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In my paper, “In the Name of Mercy: The Legacy the American Red Cross on Gender and War,” I would like to examine how historians have conceptualized and viewed the significance of the American Red Cross and its impact on gender and war since its establishment in 1881 and first major humanitarian relief effort during the Johnstown Flood of 1889 to its transformation as a major national humanitarian organization in the First World War. Not only did the American Red Cross experienced phenomenal growth during the Great War but it also implemented various nursing programs including the development of first aid, water safety, and organized public health campaigns in order to alleviate the pain and suffering of soldiers and civilians during the war. The idea that the American Red Cross were “champions of charity” but also “enthusiastic promoters of militarism and sacrifice in times of war” intrigued me when I came across John Hutchinson’s Champions Of Charity: War And The Rise Of The Red Cross. I would like to explore what other historians have written about this subject matter in the field and how they have come to view the American Red Cross over time.
From its humble beginnings as one of the many small organizations that took part in international Red Cross movement, the Johnstown Flood of 1889 played a pivotal role in the history of the American Red Cross and even helped establish the organization as the major disaster relief agency in the United States. Despite its initial goal of providing relief for peacetime disasters, the American Red Cross would eventually provide wartime services as well as international relief efforts in the years that followed. Mostly in part due to the voice and efforts of Clara Barton, the founder and “champion” of the organization, Barton played an important role in both the history and legacy of the American Red Cross when it came to protecting the war-injured and providing disaster relief efforts both at home and abroad. Her experiences in Europe, especially after becoming influenced by Henry Dunant, would come to lay the foundation and framework for the American Red Cross to provide national and international relief efforts during World War I.
In order to trace how historians have approached this topic, I would need to address a couple of questions:
- How have historians viewed the growth and development of the American Red Cross since its early establishment in 1881 to its dramatic transformation as a massive and influential institution by the end of the First World War?
- Despite its success and significance as a major humanitarian relief organization throughout the Great War, was the American Red Cross (in some ways) an instigator of war through its recruitment process and propaganda?
- How did gender and the roles of women play a fundamental role in the American Red Cross in terms of reconstructing gender identities on the battlefields and during wartime in the First World War?
- How have women fashioned new identities for themselves due to increasing employment opportunities that emerged during wartime? What happened to them when they were forced to return to the traditional standards of femininity after the war and during the postwar era?
As for potential primary sources, I will be looking at first-hand accounts of the experiences of the female medical personnel who served abroad during the First World War. These may include, diaries, letters, biographies and personal memoirs, photographs, as well as membership data on the number of American women who volunteered in the war and possibly a summary of the Red Cross’ financial operations during the war.