The vast majority of the people who have lived in this world come from the group we think of as “ordinary people.”  Although individuals rarely receive mention in the history books if they are “ordinary,” they have always, and always will remain the strongest force that shapes historical events.

Ordinary people thrust the great people into the spotlight.  While the greatest leaders in the government, military, social movements, and any other type of movement or organization receive credit (which they often deserve) for changing the course of events, they only react to the events that shape the ordinary people’s lives. 

George Washington accepted command of the Continental Army, attended the Constitutional Convention, and became president to hold his new nation together in the face of problems that affected the common man.  Even in ancient times, Julius Caesar shaped his policies to deal with broad problems caused by the conflict between the rich and the poor in Rome.

The great names of history could never become great without the support of ordinary people.  In the modern world, people often choose their leaders through election.  Where people do not get to choose their leaders, the leaders still need their support to function.  Generals need privates and presidents need bureaucrats. 

In the ancient and medieval worlds, this support also determined the success or failure of people considered great.  Alexander the Great stopped his conquests in India not because he grew tired of conquests.  His soldiers refused to go further, and thus, Alexander could not go forward.  Martin Luther would have died as an executed heretic if large numbers of people had not believed in his movement and insulated him from the Catholic Church.

Ordinary people and their leaders share the common bonds of their societies.  Rome needed the support of its people to expand its ancient borders.  Without the commitment of the majority of the people, no leader could engage in conquests.  Sometimes, the leaders, like Martin Luther or John Calvin of the Protestant Reformation, shaped the beliefs of the common man.  But without the support of the many nameless people, their movements would have died just like those of their predecessors.

At other times, the ordinary people begin the movements, and great names emerge to build upon the needs and desires of the general population.  Most revolutions begin with dissatisfaction among a large number of ordinary people.  A few spokespeople emerge, and soon they become leaders of a new movement.  Names such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams would have become obscure if large numbers of people had not vehemently opposed British taxes. 

Many movements begin and develop without many great names.  The spread of Christianity took over the Roman Empire, not because of the Church fathers, but because too many people converted for Rome to kill them all.  When the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, the people had made it the most popular religion in the Empire, and he reacted to the ordinary people’s impact on society more than he shaped that movement himself.

Throughout history, the ordinary people shape history, build the great people, and move society forward or backward.  The rules of society, the morals, religions, economics, and every facet of a society are established by the majority, not by a few great leaders.  The great names of history can guide society, or be guided by them.   Either way, the success of great people depends on their ability to obtain followings among the ordinary people, whether by persuasion or by coercion.