The chapter has existed as the field unit of the American Red Cross since the early days of the organization. However, chapters and their relationship to the national organization have undergone changes over the years that reflect both growth and development within the organization and its responses to local, national, and international events. Here is a brief summary of the history of chapters and their place within the structure of the American Red Cross, followed by a table showing the number of chapters by year since 1905.

Early Red Cross Societies

American Red Cross founder Clara Barton first learned about the Red Cross Movement while traveling in Europe after the Civil War. Following her return to the United States in 1873, she tried to get the American government to ratify the Geneva Convention of 1864 calling for the protection of the war-injured. Initially failing at this effort, she turned her attention to the creation of the American Association of the Red Cross which she and her associates accomplished in Washington, D.C. in May 1881. Returning to a home she owned in Dansville, New York, Barton marshaled the townsfolk there into forming the first local "society" of the Red Cross (now known as Clara Barton Chapter No. 1). A few months later, she inspired citizens in nearby Rochester and Syracuse, New York, to do the same. Barton then turned her attention back to the national organization and resumed her campaign for ratification of the Geneva Convention, which finally occurred in 1882. From then until 1898, the national organization concentrated on responding to major disasters here and abroad. During the same period, as many as 30 local Red Cross societies, called "branches" or "auxiliaries," were formed with little or no connection to the national organization. Most were created in response to individual natural disasters, following which they typically disbanded. The Spanish-American War (1898) caused many more local Red Cross societies to spring up, particularly in communities serving troops moving to and from embattled Cuba and the Philippines. Some sought affiliation with the national organization. Most of them disappeared after the war.

In the first annual report, submitted to the government under terms of its 1900 congressional charter, the Red Cross listed 11 local "auxiliaries." Two years later the organization reported plans to create "branches" in every state but little headway was made. A year after Clara Barton's resignation from the Red Cross, Congress issued a new charter in 1905 that specifically called for the creation of state and territorial societies "with as little delay as possible." The organization attempted to do this by working with governors to set up "state branches" and local "subdivisions" but progress was slow. In 1909, the Red Cross limited the function of the branches, now called "state boards," to fundraising and designated the subdivisions-referred to as "chapters" for the first time - as the units to deliver disaster, nutrition, nursing, first aid, and other services to local communities. Chapters reported directly to national headquarters from which they received letters of recognition at the time of their formation.

The Challenges of Wartime and the Following Peace

At the outset of World War I, the number of war relief societies in the United States mushroomed although the number of Red Cross chapters did not increase dramatically at first. Anticipating war-related activities, however, the Red Cross tried to make its chapter operations more efficient by dividing the country into four "divisions," each with staff and field representatives to manage chapter activities within its jurisdiction. The organization also created a Department of Chapters and Membership at national headquarters to provide leadership and oversight of local units. It was when the United States entered the war in 1917 that the number of Red Cross chapters suddenly grew as the public sought ways to become personally involved in the war effort. From a total of only 107 chapters in 1914, the number leaped to its all-time peak of 3,864 in 1918. Membership over the same period jumped from 17,000 adults in 1914 to 20 million in 1918, plus the 11 million school children who joined the Junior Red Cross beginning in 1917. During this period of phenomenal growth, the Red Cross introduced many new chapter-based services related to the war, such as the production of surgical dressings and comfort items and the operation of canteens and a motor corps. In order to manage this expansion, the Red Cross, under the temporary leadership of a War Council appointed by President Woodrow Wilson (who also served as honorary president of the Red Cross), increased the number of its divisions from four to 14, including one for American Red Cross chapters overseas. It was also in 1917 that the Red Cross began to issue charters to its chapters.

World War I placed the American Red Cross at the forefront of the nation's consciousness. After the armistice, a serious challenge faced the organization: How to maintain its vitality in peacetime? Although some advocated shutting down until another war occurred, a majority of people supported continuation of Red Cross services as, in fact, the 1905 congressional charter mandated. Consequently, the organization continued to operate but at reduced levels of activity. Its emphasis shifted to expansion of domestic services and to meeting the needs of a large number of war veterans. Some chapters closed; others consolidated. The total number dropped to a low of 3,527 in 1927. The number of divisions-now called "area branches"- was also reduced, from 14 down to only three by 1925. Although there were some efforts to centralize administration in Washington, area headquarters and their field representatives continued to monitor and assist chapter operations, while state, regional, and service-related cooperative alliances among chapters were encouraged. It was during this period that the Red Cross began dividing chapters into groups according to population size.

At first there were only two groups: Class A consisting of all chapters in communities with a population of 100,000 or more and Class B made up of all the rest. Eventually a breakdown into five population-based groups occurred that lasted until the 1980s.

War Again and Its Aftermath

The number of chapters began to inch up again in the late 1920s and through the 1930s as the Red Cross met the needs of victims of drought and the Dust Bowl as well as the Depression. The buildup to World War II was another growth factor. By 1941, the number of chapters had risen to 3,715. In the war years 1943-44, it peaked at 3,757. The number of area offices also increased to five. Adult membership reached 36.6 million and junior membership rose to 19.9 million in 1945-both all-time highs. The services of chapters on behalf of military and civilian war victims expanded dramatically again as they had done during World War I. Particularly noteworthy was the introduction of a blood program for the military. Thirty-five large chapters, supplemented by 63 mobile units, collected over 13 million pints of blood for the Army-Navy Blood Donor program during the years 1941-1945.

