18th May, 2004

20 greatest Americans

To follow up on my original post, here is my version of the 20 greatest figures in American history. I selected the candidates according to their virtues as Americans - and to do that, I had to derive the essence of Americanism. I selected three characteristics: love of freedom, individual rights, and the creation of wealth. Several vocations met these traits: statesmen, soldiers, philosophers, inventors and entrepreneurs. Here goes:

22-15.) Ronald Reagan, Ludwig von Mises, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Alexander Graham Bell, Mark Twain, Douglas MacArthur
Speakers and Writers:
14.) Frederick Douglass
13.) Thomas Paine
Generals:
11.) Ulysses S. Grant
10.) George S. Patton
Inventors & Businessmen:
9.) Thomas Edison
8.) Henry Ford
7.) Orville & Wilbur Wright
Philosophers and Statesmen:
6.) Ayn Rand
12.) Alexander Hamilton
5.) John Adams
4.) James Madison
3.) Benjamin Franklin
2.) Thomas Jefferson
1.) George Washington

Posted by: David

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Personally, I’d put John D. Rockefeller as one of the top few greatest american or even greatest men to ever live. It was he who brought light to the world! Before he existed the day ended at dusk, afterwards man was able to make his own hours.

By: Keenan I. Nichols UNITED STATES on May 18th, 2004
at 4:51 am

completely agree with your list…more than 90% of the people were on my personal list.

By: Isabel UNITED STATES on May 25th, 2004
at 4:06 pm

David, why isn’t Mr. Lincoln higher? My list would have Ben Franklin 1st, and Lincoln 2nd. Also, what’s this Ayn Rand business? Are you a strong anti-God individualist? She may have strong stands, but there is no way that she should out-rank abolitionists like Douglass and Lincoln. If your looking for philosophers, how about Emerson or Whitman? Might I also recommend putting a list in list form, not jumbled up in a paragraph.

By: Patriot UNITED STATES Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 on June 6th, 2005
at 12:45 am

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