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Role in World War One
Prior to the United States entry into World War One, the American Red Cross was a neutral organization aiding both the allied and central powers. However when the United States joined the allied powers the American Red Cross aid to the central powers ended immediately. On May 10 1917, President Wilson created the Red Cross War Council to aid funding initiatives and direct the activities of the organization. Throughout the war the Council raised $400 million.

The American Red Cross in the war was a quasi state organization however it is best described as a Non Governmental Organizational as it was not officially part of the United States Government. The Red Cross in the war focussed principally on overseas civilian aid and not domestic disaster relief. The Red Cross spent "less than one million dollars on domestic disaster relief, in comparison to the $120 million devoted to relief overseas. The Red Cross during the war provided food, employment, housing and medical assistance to millions of civilians displaced by the war. During the course of the war over one third of the population of the United States joined the organization and in 1917 and 1918 alone around $400 million was raised.

The power of the Red Cross was soon recognized by the Government which began to see "the value of overseas aid as a tool of statecraft". The American Red Cross was increasingly being used as an arm of the state to facilitate the realization of American foreign policy objects. Principally the Red Cross enhanced America's image abroad while also disseminating American practices and values throughout Europe. It intervened in European health and welfare practices by introducing American methods. Moreover, after the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia President Wilson used the Red Cross as a diplomacy tool to aid the White forces. Wilson believed that food was the "real thing" to combat Bolshevism and ordered the Red Cross to distribute food and material relief to Bolshevik opponents in the Russian civil war. The Red Cross, therefore, served the dual functions of assisting the realization of United States foreign policy objectives and promoting international humanitarianism.

At the end of the war the League of Red Cross Societies was created. This international society of national Red Cross organizations was spearheaded by the United States and sought the "improvement of health, the prevention of disease, and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world."