After World War II, the Red Cross again had to adjust to peacetime. As before, the number of chapters began a downward trend that continues to the present day. Consolidation was a major consideration. (At one time the greater Boston area had 26 separate chapters with widespread duplication of services. Today one chapter-American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay-serves that metropolitan area.) In 1983, the total number of chapters dropped below 3,000 for the first time since World War I. In 1993, the Red Cross initiated a rechartering process that further reduced the number of chapters. In 1995, the total fell below 2,000. By century's end, it stood at just over 1,200. Since then further consolidations have reduced the number even further (see table at end of article).

Despite their reduced numbers, chapters continued to wield influence in the organization. In 1947, the small and somewhat exclusive Red Cross governing body, the Central Committee, was replaced by a larger and more democratic Board of Governors whose membership consisted mostly of chapter representatives. Chapters played a major role in the Red Cross civilian Blood Program from its inception in 1948 until it became a separate line of service in 1992.

In the 1950s, national headquarters continued to operate area offices, then four in number, and encouraged chapters to form mutual aid groups and state and regional councils. In 1968, the Red Cross attempted to decentralize by introducing divisions within each of its areas. The number of divisions eventually reached 70. In 1976, the four area offices were renamed as "operations headquarters." Then, in 1983, the divisions were eliminated in an effort to cut costs and the number of operations headquarters was reduced to three. At the same time, some of the larger chapters were designated as Key Resource Chapters with responsibilities to help smaller, neighboring chapters.

Ten years later, the Red Cross embarked on the first of its five-year cycles to recharter chapters, evaluating each on its ability to deliver high-priority ("MUST' and "SHOULD") services. At the same time, the Key Resource Chapter concept was abandoned and the operational headquarters were replaced by eight "regions" to provide oversight and support to chapters. In 1993, the Red Cross also introduced (1) State Service Councils to facilitate the collaboration of chapter activities within states, (2) State Coordinating Chapters to take the lead in providing disaster, health and safety, and other services within states, and (3) State Service Delivery Areas where no chapter exists but service is provided by a designated lead chapter in the state. In 2000, another modification of the chapter system occurred when Certified Service Delivery Units were introduced for areas that lacked a chapter but operated under the auspices of a nearby chartered chapter. In 2003, the Red Cross began replacing the regions with eight Service Areas to provide national sector functions and improved services to chapters and their constituents. In some cases, the Service Areas subsumed some or all of the functions of the state-wide entities.

The following table gives the total number of chapters per year since the Red Cross received its congressional charter in 1905. While the table accurately indicates trends, care should be taken in citing numbers for individual years. Historically, different figures have been reported for the same year in a few cases. These discrepancies may have been caused by variances in reporting periods (for instance, calendar versus fiscal years) or the types of units included (in some years both "active" and "reserve"-or "inactive"- chapters were counted; in other years only "active" ones were). All figures are from Red Cross annual reports, except as noted.

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American Red Cross Chapter Roll
Year	No. of Chapters			Year	No. of Chapters			Year	No. of Chapters
1905	18			1940	3,721			1975	3,142
1906	30			1941	3,735			1976	3,135
1907	33	1		1942	3,750			1977	3,128
1908	33	1		1943	3,757			1978	3,124
1909	35	1		1944	3,757			1979	3,108
1910	36			1945	3,754			1980	3,082
1911	87			1946	3,755			1981	3,053
1912	60	1		1947	3,754			1982	3,011
1913	60			1948	3,751			1983	2,963
1914	107			1949	3,746			1984	2,932
1915	145			1950	3,745			1985	2,908
1916	250			1951	3,738			1986	2,889
1917	3,287			1952	3,734			1987	2,853
1918	3,864	2		1953	3,730			1988	2,817
1919	3,700	3		1954	3,720			1989	2,763
1920	3,700			1955	3,713			1990	2,719
1921	3,643			1956	3,712			1991	2,675
1922	3,627			1957	3,712			1992	2,670	5
1923	3,600			1958	3,703			1993	2,619
1924	3,576			1959	3,690			1994	2,419
1925	3,538			1960	3,655			1995	1,896
1926	3,531			1961	3,619			1996	1,487
1927	3,527			1962	3,590			1997	1,338
1928	3,532			1963	3,491			1998	1,318
1929	3,553			1964	3,259	4		1999	1,276
1930	3,559			1965	3,052	4		2000	1,168
1931	3,603			1966	2,966	4		2001	1,051
1932	3,639			1967	2,905	4		2002	1,007
1933	3,701			1968	3,299			2003	940
1934	3,709			1969	3,261			2004	882
1935	3,711			1970	3,240			2005	824
1936	3,710			1971	3,210			2006	804
1937	3,711			1972	3,190			2007	756
1938	3,715			1973	3,177
1939	3,716			1974	3,154
1	No figure given in Annual Report. Figure from other sources.
2	Reporting period shifts from calendar to fiscal year.
3	Figure is given as "approximate" in Annual Report
4	Annual Report specifies figure is for "active" chapters.
5	From 1992 forward figures are for fiscal years from FOCIS (ARC's Field Operations Consolidated Information System).

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