Order of Social Life. Instead of doing what they were told to do, as all faithful subjects must, these men and women who had laid the foundations of a new world did what they believed to be right, acting on the principle that ideals of human liberty are more important than the word even of a king. The men who organized and led the Revolution were guilty of treason, the worst of all the offenses that may be committed against organized society. They were guilty of rebellion against their duly constituted ruler. They broke all of the laws of their government, destroyed the established order, overthrew precedent and backed up their position by killing the officers that the king sent to restore order and enforce the laws. There was scarcely an offense, from the tossing of privately owned tea into Boston Harbor to treason and open rebellion, of which the colonists were not guilty. Even though they may have believed that they were tearing down in order to build a new structure better than the old, they were still, guilty in the eyes of the law-so guilty that they deserved only the scaffold. The spirit that the colonists showed in their answer to English injustice, they displayed in a multitude of forms during their conquest of the American continent. There was a wilderness to be subdued and a new world to be built. These rugged, virile men and women fell to their task with a will. One of the early frontiersmen, in his autobiography, tells how his father moved his family into a territory The men farmed shortly after an Indian massacre. with guns beside them. The children were not allowed to leave the stockade. Danger lurked everywhere. What were the qualities that made those men succeed in the face of such frightful difficulties? Thomas Ewing names them. "The population of the garrison was made up of incongruous materials agreeing in little except poverty, courage and energy."2 Poverty, courage and energy were the life-might of the frontier. They The early Americans subdued a wilderness as no wilderness had ever been subdued before. invented their means of subjugation as the conquest proceeded. To those who tried to block their progress, they replied with messengers of steel. They would not brook restraint. Courageous, energetic, they forged ahead in the settled conviction of righteousness. They overthrew, tore down and destroyed. They defied authority and threw precedent to the winds. It is because of these things that we honor them. They were leading the world toward a nobler civilization. These early builders of the American nation never let "I dare not wait upon I would"-they had the soul of leadership. They were filled with independence, initiative, courage and faith. They were "The Autobiography of Thomas Ewing," edited by C. L. Martzholff. Ohio State Historical Society Publications, Vol. 21, p. 9. ready "to brook the eternal devil" if need be, to defend the things in which they believed. This is the heritage of leadership that comes down to the American people. These were the founders of our civilization and our government. They had vigor, energy, enthusiasm, courage, insight and vision. They took orders from no one. They did what they believed to be right. They measured their duty and performed it fearlessly and nobly. They were the men who had turned their backs on the past and who were looking into the future with the power of purpose in their eyes. 4. The Duties of Leadership The great leader is the great server. The leader derives his commission to leadership from the special qualities that enable him to be of service to his fellows. The commonweal demands that the great burdens and the pressing issues of life be met. The leader asserts his right to leadership because he, better than any other, can direct the activities of his fellows along the path that leads to a successful solution of the problems by which they are confronted. The great leader is the great server. "If anyone would be great among you, let him be your minister." The greater the service, the greater the leadership. The modern community recognizes five groups of leaders or professions. The five professions as they are known in every civilized country of the world King Canute sat by the seashore and attempted to show his power by commanding the tide |