Well, We Know Rush Didn't Like the Idea!
"As Benjamin Rush said so incisively in 1808, believing in the 'great man' theory of history makes as much sense as believing in 'witches and conjurors.'" -- Madison and Jefferson , p. 620 I'm not sure what the point is of the above. Now, as noted here before , the "argument from authority" fallacy is not a fallacy when one is citing a legitimate authority. But is Rush an authority on philosophy of history? No, he was a doctor and a chemist. And the above certainly doesn't offer any argument against the great man theory, it simply mocks it. Why not add, "Joe Blow from Kalamazoo also thinks the great man theory of history is dumb"?