Jason Ortiz
Mr. Henry
LA4 period 4
13 November 2012 How was Cesar Chavez an Effective Leader? Leaders are like businesses, most fall, and few reach success. Some of the successful leaders, such as Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr, and Gandhi, had their own unique qualities that helped them be efficient leaders. Jesus Christ established beliefs and peacefully lead by example, Martin Luther King Jr was inspirational, and in Gandhi’s case, he demonstrated peace and freedom by example. All of these leaders were efficient and made a tremendous difference in the world. Cesar Chavez also had a huge impact in the United States, especially in California and the farmers residing in the region. Chavez grew into the life of a typical farming family, a hard life of daily routine, constant movement, and he even realized the injustice put on the poor farmers. These first-hand experiences greatly inspired him and motivated him to step up to make to make a change in the United States. There is no doubt that Cesar Chavez had and still continues to be considered a great and efficient leader due to his qualities such as being relatable to his supporters, being dedicated to his arduous work, sacrificing himself for a cause, and of course, all this in order to make a positive impact in society. Cesar Chavez was able to relate to his audience and this helped him in being effective. Chavez was a Chicano, an American with Strong Mexican roots; because of his family’s lifestyle and job, he had to move home according with the Seasons. Changing school 36 times, he later dropped out in 8th grade due to his inflexible job as a farmer (Background Essay). These experiences helped him relate himself with others who were passing the same circumstances. Other’s who followed him saw his lifestyle and were able to relate it to their personal lifestyle. Being relatable made it easier for people to follow him and actually believe in the fighting cause. He approached his followers as if they were actually part of his family, therefore making him an efficient leader. Also, the conditions in which he worked made it easy for people to relate to him. The conditions of his office truly got to people, because he had a simple and humble office. It was a rundown shack in which he had a make-shift desk in which he worked in arduously (Doc A). His humbleness helped him be relatable to people, specially his simple lifestyle, which helped persuade others and to have nothing put against him. Therefore, him growing up in the same circumstances and having a simple office made him relatable and even furthermore, helped him become an efficient leader. Cesar Chavez was also dedicated to his work, and for this purpose, he was able to be an efficient leader. Chavez was determined to organize farm workers and it took years of hard work to achieve this (Background Essay). His determination proved to serve as a motivation and helped him create the United Farm Worker Union and equality within the farming community. His dedication served as a battery in which he used and operated on. This was inspiring others to do the same and this proved to serve along with him. His dedication was shown by his inspirational words in Spanish, “Si Se Puede”, which translated means: It can be done. The motto provided motivation from his part and transmitted to others the same dedication that he demonstrated. Therefore, if he believed in the Union and its cause, he was able to provide an example for others in order to follow the same cause. The dedication and inspiring words helped him and his group through even the roughest times and motivated both him and others to keep fighting for farmer’s equality. His dedication through his hard work and inspiring words truly made him an efficient leader. The willingness to sacrifice himself and everything he had for the equality of farm workers made Cesar Chavez an efficient leader. He sacrificed a lifestyle of commodity and