What impact did Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton have on public health and the status of women? Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton both played important roles during their respective wars in assisting injured soldiers to heal quickly and effectively. Nightingale lived from 1820 to 1910, while Barton lived from 1821 to 1912. Both women completely changed the field of nursing with their contributions; their impact on the medical society has yet to be matched and will be quite difficult to do so. Both of these altruistic women have impacted the lives of many people as they empowered the position of women in their day. Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton shifted the world of public health incomparably, both incredible feats, to say the least. Both are still deemed as very powerful women in the contemporary world and that is exactly why this question is worth …show more content…
The mark they left on this world should not be and cannot be overlooked.
Prior to Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton’s Age:
Before Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton’s time, women were not treated very highly, and they were not regarded as relevant to society. Communities were quite patriarchal, for ladies were just simply expected to cook and take care of the children along with other feminine duties assigned to them. They generally did not hold important positions in government due to these misogynistic views in their society. Men did not believe women could make any important contributions to society because they were simply not capable of doing so. Also, medical treatments were not very advanced and hospital conditions were quite poor. Hygiene was not maintained at all whatsoever and therefore caused quite a lot of diseases independently. However, all of that changed with the influence both Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale had on both public health and the status of women.
Florence Nightingale:
Florence Nightingale, born to an upper class family, was born in