Welcome to Part 3 of our mission to choose the best woman for the $10 bill!
Again, to be considered, each candidate must be:
1. Dead
2. Female
3. American
Candidates will then be judged in the following 4 categories:
1. Popularity Index: name recognition
2. Symbolic Value Index: status as an icon or symbol for a movement or cause
3. Achievement Index: overall contribution to "our inclusive democracy”
4. Irreplaceability Index: unlikeliness that another person could have made that same societal contribution
In each of these categories, candidates will be rated on a scale from 1-10, and the scores from all four categories will then be added together to declare a winner.
Rosa Parks and Susan B. Anthony have already been evaluated. Now it's time to put Scott Walker's choice to the task. (Here's to hoping she fares better in her campaign than Walker did in his).
Clara Barton
Basic Bio:
Clarissa "Clara" Harlowe Barton (1821-1912) founded the American Red Cross in 1881. Prior to that, she worked as a teacher, patent clerk, and field nurse in the Civil War.
Popularity Index: 6/10
Barton’s name is easily recognized by anyone familiar with American history textbooks, but—as with Anthony—most people probably couldn’t tell you much about her.
Was she a suffragist? An author? Did she make the American flag?
(That was Betsy Ross, of course).
Symbolic Value Index: 7/10
Known for her courage and compassion, Barton is the leading icon of volunteerism. The American Red Cross carries on her dedication to public service as it continues to provide relief to those in need. The organization's website states, “Barton’s legacy to the nation—service to humanity—is reflected in the services provided daily by the employees and volunteers of the American Red Cross throughout the nation and in troubled spots around the world.”
Achievement Index: 9/10
Barton served as a teacher for over a decade, established New Jersey’s first free public school, and became the first woman employed by the federal government. During the Civil War, she served soldiers by bringing supplies, writing letters, and praying with them. In 1862, she gained permission to head to the front lines. Known as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” she fearlessly served men injured in the war, writing, “I always tried . . . to succor the wounded until medical aid and supplies could come up—I could run the risk; it made no difference to anyone if I were shot or taken prisoner.”
After the war, she founded the Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army, for which she helped to locate over 22,000 missing soldiers. She also identified almost 13,000 graves of Union soldiers who had died in Georgia’s Andersonville Prison.
She founded the American branch of the International Red Cross in 1881, serving as the organization’s president until 1905. According to its website, the American Red Cross annually helps 150,000 military families, responds to nearly 70,000 disasters in the U.S., provides more than 40% of America’s blood supply, and offers health and safety training to over nine million Americans. Its 13 million volunteers work in 187 countries.
Irreplaceability Index: 7/10
From a young age, Barton was able to relate to boys and gain their respect with her athleticism, paving the way for her to become the first female employee in the federal government. She enjoyed equal pay, too—at least until the administration of James Buchanan eliminated her position because of opposition to female government workers (re: sexism).
She also learned basic nursing techniques while caring for her brother as a child, which allowed her to provide medical aid during the Civil War.
Barton—who studied writing and languages at the Clinton Liberal Institute of New York—was a brilliant writer and charismatic speaker known to bring audience members to tears. She used her linguistic talents to garner support for her various causes.
Few possessed her combination of charisma, intelligence, medical knowledge, grit, and compassion, making her uniquely fit to challenge gender roles, serve on the front lines, and establish the world’s biggest volunteer organization.
Final score: 29/40
Check out Part 4 tomorrow to see how Abigail Adams fares.
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