Important and Influential

Leaders
By: Lily, Denise, and Saida
George Washington-1776
He was the commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War (1775-83). He motivated his poorly trained soldiers to
continue fighting the war even under cruel circumstances. (No shoes!)
Washington was declared a national hero once the Americans won the
Revolutionary War.

In 1787 Washington attended the Constitutional Convention in

Philadelphia to head the committee to draft the new constitution. His
leadership there proved to the delegates he was qualified to become the
nation’s first president.

His leadership and skill was especially important in

helping the United States gain its independence. As
president, he became the new face of freedom.
Thomas Jefferson
❖ July 4, 1776
❖ Writer of the Declaration of Independence
❖ Founding Father of U.S.
❖ Third President of U.S. (1801-1809)
❖ Key leader in motivating colonists to
separate from Great Britain.
❖ Helped develop the nation as it was just
getting started.
Alexander Hamilton-1784
He was involved with the shaping of our nation in
many ways. He was an author for the Federalist Papers,
a member of the Continental Congress, and first
secretary of the Treasury. He was big part in founding
the first national bank.

With the establishment of the National Bank, the U.S.

was able to issue paper money and lend the government
money. The bank would help promote business and
industry by extending credit. This helps establish a
national economy for the U.S.
Sacagawea
❖ Born: 1788, Lemhi County, Idaho,
❖ Died: 1812, North Dakota
❖ Member of the Lemhi band of the Native
American Shoshone tribe
❖ Sacagawea accompanied the Lewis and Clark
Corps of Discovery expedition as a teenager
❖ Her bilingual trait helped the expedition from
the northern plains through the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and back
Si Tanka/Big Foot-1876
He was a tribal leader of a subgroup of the Teton Lakota (Sioux).
During the 1870s he allied with Sitting Bull and Chief Crazy
Horse against the U.S. army during the war in 1876. Big Foot
later became an advocate for assimilation into the white man's
culture. He was among the first Native americans to raise corn
in accordance with government standards.

We often hear of how the Native Americans were uninterested

and unwilling to assimilate into the culture of the white man.
Big Foot is a representation of the Native Americans that went
from fighting the U.S. to adopting their way of life in a peaceful
manner.
Abraham Lincoln-1861
He became the 16th president of the United States. He
issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared
the slaves within the Confederacy to be forever free
(1863).

He finally gave the slaves some sort of freedom with

his Proclamation. This act made him a target, as many
people disagreed with his choice to free the slaves in
the Confederacy.
Sojourner Truth
❖ Born: 1797 Rifton, Esopus, NY
❖ Died: 1883, Battle Creek, MI
❖ African-American abolitionist and women's
rights activist
❖ Best known for her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech,
delivered at a women’s convention in 1851.
❖ Helped to recruit black troops for the Union
Army and collected supplies for black regiments
during the Civil War
Frederick Douglass
❖ Born: 1818, Talbot County, MD
❖ Died: 1895, Washington, D.C.
❖ Frederick Douglass was a abolitionist leader born into
slavery but he escaped at the age of 20.
❖ Douglass was known for his influential speeches ranging
from slavery to women's rights.
❖ Frederick was a famous intellectual who advised political
figures and even the presidents.
Harriet Tubman
❖ Relevant during the Civil War
(1861-1865).
❖ Born into slavery, she became a
significant abolitionist figure,
humanitarian, and spy for the U.S.
army.
❖ She’s most known for making
thirteen journeys to rescue approx.
70 enslaved people with the use of
the Underground Railroad.
Andrew Johnson
1865-1866
❖ Vice President for Lincoln for six weeks.
❖ 17th President of the U.S. (1865-1869)
❖ As a leader during Reconstruction,
Johnson wanted to return Confederate
states to their prewar status. While he
supported the Thirteenth Amendment, he
didn’t really have any interest in political
rights for former slaves.