OLD BARRACKS MUSEUM
  • Home
  • About
    • History >
      • About the Building
      • Bibliography
    • Contact
    • Space Rentals
    • Staff & Board
    • Supporters
    • Projects >
      • Bake Oven Rebuild
      • Operation: Restoration 2016 >
        • Officers' House Restoration
        • Barracks Restoration
      • French and Indian War Outfittings Project & Grant
    • Photo Gallery
  • Visit
    • Hours, Admission, Etc.
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • School and Group Tours
    • Plan Your Visit
  • Exhibits
    • Collection Highlights >
      • Sampler Collection
    • A Symbol of New Jersey to the World
    • When Women Vote: The Old Barracks and the Anti-Suffrage Movement
    • "Necessary and Proper for the Public Good" World War I Exhibit
  • Support
    • Membership
    • Donate
    • Volunteers & Interns
    • Email Sign Up
  • Shop

PRESIDENT WILSON'S CALL FOR RED CROSS AID

     On January 8th, 1917, just a few months before the United States entered World War I, newspapers across the country published a letter penned by President Woodrow Wilson. The president urged Americans to increase Red Cross contributions to enable war efforts in Europe. He wrote:
“[I]t is for you to decide whether the most prosperous nation in the world will allow its national relief organization to keep up its work or withdraw from a field where there exists the greatest need ever recorded in history.”
Picture
Trenton Evening Times, January 8, 1917.
     Americans responded to President Wilson’s plea with gusto, providing a whirlwind of both money and manpower. In April 1917, when the United States entered the war, the American Red Cross had 555 chapters and 486,000 members. By 1919, there were over 3,800 chapters and 30 million members—18 million new members signed up during the 1917 Christmas Membership Drive alone!

    Trenton’s chapter of the Red Cross boasted 185 members in 1917; after the Christmas Membership Drive, Trenton’s chapter ballooned to over 36,000 members. Such a robust and dedicated organization of volunteers necessitated a work space to headquarter their activities.
Picture
Trenton Evening Times, February 5th, 1917.
     A few weeks after President Wilson’s letter was published, members of the Old Barracks Association convened several meetings to discuss alternate uses of the building during wartime. Minutes for their February 8th meeting note that the Association offered the building and the Association itself to the Governor for any purpose he deemed “necessary and proper for the public good.” Additionally, the Association resolved to permit the Red Cross to utilize “a portion” of the Barracks for its war work.
Picture
Trenton Evening Times, February 15, 1917.

Previous
Continue
The Old Barracks Museum | 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, NJ 08608 | 609-396-1776 | info@barracks.org
Open Wednesday - Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM 
Closed Sundays, Mondays, Jan. 1, Thanksgiving, Dec. 24, Dec. 25
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • History >
      • About the Building
      • Bibliography
    • Contact
    • Space Rentals
    • Staff & Board
    • Supporters
    • Projects >
      • Bake Oven Rebuild
      • Operation: Restoration 2016 >
        • Officers' House Restoration
        • Barracks Restoration
      • French and Indian War Outfittings Project & Grant
    • Photo Gallery
  • Visit
    • Hours, Admission, Etc.
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • School and Group Tours
    • Plan Your Visit
  • Exhibits
    • Collection Highlights >
      • Sampler Collection
    • A Symbol of New Jersey to the World
    • When Women Vote: The Old Barracks and the Anti-Suffrage Movement
    • "Necessary and Proper for the Public Good" World War I Exhibit
  • Support
    • Membership
    • Donate
    • Volunteers & Interns
    • Email Sign Up
  • Shop