT REFUSED TO JOIN.
VOICE TWO:
BARTON BEGAN PLANNING A CAMPAIGN TO CREATE AN AMERICAN RED CROSS.BEFORE SHE COULD GO HOME, THOUGH, THE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND PRUSSIABEGAN IN EIGHTEEN-SEVENTY.
AGAIN, CLARA BARTON WENT TO THE FIELDS OF BATTLE TO NURSE THEWOUNDED. AFTER A WHILE HER EYES BECAME INFECTED. THE WOMAN OF ACTIONWAS ORDERED TO REMAIN QUIET FOR MONTHS IN A DARK ROOM, OR BECOMEBLIND.
WHEN SHE RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES SHE AGAIN SUFFERED ASERIOUS SICKNESS. SHE USED THE TIME IN A HOSPITAL TO WRITE LETTERSIN SUPPORT OF AN AMERICAN RED CROSS ORGANIZATION.
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VOICE ONE:
IN EIGHTEEN-EIGHTY-ONE, BARTON’S CAMPAIGN PROVED SUCCESSFUL. THEUNITED STATES CONGRESS SIGNED THE WORLD’S TREATY OF THEINTERNATIONAL RED CROSS. THIS ESTABLISHED THE AMERICAN CHAPTER OFTHE RED CROSS. CLARA BARTON HAD REACHED ONE OF HER MAJOR GOALS INLIFE.
THE NEXT YEAR SHE SUCCESSFULLY URGED CONGRESS TO ACCEPT THEGENEVA CONVENTION. THIS TREATY SET THE INTERNATIONAL RULES FORTREATMENT OF SOLDIERS WOUNDED OR CAPTURED IN WAR.
FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, CLARA BARTON CONTINUED AS THE PRESIDENT OFTHE AMERICAN RED CROSS. UNDER HER GUIDANCE, THE ORGANIZATION HELPEDPEOPLE IN ALL KINDS OF TROUBLE. SHE DIRECTED THE AID EFFORTS FORVICTIMS OF FLOODS IN JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA AND GALVESTON, TEXAS.SHE LED RED CROSS WORKERS IN FLORIDA DURING A OUTBREAK OF THEDISEASE YELLOW FEVER. AND SHE HELPED DURING PERIODS WHEN PEOPLE WERESTARVING IN RUSSIA AND ARMENIA.
VOICE TWO:
CLARA BARTON RETIRED WHEN SHE WAS IN HER MIDDLE EIGHTIES. FOR HERLAST HOME, SHE CHOSE A HUGE OLD BUILDING NEAR WASHINGTON, D.C. THEBUILDING HAD BEEN USED FOR KEEPING RED CROSS EQUIPMENT AND THEN ASHER OFFICE. IT WAS MADE WITH MATERIAL SAVED FROM AID CENTERS BUILTAFTER THE FLOOD IN JOHNSTOWN.
IN THAT HOUSE ON THE POTOMAC RIVER, CLARA BARTON LIVED HERREMAINING DAYS. SHE DIED AFTER A LIFE OF SERVICE TO OTHERS IN APRILNINETEEN-TWELVE, AT AGE NINETY.
SHE OFTEN SAID, “YOU MUST NEVER SO MUCH AS THINK IF YOU LIKE ITOR NOT, IF IT IS BEARABLE OR NOT. YOU MUST NEVER THINK OF ANYTHINGEXCEPT THE NEED — AND HOW TO MEET IT. “
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VOICE ONE:
THIS SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY JERI WATSON. I’M RAYFREEMAN.
VOICE TWO:
AND I’M SHIRLEY GRIFFITH. JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHERPEOPLE IN AMERICA PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA.