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During his lifetime, some tracts painted him as a [[Hypocrites|hypocrite]] motivated by power — for example, ''The Machiavilian Cromwell'' and ''The Juglers Discovered'', both part of an attack on Cromwell by the [[Levellers]] after 1647, present him as a Machiavellian figure.  After his death and public disgrace there were many denunciations and a few positive portrayals, such as John Spittlehouse's ''A Warning Piece Discharged'' which compared him to Moses, rescuing the English by taking them safely through the Red Sea of the civil wars.<ref>John Morrill,  "Cromwell and his contemporaries", in Morrill, (1990) pp. 263–4, 271-2</ref> The great royalist historian Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, in his ''History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England'' (1667) declared that Cromwell "will be looked upon by posterity as a brave bad man". Clarendon argued that Cromwell's rise to power had been helped not only by his great spirit and energy, but also by his ruthlessness. The aristocracy was especially hostile to Cromwell, in large part because of his strong appeal to the common folk.

During his lifetime, some tracts painted him as a [[Hypocrites|hypocrite]] motivated by power — for example, ''The Machiavilian Cromwell'' and ''The Juglers Discovered'', both part of an attack on Cromwell by the [[Levellers]] after 1647, present him as a Machiavellian figure.  After his death and public disgrace there were many denunciations and a few positive portrayals, such as John Spittlehouse's ''A Warning Piece Discharged'' which compared him to Moses, rescuing the English by taking them safely through the Red Sea of the civil wars.<ref>John Morrill,  "Cromwell and his contemporaries", in Morrill, (1990) pp. 263–4, 271-2</ref> The great royalist historian Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, in his ''History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England'' (1667) declared that Cromwell "will be looked upon by posterity as a brave bad man". Clarendon argued that Cromwell's rise to power had been helped not only by his great spirit and energy, but also by his ruthlessness. The aristocracy was especially hostile to Cromwell, in large part because of his strong appeal to the common folk.

[[John Adams]] regarded Cromwell as a great hero of liberty whose principles found their culmination in the American Founding. At Worcester, the site of a famous battle during the English Civil War, Adams remarked that all England should travel to the site in order to pay honor to Cromwell. "And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground… All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill once a year."<ref>John Adams, by David McCullough, p 359; Simon & Schuster, 2001</ref> On the other hand, [[Alexander Hamilton]] denounced the Lord Protector in ''Federalist'' No. 21, even comparing him to Julius Caesar. Hamilton, discussing the despotism of certain states in the Union, asked: "Who can determine what might have been the issue of her late convulsions, if the malcontents had been headed by a Caesar or by a Cromwell?"<ref>http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed21.asp</ref>

On the other hand, [[John Adams]] regarded Cromwell as a great hero of liberty whose principles found their culmination in the American Founding. At Worcester, the site of a famous battle during the English Civil War, Adams remarked that all England should travel to the site in order to pay honor to Cromwell. "And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground… All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill once a year."<ref>John Adams, by David McCullough, p 359; Simon & Schuster, 2001</ref> On the other hand, [[Alexander Hamilton]] denounced the Lord Protector in ''Federalist'' No. 21, even comparing him to Julius Caesar. Hamilton, discussing the despotism of certain states in the Union, asked: "Who can determine what might have been the issue of her late convulsions, if the malcontents had been headed by a Caesar or by a Cromwell?"<ref>http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed21.asp</ref>

The conservative President [[Calvin Coolidge]] spoke very highly of Cromwell and regarded him as a pivotal figure in the triumph of English liberty over despotic monarchy. In his ''Autobiography'', the thirtieth president recounts his education of English history under Professor Morse at Amherst College: “We saw the British Empire rise until it ruled the seas. The brilliance of the statesmanship of the different periods, the rugged character of the patriotic leaders, of Anselm, and Simon de Montfort, of Cromwell and the Puritans, who dared to oppose the tyranny of the kings, the growth of learning, the development of commerce, the administration of justice – all these and more were presented for our consideration."<ref>The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge, pg. 49 (digital eBook)</ref> Coolidge also compared Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia favorably to Cromwell's New Model Army, saying that "except for the forces of Oliver Cromwell, no army was ever more thoroughly religious than that which followed General Lee."<ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=24187</ref>  

The conservative President [[Calvin Coolidge]] spoke very highly of Cromwell and regarded him as a pivotal figure in the triumph of English liberty over despotic monarchy. In his ''Autobiography'', the thirtieth president recounts his education of English history under Professor Morse at Amherst College: “We saw the British Empire rise until it ruled the seas. The brilliance of the statesmanship of the different periods, the rugged character of the patriotic leaders, of Anselm, and Simon de Montfort, of Cromwell and the Puritans, who dared to oppose the tyranny of the kings, the growth of learning, the development of commerce, the administration of justice – all these and more were presented for our consideration."<ref>The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge, pg. 49 (digital eBook)</ref> Coolidge also compared Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia favorably to Cromwell's New Model Army, saying that "except for the forces of Oliver Cromwell, no army was ever more thoroughly religious than that which followed General Lee."<ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=24187</ref>  

In the early 18th century, Cromwell’s image began to be adopted and reshaped by the [[Whig Party|Whigs]], an out-party opposing the Tories around the Hanoverian kings. They stressed Cromwell as [[Republicanism|republican]], a theme often adopted by American historians.<ref>Blair Worden, ''Roundhead Reputations: The English Civil Wars and the Passions of Posterity'' (2001). pp. 53–59.</ref>

In the early 18th century, Cromwell's image began to be adopted and reshaped by the [[Whig Party|Whigs]], an out-party opposing the Tories around the Hanoverian kings. They stressed Cromwell as [[Republicanism|republican]], a theme often adopted by American historians.<ref>Blair Worden, ''Roundhead Reputations: The English Civil Wars and the Passions of Posterity'' (2001). pp. 53–59.</ref>

During the early 19th century, Cromwell's image was glorified by Romantic artists and poets. French author Victor Hugo's 1827 play ''Cromwell'' was representative of the French romantic movement, showing Cromwell as a ruthless yet dynamic Romantic hero. The major breakthrough came at the hands of a leading Romantic historian, [[Thomas Carlyle]] who in the 1840s saw Cromwell as the hero in a battle between good and evil. Carlyle used Cromwell as a model for restoring morality to a [[Victorian era]] that otherwise was prone to timidity, meaningless rhetoric, and moral compromise. The growth of Nonconformity in the nineteenth century encouraged an appreciation of Cromwell's Puritanism.

During the early 19th century, Cromwell's image was glorified by Romantic artists and poets. French author Victor Hugo's 1827 play ''Cromwell'' was representative of the French romantic movement, showing Cromwell as a ruthless yet dynamic Romantic hero. The major breakthrough came at the hands of a leading Romantic historian, [[Thomas Carlyle]] who in the 1840s saw Cromwell as the hero in a battle between good and evil. Carlyle used Cromwell as a model for restoring morality to a [[Victorian era]] that otherwise was prone to timidity, meaningless rhetoric, and moral compromise. The growth of Nonconformity in the nineteenth century encouraged an appreciation of Cromwell's Puritanism.