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Beginnings of the American Red Cross
An American Red Cross fundraising poster, distributed during World War I, ca. 1917.

An American Red Cross fundraising poster, distributed during World War I, ca. 1917.

Posters like this one were used to encourage people to become members of the American Red Cross (ARC). This poster was distributed as part of a major fundraising campaign organized by the War Council of the American Red Cross and its chair Henry P. Davison with the goal of raising 100 million dollars.

The 100 million dollars raised by the War Council was used to support the war effort in Europe, mainly France and England. An ARC commission of eighteen men was assigned to manage the use of funds in Europe. This commission quickly decided that the American Red Cross should manage all other American charity organizations or services working in Europe. Some organizations resisted this effort, but the ARC War Council ran a very successful fundraising campaign, with the help of posters like this one that describes charitable giving as a citizen’s duty in wartime. Smaller charities and organizations realized that if they wanted funds from the ARC, they needed to work with the ARC and relinquish some control of their operations.

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Citation Information
“The American Red Cross Must Raise $100,000,000,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/de3f23d5b7764fb8ebd57c837277b687.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of State Archives of North Carolina, North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience

Item 6 of 14 in the Primary Source Set Beginnings of the American Red Cross

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A letter by Clara Barton, president of the American Red Cross, to May Wright Sewall, president of the National Council of Women, 1888.
An open letter to Clara Barton, president of the American Red Cross, from members of the Club Federico de la Torre, 1897.
A 1918 photograph of American Red Cross volunteers preparing surgical dressings.
An excerpt from “The American Red Cross: Organization and Activities,” an informational booklet published in 1917.
A poster titled “Help Your American Red Cross,” ca. 1918.
An American Red Cross fundraising poster, distributed during World War I, ca. 1917.
A 1918 photograph of members of the Toussaint L’Ouverture chapter of the American Red Cross, Savannah, Georgia.
An American Red Cross poster titled “In the Service of Those Who Suffer,” ca. 1919.
A bulletin issued by the War Council of the American Red Cross in 1918.
A 1919 American Red Cross press release about an award given to African American volunteer Rev. R. H. Windsor.
An excerpt from a 1919 report of the New Orleans Chapter of the American Red Cross.
A patriotic World War I poster for the American Red Cross, ca. 1920.
A 1923 memo from African American activist Walter F. White to W. E. B. Du Bois.
A 1979 interview with Susan Hicks about her work with the Red Cross in Charlotte, North Carolina during and after World War I.

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