Many historical books and essays recount the records and exploits of exceptional leaders — kings, presidents, important people who made headlines and influenced their times.
In the past several decades, a different view has emerged, one just as important as the “Great Man” theory of history. One of the major writers of this kind of historical assessment was the late historian, Stephen Ambrose. Perhaps his most celebrated book of the “ordinary” man in combat was Band of Brothers, a relating of soldiers who served from D-Day to the end of World War 2.
Today you can go to Springfield here in Illinois and access in the Illinois State Library hundreds of oral histories of people from the past, from ordinary people in their ordinary lives to those who served in the armed services and in combat. These are fascinating, as these memories serve to illuminate what just plain people were thinking as they tried to live life and serve their communities and country.
Yet there is a case to be made that each era or epoch can be seen through the lives and exploits of what we might call “great men and women”. In doing so, it does not negate the contributions of the individual citizen to the fabric of America. But sometimes leaders set the tone for their time and people follow their path.
Where are the great men of today? Sometimes it seems as if only pygmies are in positions of leadership in our nation. We see many who aspire to lead, who make their lives a pursuit of public service and possible public fame, but are just drones, worker bees.
Consider a high desert plateau, such as we see in places in the American West. Most of the landscape is a flat, featureless expanse, dotted with sagebrush and sand dunes and the odd tree that has survived in the harsh environment. However, occasionally, mountain peaks rise above the plateau, showing that even a desert can have that which distinguishes the horizon and breaks the monotony as one looks at the horizon. What we need to do is to look at American history, the political side of our past, and see that although many times “small” men and women seem to be a part of that mosaic, there are peaks of excellence to be seen. What follows will be a small selection of those, flawed as they were, who dominated and influenced the development of the American republic.
We begin in the late fifteenth century with a single man who brought to the New World those who would mold American society and culture. Christopher Columbus, a Genoan who sailed for Spain, “discovered” the Americas in 1492, and thus started the invasion of the Western Hemisphere by Europeans. Most of us today are the beneficiaries of that first excursion that landed on that Caribbean island.
Because the present American experiment did not really start until the eighteenth century, we skip the next two hundred years to find some towering figures whose influence we cannot but admire and extol.
My first example is one not so well know by most Americans today. A great man reached that pinnacle with just one battle, James Wolfe, the British general who defeated the French at Quebec on the Plains of Abraham on 13 September 1759. This battle was pivotal in the American phase of what became the Seven Years’ War, which was fought from 1756-1763. In America, this conflict has been called the French and Indian War, begun in 1754, and merged into the European war when it began two years later. By the time Wolfe attacked Quebec, that city had become the focal point of both French and British military strategy. If the French could hold out until 1760, it was felt by the French leaders that the war would be over and a negotiated settlement would retain their foothold in North America. Wolfe, at age 32 already an accomplished military commander, led his troops to Quebec and set siege to the city. After three months, he devised a daring amphibious landing beneath the cliffs along the St. Lawrence River, a move not expected by the French commander, Louis Montcalm. Scaling the cliffs, Wolfe and his men met the French on the Plains of Abraham in front of Quebec, and in a fifteen minute battle, routed his enemy. During this time, he was hit by three musket balls, and died after being told the French had fled the battlefield; he died claiming to be content with his victory.
By taking Quebec, Wolfe sealed the fate of French North America. When the final form of the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, all of the land the French had claimed was now British, setting the stage for an English land.
Also in this century, three towering figures rose to lead the English settlers to a new and independent nation, the United States. These three peaks need to be taken almost as an entry, as their deeds are so intertwined with each other.
First, we take Thomas Jefferson. His contributions span the two centuries in which he lived. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was primarily the work of his hand. That document, signed in its final form on 4 July, was a work of genius, as it set out the reasons the colonies had revolted against British rule. Even today, one is moved by his words about “all men are created equal” and are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Inspiring to his countrymen, these words have also inspired countless people since, both in America and around the world. But Jefferson was not done with showing why his greatness was celebrated, and his visage became part of the Mount Rushmore monument. Earning the Presidency in the 1800 election, his action in 1803 made the young nation a truly continental one. When faced with the problem with the French ownership of land on our Western frontier, Jefferson sought West Florida and New Orleans in a deal from the French, but when offered all of what was then Louisiana, he made the treaty. Jefferson felt it was not his constitutional right to get that land mass, but he went ahead with it, thus virtually doubling the size of the American Republic.
Another peak thrusting itself above the ordinary others, greatness was George Washington. Born into the genteel life of a landholding Virginian, Washington first came to prominence in 1753 and 1754 at the beginning of the French and Indian War. But his greatest contribution was, of course, as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army which faced off against the British in our War for Independence. Much has been written about him, but suffice it say that his tenacity in leading his army, his ability to inspire those who followed him, led to the climactic victory at Yorktown in 1781. Declining to become an American king, eventually he was persuaded to lead the new nation as its first President, and his wise and cautious leadership set the tone for future Presidents.
James Madison also comes to mind as we hunt for Great Men in the past. Although a complete bust as President (his wife, Dolley, would have been a better Chief Executive than he!), Madison made his mark in helping to write the Constitution of the United States. Many correctly call him the “father of the U. S. Constitution”, as he, along with others, shepherded the delegates in Philadelphia in 1787 through a maze of problems to produce that remarkable document.
Others in that era were also remarkable. Benjamin Franklin was more than a superb statesman; he was an inventor, writer, publisher, scientist, a true Renaissance man in a rough nation not know for producing such brilliance. Alexander Hamilton, born a British subject, set the new Republic on a sound fiscal road as the first Secretary of the Treasury.
From an historical standpoint, it seems that mostly ordinary men served as leaders of the nation, and many were inept. But the eighteenth century would produce several men who could command respect with their leadership, and would be honored by their peers and their political descendants.
Andrew Jackson became one of those. Jackson, born before the nation came into being, made his first splash on the national scene while leading his militia in the later stages of the War of 1812. From Tennessee, he led a “motley” crew of militiamen, some regular army, a few friendly Indians and even a contingent of pirates in winning the Battle of New Orleans, which ended on 8 January 1815. Skirmishes had been fought as the two sides jockeyed for position from 14 December until the final fight. On that last day, in a 25 minute fight, the British had 700 killed, 1400 wounded and 500 taken prisoner by the Americans. Jackson’s force saw seven killed and six wounded.
This, of course, catapulted the war hero into the Presidency in 1829 (after a very colorful career in between), in which the Tennessean earned his place on the present $20 bill. His accomplishments, many controversial, included “winning” the nullification crisis against South Carolina, the Indian Removal Bill, and the extension of the franchise to most free white Americans over the age of 21. He also made the spoils system for jobs and contracts a staple of political life in the nation.
This is just the first installment of my theme, with another to come tomorrow or Monday. But my thesis is already easy to ascertain. Do we see anyone on the political or moral or economic scene today that even comes close to equaling the impact these had on their day? Will there ever again be someone the stature of these men arise to lead this nation to greater heights? If so, where are they now?