Great man theory
Videos
The great man theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century. According to it, history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes: highly influential
Napoleon, a typical great man, said to have created the "Napoleonic" era through his military and political genius
Bust of Thomas Carlyle by Thomas Woolner
Herbert Spencer was a contemporary critic of Carlyle's great man theory.
William James was a 19th-century philosopher and psychologist.
People's history
Videos
A people's history, or history from below, is a type of historical narrative which attempts to account for historical events from the perspective of common people rather than leaders. There is an emph
Great man theory
…into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these. This theory is usually contrasted with people's history, which emphasises the life of the masses creating overwhelming waves of smaller events which carry leaders along with them. Another contrasting school…
The Civil Rights movement in the United States