Abstract
Scholarship on leadership has tended to emphasize its nature and its behavioral features. This article focuses on the formation of leadership by paying particular attention to the role of travel experience in a young (11-29) person's life. The study examines the travel experiences of three nineteenth-century American leaders: John Quincy Adams, Frederick Douglass and Jane Addams. The author's findings establish the importance of travel in the formation of a person's sense of self-confidence, perspective, skills, and sense of purpose, all of which contribute to the formation of their leadership abilities.