What is a leader? A word that is very hard to define. Will's definition of a leader is a person who shares a common goal with his followers. A person that has followers and can lead those followers. The three people I chose to critique all have something in common. Harriet Tubman a great radical leader shares something in common with Franklin Roosevelt an electoral leader. Both have had to overcome great illness or pain. The pain they overcame made them a stronger leader that we know today. My third choice as leader is George Washington, who had to overcome something similar as Roosevelt. Roosevelt had the Great Depression while Washington had to lead a country just beginning their independence. Both struggled to lead the country in a time of need. Harriet Tubman like those men helped the slaves in their time of need to lead them to freedom. All of these people where great leaders as Garry Wills points out. I plan to point out the leadership qualities that Wills believed each person possessed.
I will begin with Harriet Tubman, a woman consider to be a hero of helping slaves to freedom. Harriet fits Wells definition of a leader by having followers. Her followers were the slaves' she lead to freedom. The ones that had the drive to go North to be free. She leads them to freedom by helping them escape to the North. Even though each slave was in great danger of being caught trying to flee. Harriet never lost a person she was trying to bring to the North. She helped many slaves to freedom. Freedom is a goal Harriet had that was shared by most slaves. Harriet also had a common goal with her followers. That is another part of Wells definition as a leader. One thing that made Harriet a great leader was her near death experience. When Harriet tried to save a fellow worker, she experienced a two-pound weight falling on her head. Harriet suffered a serious blow to the head that left her nearly dead and a dent in her scull. From that she experienced spells that sometimes put her almost unconscious or in a trans. That would help her later in her adventure to rescue the slaves. It was also the point that Harriet became liberated. She wanted to do all the hard field work. The hard work made Harriet very strong which later helped her when she went on her dangerous missions. Harriet drew great strength from her near death experience. That great strength was what made Harriet the great leader that she was. I agree with Will's Harriet was a great leader that helped many slaves to Freedom. By her own will power she succeed. But she not only exceeded she never lost anyone she was trying rescue. Not to mention that her great physical strength came from her liberation after her severe blow to the head. That and many other ways made her a great leader. Harriet went against popular thought in the south that slaves could not take care of themselves. She proved them very wrong. That is another reason that she was very popular.
Another person that grew great strength from pain was Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt suffered from polio that left him paralyzed. His courage and ability to overcome his illness is also what made him a great leader. Because of his disability Roosevelt often kept up an act to not let the people know, he was disabled. He never let the press photograph him in a wheel chair. It is as though he felt they would pity him. Be sympathetic to him and not take him as a serious leader.
But regardless that act he put on carried over to his presidency. A good example of ...