I am writing this article about Clarissa Harlowe Barton also known as Clara Barton. I will show how Clara Barton was a pioneer of American nursing. My article will examine Clara's life as the founder of the Red Cross and her work to help soldiers during major battles during the Civil War. I will show how nursing was a despised profession during this time and how her perseverance in caring for the less fortunate established many of the ground rules that many nurses today follow despite all the technological innovations in modern medicine.Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in Oxford Massachusetts. The youngest of her 4 siblings in a middle-class family, Clara was home-schooled until the age of 15, where she excelled in her studies before becoming a teacher at 17. When Clara was 10 years old her brother David fell ill, Clara nursed him back to health for 2 years after the doctors gave up, this is where she learned her medical origins. One of Clara Barton's early successes was helping disadvantaged children in her neighborhood by opening a free school in Bordentown, New Jersey. He began the program in 1852 with six children and very little else; by 1853 there were more than 600 children in the program, receiving lessons from teachers housed in locations throughout the city.” (http://bordentownhistory.org/) When Clara was unable to run her own school because she was not a man, she stopped teaching at the school she had created and went on to achieve greater things. America was in crisis during this time due to the many wars are in our country. Women were thought to take care of the home while men went out and fought for our country. When Clara learned of the brief... middle of paper... she sought refuge." The American Red Cross still helps people around the world today. Clara also innovated other policies that are still used today to help nurses to navigate the best and correct way to care for all the individuals we treat today, despite innovations in modern medicine and technology Works Cited (http://bordentownhistory.org/Clara Barton Authors: van Hartesveldt, Fred R. Source. : Great Lives from History: The Nineteenth Century, September 2007, p1-4A JONES, M. (2011). History (09673407), 17(1), 107-131.Frantz, A.K. (1998) Nursing Pride: Clara Barton in the Spanish-American War,98(10), 39Clara Barton's House: Home of American Red Cross.Pryor, Joan S.Social Education, v60 n2 ps1-12 Feb 1996