The Greatest American

[humder]

 In 2005 there was a television programme which asked Americans who the greatest American was. Here were the results- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_American

There is a wide gulf by how people view greatness, such as between television presenters and civil rights leaders. Can anyone imagine Bush still being up there?

 I put the top ten in a poll for us to vote on. I am voting for MLK.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Thomas Jefferson no doubt

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Washington.

[NDN]

Ugh, horrible choices.  Washington I guess...

Yay, another poll intended for people with an 8th grade understanding of history.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Ugh, horrible choices.  Washington I guess...

Yay, another poll intended for people with an 8th grade understanding of history.

Agreed. I fail to understand how Oprah Winfrey is considered one of America's greatest. She's a syndicated talk show host for crying outloud! Sure she has influence and a lot of influence....must by East of Eden by John Steinbeck to win over friends......but her extensive influence does not mean she's the greatest American.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Washington - without a doubt.

When you consider that almost always the commanding general of a revolution goes on to be a dictator, he truly was an exceptional individual.  And before we get any idiots chiming in about how it wasn't the man, but his Anglo-American culture, let me remind them of Oliver Cromwell.

[ChrisFromNJ]

Why is Ronald Reagan at the top of this list?

[The Mikado]

Washington - without a doubt.

When you consider that almost always the commanding general of a revolution goes on to be a dictator, he truly was an exceptional individual.  And before we get any idiots chiming in about how it wasn't the man, but his Anglo-American culture, let me remind them of Oliver Cromwell.

Wouldn't Washington be almost ruled out as a monarch by his lack of issue?  Between that and his age, his reign wouldn't have had any chance of lasting past his death, and that death wouldn't be that far off.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Why is Ronald Reagan FDR anywhere near the top of this list?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Washington - without a doubt.

When you consider that almost always the commanding general of a revolution goes on to be a dictator, he truly was an exceptional individual.  And before we get any idiots chiming in about how it wasn't the man, but his Anglo-American culture, let me remind them of Oliver Cromwell.

Wouldn't Washington be almost ruled out as a monarch by his lack of issue?  Between that and his age, his reign wouldn't have had any chance of lasting past his death, and that death wouldn't be that far off.

Lack of issue has not been an issue that has deterred other dictators.  Founding a dynasty is not the sole reason dictators take power.  Julius Caesar had no issue either.

[dead0man]

TR?

[CARLHAYDEN]

Thomas Alva Edison comes to mind.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Franklin

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Terrible list. Whoever made it was trying to commit character assassination against the US.

     Seriously though, Thomas Jefferson.

[humder]

 The viewers of the television show made it.

[Associate Justice PiT]

The viewers of the television show made it.

     . . . The citizenry of the United States is the strongest possible argument against democracy. Well, not quite, but it does seem that way sometimes.

[DownWithTheLeft]

     Terrible list. Whoever made it was trying to commit character assassination against the US.

     Seriously though, Thomas Jefferson.

I believe this was made by the only group collectivley stupider than Americans, Europeans

[King]

Write-In: Thomas Jefferson.  Washington out of these choices.

George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Elvis Pressley? Lolz.

[Hatman 🍁]

I ran a game of this back when this came out. I forget who won.

[exopolitician]

eh...I guess a tossup between Ben Franklin and Washington.

[PBrunsel]

Herbert Hoover was the greatest American, of course. He had the ultimate Hoartio Alger story.

However, the greatest American who did not become president is Henry Ford, the King of Cars. I wish I could be a great entrepenuer like Ford, but I lack capital.

[??????????]

Washington is miles ahead of anyone on this list.

[Franzl]

Washington or Lincoln...I'll say Washington though.

[Хahar 🤔]

Herbert Hoover was the greatest American, of course. He had the ultimate Hoartio Alger story.

However, the greatest American who did not become president is Henry Ford, the King of Cars. I wish I could be a great entrepenuer like Ford, but I lack capital.

I hear there's lots of money to be made in day trading.

[JSojourner]

Dr. King, from that list.

But there are so many great American stories that so few of us know.  My American heroes include some on the list, especially Dr. King, but also... (in no particular order)


Matthew Fontaine Maury
David Brainerd
George Washington Carver
Eleanor Roosevelt
Fanny Lou Hamer
John H. Hall
Dwight L. Moody
Daniel Berrigan
Jonas Salk
Dorothy Day
Edward R. Murrow
Sojourner Truth
Thomas Edison
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Man, I could go on and on.  "Great" is pretty hard to define, too.  John H. Hall invented a rifle that wasn't terribly effective.  How is he on my list?  He was the first person in history to successfully develop and exploit the concept of interchangeable parts.  Before Hall's breechloading rifle (and the later carbine), interchangeability was only wishful thinking.  It changed the way we made just about everything. 

Maury?  His studies of ocean currents, tides and so forth are still required reading at the Naval Academy.  And his work influenced the world's seagoing commerce and military forces for the balance of the 19th and all of the 20th centuries.

Fanny Lou Hamer is the civil rights icon no one knows.  But she was courage personified.

The real "greatest Americans" though...well...they are buried in national cemeteries, unmarked graves, or on foreign battlefields.