Honors History Final

Final Exam
By: Anna Payne
Honors History 10
Mr. Viles
The founding fathers began their lives as average people, but their leadership skills during the Revolutionary War changed them from average men to great leaders. What makes a leader great is having an inner drive and ambition, allowing them to step forward with a vision. The founding fathers all had separate visions. In order to make a revolution they had to set aside contradiction, ego and bias in order to collaborate. They had to work around their different personalities in order to create a unified vision in order to change the colonies into a new nation.
George Washington was a patriot like the other founding fathers; he demonstrated his power as the head of the colonial armies. It was in his hands to win or lose the revolution. After the first battles of the revolution, he knew he couldn’t defeat the British army. Washington then realize d that by making the British chase him they would eventually grow tired and give up. Washington’s major job now was to keep his army together. He needed to be an example for his solders so that when they were ready to fall apart, they could see their officer staying strong. His troops loved and respected him as a leader because they knew he would take care of them. By being a respected commander he was able to demonstrate, courage, bravery, initiative and his vision. He was chosen as a candidate for Presidency because he was from the South. Political leaders thought the Southerners would support the new government if a Southerner was in charge.
Thomas Jefferson’s vision was states rights. He believed the individual states should have their own rule and the national government should be only used for things such as its military. Jefferson was independent, arrogant and stubborn. He despised titles and wanted as little government a possible. He was a political leader who wrote the bulk of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was not a leader admired for great bravery and courage, but he was respected for his intelligence. Jefferson had strong initiative and large visions to benefit the revolution.
John Adams was better known as a political officer rather than a politician. He was an inspired thinker and visionary. From 1785 to 1788 he was minister to the Court of St. James's, returning to be elected Vice President under George Washington. What Adams wanted most out of the revolution was to have unified colonies. While running for president he was also forced to run against his friend Thomas Jefferson. The tough competition all but destroyed their friendship. Adams was thought of as being kind hearted. He was a visionary and inspired thinker with strong values. John Adams was well respected for his kind and noble attitude.
Thomas Paine was a revolutionary intellectual. His most known contribution to the revolutionary war was his pamphlet called “Common Sense”. This packet was promoting participation in the battle of independence from Great Britain. He was a strong believer of freedom. He took a bold risk in publishing this packet; he could have been hanged. What was most important to Paine was rallying the citizens. This packet made the citizens care about the Revolution and want freedom. Thomas Paine was well respected for his risks, bravery and vision. He was a proud and brave man.
In order for the revolution to have a large impact, the main leaders of the revolution needed to collaborate with each other and form agreements. The achievement of the revolution was a collective idea that only succeeded because of the diversity of personalities and ideas. Their interactions created a dynamic form of balance.
Although the leaders had to collaborate and come together on decisions, there times when they couldn’t agree. George Washington brought up the issue of slavery. He wanted to abolish it, but because the group couldn’t agree, they decided to do nothing. This issue divided the North and South even after the revolution. In the South they relied on slave labor to help with their agriculture. This was not important to the North because they were more industrial. By not addressing the topic, 100 years later America had the Civil War which also addressed Thomas Jefferson’s idea of independent state rights. The Civil War finally addressed those issues the founding fathers avoided.
Even though the leaders of the revolution were all said to be acquaintances, Jefferson and Adams had been good friends. Their friendship suffered a falling out when they ran for president against each other. Because they struggled together against the odds in 1776, represented America in Europe during the 1780’s, and rose above their political differences when Washington was in office, they were later able to mend their friendship.
While fighting the revolution the main leaders had to come together and decide what the new colonies would be like. As the leaders collaborated, they made decisions that would define America. With each having different values they put aside their differences and had to try not to let ego and intelligence get in the way. Each leader of the revolution had different values adding to the revolution.