Great Leaders in a Crisis: Lincoln, Churchill
[Photo by Sid Webb.]
What does it take to lead your nation through a crisis? Character, determination, wisdom, the courage of your convictions — as we in America prepare to cast our votes for a new president, perhaps we should look backward as well as forward. Not only backward in our candidates lives, at the circumstances and experiences that have shaped their character, but farther back into history. What can we learn about leadership from those who have been there, done that?
Once again, The Teaching Company (one of my favorite resources for homeschooling high school) is offering two free lectures for the downloading:
Great Leaders: Abraham Lincoln
For Abraham Lincoln, the challenge was that of slavery: an institution that went against the grain of American ideals yet was so vital to the economy of the American South. With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 — which would allow new territories to decide whether or not they would permit slavery — Lincoln became an active opponent of the issue and fought to strike a blow against the power of this cruel institution.
Discover:
- the many reasons why Lincoln so passionately fought against slavery;
- how Lincoln articulated these reasons in debates against Stephen Douglas in 1858; and
- how these debates helped establish Lincoln as an ideal candidate for president.
Great Leaders: Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of Britain during one of the darkest periods in his nation’s history: World War II. Stung by the military defeat at the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940, the British people were beginning to lose hope in their struggle to defeat Nazi Germany. Yet on June 18, 1940, Churchill delivered a rousing speech before the House of Commons that rallied the country to persevere and achieve victory — whatever the cost…
Explore:
- the four qualities that made Churchill such an iconic statesman;
- how Churchill’s life experiences shaped his unique character; and
- how Churchill used the power of the spoken and written word to unite the people.
Download these two free lectures between now and Monday, November 3, [when I checked these links in 2011, the lectures were again listed as free!] to investigate the lives and legacies of two men who define what it means to be a great leader.
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No, Lincoln did not passionately fight against slavery. Every public pronouncement he made about it guaranteed that he would always preserve it. Read what the man said. The War that he started was about tariffs, not slavery at all; read the articles of secession, and the federal Morrill Tariff that provoked it. For teachers to advocate these falsehoods, off the tops of their heads without the least study, is worse than unprofessional. It is unethical. Read the documents. Read what the man said.
I admit to copying the blockquotes about each lecture, but I think this is what the author meant: “…fought against [the extension of] slavery…”
The file is downloaded and sitting on my computer desktop, but I haven’t had time to listen to it. Judging by the blurb, however, the lecture seems to be primarily about the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and Lincoln’s position was that slavery should not be spread to the West, wasn’t it?
I am not a Lincoln scholar, and the PR blurb-writer probably isn’t either, but I am sure that Professor Guelzo (who gives the lecture) knows what he is talking about.