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Heroes and villains are sometimes one and the same... Join us as we examine respected world leaders whose dark pasts might surprise you! Our countdown includes figures who embraced violence, held racist views, and supported oppressive policies before their remarkable transformations into celebrated historical icons.
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00:00Today, was Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi racist?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at world leaders whose darker beginnings cast a long shadow over their legacy.
00:13To this day, Cromwell remains a dark silhouette against the blood-stained backdrop of Irish history.
00:20Charles de Gaulle.
00:22Before becoming the French hero of World War II, and the nation's post-war identity, Charles de Gaulle was an individual with deeply problematic views.
00:41While he was not directly a staunch supporter of colonialism, he believed in France's right to dominate foreign peoples.
00:48De Gaulle desired France's colonial empire to be restored, finding it essential to its prestige and place in the world.
00:55Charles de Gaulle also preferred an authoritarian approach when it came to governance.
01:00At six foot five inches in height, he towered over his contemporaries, and with his regal, bearing and firm gaze, he exuded an air of forthright self-confidence.
01:10Despite these flaws, de Gaulle rose to prominence as the leader of the Free French Forces.
01:15Over the following months, de Gaulle's main weapon was BBC Radio.
01:18He would give broadcasts an average of three times per month, denouncing the occupation government based in Vichy, and urging Frenchmen to resist the occupation.
01:26A symbol of France's resistance to Nazi occupation, his post-war presidency helped stabilize the nation.
01:32Nevertheless, de Gaulle's personal contradictions are a reminder that even national heroes have troubling ideologies.
01:39Margaret Thatcher, remembered as the Iron Lady, she was Britain's first female Prime Minister.
01:45Margaret Thatcher exemplified the meaning behind political toughness.
01:49What has indeed happened is that now, once again, Britain is not prepared to be pushed around.
01:57This makes her earlier records, before gaining power, quite obvious in their revelation of a colder and harsher personality.
02:04Thatcher openly supported South Africa's apartheid regime.
02:08The human rights abuses that occurred there were seemingly a little concern to her.
02:12Domestically, Thatcher was seen as dismissive of the struggles of the working class.
02:18Her economic policies promoted and widened inequality.
02:21Her most controversial tax was replacing local rates with a poll tax, using a simple logic that millionaires should pay the same tax as a nurse.
02:31It was free market overreach.
02:33Still, Thatcher is respected by many for reshaping Britain's economy and holding her ground when it came to foreign policy.
02:40Love her or hate her, Thatcher's pre-leadership stances paint a far less flattering picture of the eventual Prime Minister of Britain.
02:47My training, when I'm faced with an argument or a proposition, is quite simple.
02:54First, find the facts.
02:56Then try to find the reasons.
02:58Then propound the policy.
03:00That's not a bad way of going about anything.
03:03Thomas Jefferson.
03:04Slavery has always been a complex discussion in the theater of American politics.
03:09It has also been recognized as the moral failing of many of the nation's heroes.
03:14One of them is Thomas Jefferson.
03:16Jefferson professed to hate slavery, called it an abominable crime.
03:20Revered as one of the founding fathers of America and the author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves.
03:27It's even been said he fathered several children with his enslaved servant, Sally Hemings.
03:33Jefferson's personal life stands in stark contrast to his famous proclamation that all men are created equal.
03:39This is Thomas Jefferson's laptop desk.
03:43This is the desk upon which he wrote early drafts of the Declaration of Independence.
03:47Despite these moral failings, Jefferson's leadership helped shape the U.S. government.
03:52Although the contradictions between Jefferson's ideals and reality lend a study in contrast, he remains a celebrated figure in American history.
04:01A deeply flawed man.
04:02A deeply flawed man.
04:03A deeply flawed man.
04:04A deeply flawed man.
04:05Malcolm X.
04:06The civil rights era gave birth to many powerful voices.
04:10Malcolm X was among the greatest of them.
04:12The European yardstick now isn't necessarily the yardstick.
04:16And what the European calls racialism isn't necessarily racialism.
04:21And what the European calls brotherhood isn't necessarily brotherhood.
04:25Advocating for black empowerment and pride, Malcolm X became a prominent figure in the black people's struggle for recognition.
04:32Anytime you have a country that refers to itself as the free world and a democracy, and at the same time has 22 million of its citizens who aren't permitted citizenship, why that in itself reflects lunacy.
04:45Before his transformation as a voice for the voiceless, Malcolm's life was steeped in crime.
04:50As a young man, he was involved in dealing, gambling, and robberies.
04:54These activities eventually landed him in prison.
04:57Prison changed Malcolm's life, and he underwent a dramatic ideological shift.
05:01Embracing education and faith, he propelled himself into activism.
05:05While controversial throughout his life, Malcolm X's metamorphosis from criminal to respected leader highlights the complexities of redemption.
05:13I do believe that the black man in the United States, and any human being, anywhere, is well within his right to do whatever is necessary, by any means necessary, to protect his life and property, especially in a country where the federal government itself has proven that it is either unable or unwilling to protect the lives and property of those human beings.
05:35Anwar Sadat
05:36You would think that winning a Nobel Prize would dispel any shade of negativity.
05:41This is not the case with Anwar Sadat.
05:43Sadat was a new president.
05:45Nobody knew how stable his rule of Egypt is.
05:50The Egyptian president pursued peace, and won the Nobel Prize for the groundbreaking treaty he settled with Israel.
05:57Unfortunately, his earlier years paint a darker picture.
06:00Sadat was reportedly implicated in an assassination plot.
06:04Worst of all, he collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II, aligning himself with fascist ideologies.
06:11Sadat's early political activities leaned toward violence and extremism.
