Who do You Think was the Greatest American

[lawrocket 3]

I know that this is centered on Americans, and this is a worldwide forum. But I think everyone's opinion counts.

I saw a commercial on, I think, the History Channel where they were going to count down the "Greatest Americans." That got me fascinated to thinking who I would consider to top that list. I am having a hard time deciding.

The first on the list is James Madison. He is, quite simply, the fatjer of our Constitution and our system of government. I don't think any American politician can come close to touching him with regard to his greatness and lasting effects for over 200 years. He practically drafted the Constitution and even though he did not think they were necessary, he drafted the Bill of Rights as a political maneuver. Talk about a lasting effect!

My other choice is Eli Whitney. While not a politician, he nevertheless changed the history of America and the history of the world with two separate inventions. How? First, by inventing the cotton gin, he made cotton textiles available at a cheap price to the world. The invention was so simple and revolutionary, it was easily copied and he made no money on it. The South prospered because it had a cash crop. The North prospered because of textile mills.

The other invention? "The American System" which later became known as "Mass Production" through use of interchangeable parts. Specifically, he used this sytem for muskets. While all of Whitney's features were previously seen in Europe, Eli Whitney put it all together. Ironically, while his cotton gin helped create the Civil War due to its impact on the economy and its strengthening of the South, his mass production system helped win the war for the North and created the modern industrial age.


Who do you think was/is the greatest American, and why?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Ben Frankin:

Beer Brewer.
Lawyer.
Inventor/Engineer.
Fat Guy.
Politician.
Patriot.
Reputed Manwhore.
$100 Bill Guy.

[shropshire 0]

Tatanka Iyotaka - (a real American) - for standing up for his rights and those of his people.



(you've go to love Google)

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Ron 10]

I'd have to venture Ben Franklin.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Tink1717 2]

Lincoln. He preserved the union and in doing so allowed for the creation of the modern United States. Most of what we now take for granted, like a single currency, is a by product of the civil war. Lincoln is also the only executive to submit to a popular election during time of war. He did this and won. We are all better for it.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[miked10270 0]

Yeah, we've had those TV shows, the one where you voted for "The Greatest Briton" & what you got was popularist crap! John Harrison came in at #53, Margaret Thatcher came in at #15, & Princess Diana came in at #2! Go figure. Needless to say Winston Churchill came in at #1.

Germany also had a similar show - 100 Great Germans - but "A Certain Austrian" and his colleagues were pre-disqualified! Otherwise, the vote might have been disturbingly interesting?

Beware. If this is a similar show, then you can expect the likes of "Elvis", "Eminem" & "Snoop-drivey-by-bang" coming in WAY ahead of George Washington, FDR, JFK, etc... Of course, you can always have fun predicting the Lee-Harvey-Oswald vote!?

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[sfzombie13 324]

i would have a hard time choosing between patrick henry and and stonewall jackson. both were very great leaders and neither was afraid to die for what he believed in.

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Quote

i would have a hard time choosing between patrick henry and and stonewall jackson. both were very great leaders and neither was afraid to die for what he believed in.

Stonewall Jackson?!? I'd say that Confederate Traitors are DQ'ed off the bat...

[AggieDave 6]

That's the grade school history of Lincoln.

He actually did a lot of very bad things as well.

The war was perpetuated atleast 3 years due to his doing. He was in bed with big business and let them trade arms and goods to the south so that his big business friends gain incredible wealth.

That is the tip of the iceberg. I would suggest some indepth reading.


I honestly believe that although overall Lincoln did some good and he's remembered well, he's not the president that people think he was.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Andrewwhyte 1]

We had that in Canada recently. I voted for Don Cherry just to freak the artsy fucks out.
I've always admired the writing of Thomas Jefferson. From reading Lawrocket's post I realise I may be misinformed, however, about his importance in drafting the constitution.
Chuck Yeager is the greatest living American.

[wmw999 2,589]

Interesting; while I don't think that confederates should be DQ'd, I sure can't think of any I'd include (and neither Patrick Henry nor Stonewall Jackson did anything more than personal stuff that was mostly at the right time in the right place -- they were individuals, not as much leaders).

