# Just what example did the "Man On Horseback" set? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 24, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235 "2010-04-24T19:38:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/1 "2010-04-24T19:38:13Z")
i.e., Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. It was said of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that it was attended by “fifty-five men and one ghost”- the ghost being that of Cromwell. I have heard this cited as the reason that the Federal constitution was deliberately designed to be only indirectly responsive to public opinion, to avoid radical populism or mob rule. But what did Cromwell do to be considered the archtype of a demogogue? What little I know of him suggests he was a top-down sort of guy, not a rabble-rouser. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/2 "2010-04-24T20:41:21Z")
[Barebone's Parliament - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barebone%27s_Parliament) Perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/3 "2010-04-24T23:25:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [Barebone's Parliament - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barebone%27s_Parliament) Perhaps? I didn’t see anything there to suggest that Cromwell was pandering to mob rule. From what I can tell, he created an assembly in an attempt to hammer out some form of government to replace the Rump Parliment, and the assembly dissolved itself after failing to achieve anything meaningful. Perhaps I took the meaning of Cromwell’s example wrong, that it was more of a warning that dictatorship would follow if the Constitutional Convention failed to form a working government. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/4 "2010-04-24T23:36:40Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I didn’t see anything there to suggest that Cromwell was pandering to mob rule. From what I can tell, he created an assembly in an attempt to hammer out some form of government to replace the Rump Parliment, and the assembly dissolved itself after failing to achieve anything meaningful. Perhaps I took the meaning of Cromwell’s example wrong, that it was more of a warning that dictatorship would follow if the Constitutional Convention failed to form a working government. Indeed. If you search for Cromwell and the Federalist papers, he seems to be fairly unanimously paired with Caesar. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/5 "2010-04-27T07:22:26Z")
He probably set a better one than the ‘Man On Horshack.’ Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/6 "2010-04-27T16:41:41Z")
> [@](#): > > But what did Cromwell do to be considered the archtype of a demogogue? What little I know of him suggests he was a top-down sort of guy, not a rabble-rouser. Cromwell was a top-down guy. He appointed the members of the council and the council appointed the members of the assembly. So ultimately everything was dependant on Cromwell’s decisions. The demagogue part was where Cromwell got his power from. Everyone else didn’t allow Cromwell to make all these decisions because they liked his smile. His authority was based on the fact that the army was loyal to him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235/7 "2010-04-27T16:56:03Z")
Hence the comparisons with Julius Caesar. Cromwell showed the Founding Fathers what _not_ to do after deposing one’s monarch.