06:16He would gradually evolve into a statesman who sought stability in the Middle East.
06:20Sadat was very clear that this was the first step.
06:26If we insisted that we get the agreement of all the Arab countries, we would not be able to get them.
06:34From a man of violence to peacemaker, Sadat's past underscores the controversial nature of his legacy.
06:40This is my way. I like it.
06:42Oliver Cromwell. To some, he is the defender of parliamentary democracy. To others, especially the Irish, he is remembered as a brutal oppressor.
06:51The English writer G. K. Chesterton said of Cromwell's conquest of Ireland that it was a tragic necessity that the Irish should remember it, but far more tragic that the English forgot it.
07:03Either way, Oliver Cromwell was a man of various shades.
07:06Before becoming Lord Protector of England, Cromwell led military campaigns in Ireland not for the best reasons.
07:13His campaigns were marked by massacres, scorched earth tactics, and widespread terror.
07:19For many people, Cromwell's campaign on Ireland begins and ends with those notorious massacres.
07:24But they only form part of the story.
07:26Cromwell's ruthlessness left a deep scar in the minds of the Irish people.
07:31Today, he is celebrated for helping establish a form of democratic parliamentary power and limiting the monarchy.
07:38With a deeply divided reputation, it is clear that Cromwell's rise to leadership was paved in blood and cruelty.
07:45He remains a remarkably modern figure, relevant to our understanding of both the past and the present.
07:52Somebody to be closely studied and understood, rather than revered or reviled.
07:58Franklin D. Roosevelt.
08:00This U.S. President is remembered for steering the nation through the darkness of the Great Depression and the depravity of World War II.
08:07So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
08:19But Franklin D. Roosevelt's earlier views were far from inspiring.
08:23Before becoming President of the United States of America, Roosevelt reportedly supported eugenics.
08:30Expressing discriminatory and ableist beliefs, Roosevelt's beliefs sharply clashed with the public image that he had constructed for himself as a progressive leader.
08:39I know that it is America's purpose that we shall not fail.
08:44Although Roosevelt threw aside his regressive thoughts, they still cast a long shadow over his legacy.
08:49It was a troubling start, but Roosevelt's wartime leadership eventually secured him a place among the greats.
08:56His story demonstrates how a leader's early prejudices don't always define their impact.
09:01For unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world.
09:10Winston Churchill.
09:11Known for his bullish spirit and leadership of Britain during World War II, Winston Churchill's pre-war record was anything but heroic.
09:19I know why most people think of him as a hero because they know absolutely nothing about huge aspects of his legacy.
09:25It was the same Churchill who advocated for the use of poison gas against what he reportedly called uncivilized tribes in Africa.
09:33The Indian subcontinent also fell in Churchill's crosshairs.
09:37Overseeing brutal colonial campaigns, Churchill implemented policies that also contributed to the devastating Bengal famine.
09:44Churchill did several things that greatly aggravated.
09:48His open racism and imperialist attitudes were not anomalies, but something that he followed through with in his worldview.
09:55Churchill's legacy is a paradoxical one, where he serves as both a savior in crisis to his nation and an architect of suffering to others.
10:04It is my duty to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe.
10:10Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India, was revered as the champion of non-violent resistance.
10:16It is complete independence that we want.
10:20Yet, despite his stance against colonialism and slavery, the Mahatma's earlier life speaks to a very different individual.
10:27As a young lawyer in South Africa, the same Mahatma Gandhi openly expressed racist and discriminatory views.
10:33He very much embodied and believed strongly in the ideals of Western civilization at the time, which were premised on various forms of white supremacy.
10:42Gandhi treated Africans as inferior and pushed for segregationist policies.
10:47Unlike his later advocacy for equality and peace, Gandhi's past was mirrored in darker thoughts.
10:53He later became the leader of India's independence movement, and in the process transformed himself into a global symbol of non-violence.
11:01Gandhi was a bundle of contradictions, right? Like any complex human being.
11:06The problem is, when you declare somebody a Mahatma or a great soul, and then you decide to worship that person for the rest of your life for posterity.
11:16That's where the problem comes.
11:18Nonetheless, controversies echo through his family's continued influence in Indian politics, particularly under the authoritarian regime of Indira Gandhi, further cementing the Gandhi name in history.
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11:44Nelson Mandela
11:47He was the hero who dismantled apartheid and guided South Africa toward reconciliation.
11:53Only through commitment have these victories been won. Only through discipline can they be consolidated and made to last.
12:06Even then, Nelson Mandela had a checkered past of his own to recall.
12:10Before becoming president, Mandela fully embraced violent resistance.
12:15Co-founder of Umkantawasiswa, the armed wing of the African National Congress, Mandela carried out bombings and sabotage.
12:22At the time of the 1948 election, Mandela had already been a powerful member of the ANC's Youth League for several years.
12:28During that time, it radicalized more and more, becoming attracted to an ideology of civil disobedience.
12:34The deaths of civilians were an acceptable collateral damage.
12:38These efforts branded Mandela a terrorist in the eyes of Western governments.
12:42However, over the decades that followed, Mandela gradually turned toward peace and forgiveness.
12:48We are striving to proceed in a manner and towards a result which will ensure that all our people, both black and white,
13:02emerge as victims.
13:06Refusing to let vengeance shape South Africa's future, Mandela became a beloved global icon who set aside his militant beginnings
13:14in one of the most profound personal transformations in modern history.
13:18We know better because we are the people who are responsible for this negotiating process.
13:25And we should be telling the world what methods of action should be abandoned and at what time.
13:32Did these leaders' early flaws tarnish their legacies?
13:35Or did their later actions rectify their past?
13:38Let us know in the comments.
13:40Let us know in the comments.
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