I'd have to say FDR. He wasn't perfect by a long shot, but he really tried to set up programs that would help our country solve the very significant problems of the depression and then WW2. He was trying to address the system as a whole, rathen than simply band-aid solutions that hit on one particular small visible piece.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Zenister 0]

i'd vote for Franklin as well...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[markd_nscr986 0]

Possibly Ben Franklin and/or Thomas Jefferson........



Honorable Mention for assorted reasons

Samuel Clemens

"Hap" Arnold

Joe Foss

J Robert Oppenheimer

Andrew Carnegie

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[mcarchangel 0]

I have to go with the origional George. He had the chance to be king, and passed it up to be President for eight and then retire to his farm. He was the one irreplacable man for the colonies to become something more.

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"These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They're back! There's no choice left, and I'm ready for war."

[kallend 2,150]

Has to be This guy

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[miked10270 0]

Quote

Has to be This guy

LOVE the Americans - quick off the mark as ever!?

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=325

Anyway - he's already won "Greatest Briton".

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

Lincoln. He preserved the union and in doing so allowed for the creation of the modern United States. Most of what we now take for granted, like a single currency, is a by product of the civil war. Lincoln is also the only executive to submit to a popular election during time of war. He did this and won. We are all better for it.

Huh? Quite a few presidents were reelected during war - FDR in 44, Nixon in 72, Bush in 2004.

I'm going to submit that American history is sufficiently long now that there isn't going to be a singular choice. The top 10 or 20 aren't distinguishable, and many of them have serious flaws. I think the the founding fathers have to rank pretty high for accomplishing a difficult task, and in doing some created one of the longest standing current governments.

I've got to slam Eli Whitney from the list though - his cotton gin is thought to have made slavery profitable enough to continue the practice until the Civil War.

[rehmwa 2]

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I'd have to say FDR. He wasn't perfect by a long shot, but he really tried to set up programs ......

FDR did some great things, but I'd say laying the groundwork for the modern welfare state is the,...

What's the word that means the opposite of great?

But I'm sure his intentions were good.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[wmw999 2,589]

CCC, WPA, PWA (there were other acronyms, also). Many of them took people who had no work, and put them to work building things. A lot of it is stuff that we still use, like the Hoover Dam and a lot of state and national parks.

I'd like to see more of that in the current welfare system.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Tink1717 2]

Oops, should have read "...submit to a popular election during time of CIVIL war...." No other US leader has done that. Few, if any, have done it elsewhere.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[Kennedy 0]

Group A:
Jefferson, Madison, Franklin (HM to Washington and Adams)

Group B:
Joe Foss, Pat Tillman (HM to Audie Murphy)

Group C:
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Einstein,

Group D:
MLK Jr, Charlton Heston


Absolutely positively have no chance whatsoever of ever being on my list?
FDR
W. Wilson
Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Kwasi Mfume

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[dorbie 0]

Quote

Has to be This guy

Aw crap, I was gonna suggest this guy but it turns out he really is a yank.

Looks like it has to be this guy, that white horse of his really swung it.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Oops, should have read "...submit to a popular election during time of CIVIL war...." No other US leader has done that. Few, if any, have done it elsewhere.

We've only had one civil war, so he can't be compared to other presidents in that regard. And he only freed the slaves in the states that were rebelling, so what's that worth, truly? He did preside over a pretty rough hand.

As for elsewhere, I'd bet there have been many 'elections' during uprisings, where the voice of the rebels is either insignificant or squashed. Hence the uprising.

[murrays 0]

I also thought that the Constitution was mostly Jefferson's work...but, if James Madison framed the U.S. Constitution then I would give him my vote. I think it is an amazing document. Simply amazing.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[sfzombie13 324]

read the subjest line....american not leader. and stonewall jackson was one of the greatest that lived. so he was a confederate, that means....? we was a hero before the civil war started, and patrick henry.....was a great man, not told alot about the real story in the history books, but then again thats mostly a load of crap. it was written by the winners. the civil war was about as cut and dried as me telling you how to become a pilot in a magazine article. you can get the basics, but then what?

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes