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The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 with the experiances of the Civil War still fresh on people's minds. After touring Europe and seeing the swiss Red Cross in action, Civil War nurse Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross to provide disaster relief and first aid both on the homefront and the front line. Early on, the Red Cross served to educate the public about topics such as first aid and water safety, while starting nursing programs and providing assistance to the military and military families. As new needs, such as blood donation, made themselves apparent, the Red Cross met these needs, starting donation programs and doing labratory research on the blood dontation technology and techniques starting in the 1960's.

Emergency response in the context of "boots on the ground" aid is not directly discussed in this article, however the greater complexities of humanitarian aid, which often do include medical emerency response, is the primary focus of this article.  This article focuses more on humanitarian efforts and gender based violence which can be important when considering the methods and social reprecussions of giving emergency aid.