Dodge Caliber '07 manual transmission - clutch not working

Have a Dodge Caliber, 2007, manual transmission.

I drove my car for about forty five minutes in stop and go traffic, it got to my destination two hours later. It was time to go home and I could not get into first gear at all. I had to turn the car off, put in first gear (without pushing in the clutch), start the car, it then jolted and I was able to move, but it 's difficult to shift gears after that. Every time I had to make a complete stop (start in first gear), I would have to turn the car off and put it into first gear (without pushing in the clutch), start the car, etc. Is there some sort of mechanism that broke? What happened and how do I get it fixed? Thank you!

Maria