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History and Timeline |
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A Brief History of the American Red
Cross
 Clara
Barton and a circle of acquaintances founded the
American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. on May
21, 1881. Barton first heard of the
Swiss-inspired international Red Cross network
while visiting Europe following the Civil War.
Returning home, she campaigned for an American
Red Cross society and for ratification of the
Geneva Convention protecting the war-injured,
which the United States ratified in 1882.
Barton headed the Red
Cross for 23 years, during which time it
conducted its first domestic and
overseas disaster relief efforts, aided
the United States military during the
Spanish-American War, and campaigned
successfully for the inclusion of
peacetime relief work as part of the
International Red Cross Movement-the
so-called "American Amendment" that
initially met with some resistance in
Europe.
The Red Cross
received its first congressional
charter in 1900 and a second in
1905, the year after Barton resigned
from the organization. This
charter-which remains in effect
today-sets forth the purposes of the
organization that include giving
relief to and serving as a medium of
communication between members of the
American armed forces and their
families and providing national and
international disaster relief and
mitigation.
Prior to the
First World War, the Red Cross
introduced its first aid, water
safety, and public health
nursing programs. With the
outbreak of war, the
organization experienced
phenomenal growth. The number of
local chapters jumped from 107
in 1914 to 3,864 in 1918 and
membership grew from 17,000 to
more than 20 million adult and
11 million Junior Red Cross
members. The public contributed
$400 million in funds and
material to support Red Cross
programs, including those for
American and Allied forces and
civilian refugees. The Red Cross
staffed hospitals and ambulance
companies and recruited 20,000
registered nurses to serve the
military. Additional Red Cross
nurses came forward to combat
the worldwide influenza epidemic
of 1918.
After the
war, the Red Cross focused
on service to veterans and
enhanced its programs in
safety training, accident
prevention, home care for
the sick and nutrition
education. It also provided
relief for victims of such
major disasters as the
Mississippi River floods in
1927 and severe drought and
the Depression during the
1930s.
The
Second World War called
upon the Red Cross to
provide extensive
services once again to
the U.S. military,
Allies, and civilian war
victims. It enrolled
more than 104,000 nurses
for military service,
prepared 27 million
packages for American
and Allied prisoners of
war, and shipped more
than 300,000 tons of
supplies overseas. At
the military's request,
the Red Cross also
initiated a national
blood program that
collected 13.3 million
pints of blood for use
by the armed forces.
After
World War II, the
Red Cross introduced
the first nationwide
civilian blood
program that now
supplies nearly 50
percent of the blood
and blood products
in this country. The
Red Cross expanded
its role in
biomedical research
and entered the new
field of human
tissue banking and
distribution. During
the 1990s, it
engineered a massive
modernization of its
blood services
operations to
improve the safety
of its blood
products. It
continued to provide
services to members
of the armed forces
and their families,
including during the
Korean, Vietnam, and
Gulf wars. The Red
Cross also expanded
its services into
such fields as civil
defense, CPR/AED
training, HIV/AIDS
education, and the
provision of
emotional care and
support to disaster
victims and their
survivors. It helped
the federal
government form the
Federal Emergency
Management Agency
(FEMA) and serves as
its principal
supplier of mass
care in federally
declared disasters.
While closely
associated with
the federal
government in
the promotion of
its objectives,
the Red Cross is
an independent,
volunteer-led
organization,
financially
supported by
voluntary public
contributions
and
cost-reimbursement
charges. A
50-member, all
volunteer Board
of Governors
leads the
organization.
The president of
the United
States, who is
honorary
chairman of the
Red Cross,
appoints eight
governors,
including the
chairman of the
board. The
chairman
nominates and
the board elects
the president of
the Red Cross
who is
responsible for
carrying into
effect the
policies and
programs of the
board. The
American Red
Cross works
closely with the
International
Committee of the
Red Cross on
matters of
international
conflict and
social,
political, and
military unrest.
As a member of
the
International
Federation of
Red Cross and
Red Crescent
Societies, which
it helped found
in 1919, the
American Red
Cross joins more
than 175 other
national
societies in
bringing aid to
victims of
disasters
throughout the
world.
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