The American Red Cross from Clara Barton to the New Deal by Marian Moser Jones (review)

The story of Clara Barton’s work during the Civil War, her tireless efforts to gather supplies and aid battlefield victims, and her work after the war to identify dead and missing soldiers are the subject of many books, including Stephen Oates's Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War (1995). The organization and the work of the American Red Cross mirrored Barton’s personality, and this would affect its mission after her active years ended.

Marian Moser Jones clearly states her goal: “This present volume offers not a comprehensive history of the American Red Cross, but rather a thorough analysis of the organization’s origins, principles, and practices in the disaster and humanitarian relief arena” (ix). She explores the history of natural and man-made disasters in the United States during the period between the Civil War and the beginning of World War II as well as the spirits of volunteerism and local response that dominated the United States’ aid efforts.

The book is divided into three parts. The first, “The Barton Era” covers the years when Barton developed the American Red Cross and discusses her Civil War work, her efforts to convince the United States to sign the Geneva Conventions in the 1870s, and how the American Red Cross became a disaster-relief organization.

Part 2, “The Boardman Era” details the years when Mabel Boardman took control of the American Red Cross and her attempts to establish ties with government and business officials. In the early twentieth century, the American Red Cross organized relief efforts for the San Francisco earthquake and mine disasters. As the nation was drawn into World War I, the American Red Cross was forced to define its stand on neutrality and eventually abandoned its past beliefs, remembering people were more important than ideologies.

“Between the Wars,” part 3, describes how the American Red Cross became the nation’s premier relief organization. Activities included giving aid to victims of race riots in Tulsa in 1921 and the 1927 Mississippi River flood. As the nation tumbled into economic distress in the late 1920s, President Herbert Hoover depended upon it to distribute aid and comfort; he was opposed to direct government aid to the people. As World War II approached, the American Red Cross had proven it was a resilient organization and could adapt to new challenges and new tragedies wrought by the nuclear age.

The author skillfully utilizes case studies to present the history of the American Red Cross. Fascinating stories of people and events all shaped the story of America with its ever-changing politics, society, and economics. Discourses of racism, segregation, xenophobia, and debates over big-versus-small government all challenged old ways of thinking and brought about change and a better society.

An epilogue, “Blood and Grit” gives an abbreviated history of the American Red Cross from World War II to Hurricane Katrina. The author summarizes: “The organization has supplemented government by doing what government cannot do well: engaging people as active agents in their own recovery. By linking together a reciprocal network of donors, volunteers, and aid recipients, it has brought together the country and the world in a spirit of common humanity” (287). Clara Barton would be proud.

The book includes a chronology, photographs, and extensive notes presented at the end of the book. This work, which began as a dissertation, is a readable, well-organized, and richly documented history of the American Red Cross. Filled with fascinating details and facts, it takes readers into the lives of the people who ran the organization in the years after Clara Barton and took it into a new century. Ideas of disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, which changed during the course of six decades, are well described in this volume, which is sure to appeal to a wide variety of readers. [End Page 362...