Compare Johnstown Vs Red Cross

I think the Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood of 1889 is the most significant flood (in U.S. history) because it was the first major disaster relief effort for the Red Cross. The Red Cross was formed in 1881 and was primarily a battlefield relief organization. Thus, the Johnstown flood was the first peacetime relief effort for the Red Cross. The news coverage of the flood helped establish the Red Cross as the agency we know today. The Red Cross, led by founder Clara Barton, arrived to Johnstown only five days after the flood. Through their efforts they distributed $211,000 worth of supplies, they built “Red Cross hotels” to provide shelter to homeless flood survivors, and they helped and improved the lives of 25,000 people. The role that the Johnstown flood had on the formation of the Red Cross is one of the reasons why the flood remains so significant in U.S. history. This …show more content…
The value of what I learned is that by comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences between these floods, I am able to learn from past mistakes so that I can avoid these mistakes in the future. For example, in the Santa Clara, Utah Flood of 2005 a neighborhood was built on the cutbank of the river. When the river began to flood the cutbank eroded rapidly causing many of the houses to collapse into the river. I now know that buying a house on the cutbank (or the outside bend of the river) is not the smartest idea because of erosion. I would like to learn more about the Johnstown flood and the formation of the Red Cross and the impacts that it had on American society. I can further my research by using the internet and by also reading personal accounts of flood survivors and Red Cross volunteers. My date was surprised that the Red Cross was “formed” or at least became the leading relief organization in the U.S. because of