The American Red Cross and The Tuskegee Institute

Everyone is familiar with the American Red Cross right? They’re an organization that is still around today. Well there was a lady that first organized it for the United States. Her name was Clara Barton. Today, the organization is known for their blood drives where you can go and donate. But there’s other reasons why this organization was made. They help the needy, they help aid from a lot of different disasters. So overall they help out a lot. Of course, since Clara organized this, she became the first president of the American Red Cross. But that’s not the only thing that she accomplished and did in her life. That’s just the one thing that she is mostly remembered for. Clara was also a teacher, and around that time, the first lady to hold a government job in America. You have to remember during this time, women didn’t really have as much rights as men did. It was definitely not fair but that was how it went back then. Thankfully, women have a lot more rights today but it took a while to get here. She even helped in the Civil War. Clara was a very successful lady. During that war, she was on the Union side of things as a supplies distributor. “Angel of the Battlefield” was the nickname she received from helping out in the war. But she didn’t stop there. After that, Clara became a nurse. That was the beginning of her creating this widely known organization. The American Red Cross was also international. So, Clara first traveled to the International Red Cross in Europe. After that trip, that’s when she started organizing the Red Cross in America. Later on, Barton even published her own autobiography in 1907. Sadly, in 1912 she passed away at the age of 90. But she definitely lived her life. She accomplished many things and is remembered to this day. Clara definitely showed that women can be powerful.

The Tuskegee Institute was also something that was very important during this time. This university was founded on July 4^th, 1881. This school was specifically for African Americans. This school was two people’s dream. Those men were Lewis Adams (and ex slave), and George Campbell (a former slave owner). It wasn’t just a dream because they made it happen. They hired the first principal of the school which was Booker T. Washington. Before this, Washington was an educator. He was also a dominant leader of the African American community. At first, he worked at Hampton University. But later was asked to teach at Tuskegee in 1881. This man was becoming very successful at a young age. When he was asked to teach at Tuskegee University he was 25.

Tuskegee University started to grow very quickly. The building is still standing to this day. Why you may ask? It is considered a National Historic Landmark. That was confirmed in 1965. So because of that, it is to remain there permanently. This school is remembered for its leadership in the African American community because it was a very big part of history. Because as you all may know, back then the Blacks were not treated equally with the Whites. We all know now that that is completely wrong but that was how it was back then. So with this new school that this community can attend, it was a step forward for them. Even though it wasn’t a school for both White and Blacks, it was slowly getting there. All of the rights, technology, and how society is today didn’t just happen in a blink of an eye. It took a while. We still have a lot that we have to learn. But it just takes a long time for everyone to get on the same page.

Both of these parts of history were very important and it was progress for our country. It also showed great people who made their dreams come true. Clara Barton made a lot of successful accomplishments and lived her life while being a hard worker. These two men, Lewis Adams and George Campbell, made their school happen. It wasn’t just an image in their head because they took it a step further and made it a success. So, these amazing people, show that if you work hard, you can make your dreams come true.