JU's Top 10 Americans

Are We Better Than Those on Discovery Channel?

Published on June 10, 2005 By NJforever In Blogging

Recently, Bakerstreet wrote an article about Discovery Channel's Top 100 AmericansLink. I must say, that list is, more or less, an embarrasment. I mean come on; John Edwards? Madonna? Dr. Phil? Teddy Roosevelt came behind Oprah, for crying out loud.

So, I decided we should have our own Top Americans thing. 100 would require so many people voting, I don't think it's such a good idea. To that effect, I cut it down to the Top 10 Americans. Just post your vote here, and after a bit, I'll count them up and announce the top 10 Americans according to JU. The polls are open, let the voting begin!

Comments (Page 2)

Moderateman

on Jun 11, 2005

silly me I thought this was about people on joe user... 0h well put that down to flufogged brain.

Great americans: The immagrants that built america, while becomming citizens and learning english while raising huge families.

MasonM

on Jun 11, 2005

I wondered how long it would take for someone to realize Churchill was a Brit, not an American.

Moderateman

on Jun 11, 2005

#21 by MasonM
Saturday, June 11, 2005

wondered how long it would take for someone to realize Churchill was a Brit, not an American.

jfj is an imposter mason, I refuse to even "play" its game, that is why I did not correct it.

Death_By_Beebles

on Jun 11, 2005

Poe wrote some nicely creepy stories, and Warhol introduced us to soup cans as art, but did they improve day to day life for millions of people in doing so,or merely provide us with the momentary pleasure of entertainment?

So you would pick Oprah and Dr. Phil over Warhol and Poe?

I'm not saying that these people need to be in the top 10, or even the top 100, but when the top 100 americans include Dr. Phil and Oprah and don't include people like Thoreau or Emerson, you've got the silent degradation of the American culture in pure sight.

bakerstreet

on Jun 11, 2005

"wondered how long it would take for someone to realize Churchill was a Brit, not an American."

I wasn't going to be nit-picky, but neither is Steven Hawking or Paul McCartney

"Poe wrote some nicely creepy stories, and Warhol introduced us to soup cans as art, but did they improve day to day life for millions of people in doing so,or merely provide us with the momentary pleasure of entertainment?"

There's my problem, really. What do you mean by 'greatest'? Is it tangible results? It is protecting our existance, is it accomplishment? Is it moral superiority?

For instance Henry Ford made a huge impact, but he was also a die-hard anti-semite. Does that remove him from being 'great'? Washington was a 'great' man, but, honestly, I don't consider him to be one of the greatest Americans, frankly.

I think unless we pin down what makes someone 'great', a list like this is impossible. Granted, with the loosest definition of 'great' the Discovery channel list is still idiotic...

bakerstreet

on Jun 11, 2005

Poe, for instance, basically invented the detective story. Now that may seem trivial, but how much money has been spent on such in the US since he died? How many people were employed writing, printing, and selling detective stories? How many people were influenced by Poe, and in turn wrote their own books and stories that employed all those same people?

It isn't so easy to write people like that off, really. Harriet Beecher Stowe was just a writer, too. Hell, for that matter, Jefferson wasn't much more than a writer.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 11, 2005

Thomas Paine
Patrick Henry
Benjamin Franklin
Alexander Graham Bell
Henry David Thoreau
Martin Luther King
Thomas Edison
The Wright Brothers
Franklin Roosevelt
Bill Gates (time will vindicate me on this choice)

bakerstreet

on Jun 11, 2005

Ouch, Gates and no Lincoln? The US would exist without Gates, the reverse is very debateable. I *might* be able to fit Gates into a top 100, but there'd be no room in the top 50 for him.

MasonM

on Jun 11, 2005

Gates? A liar, a cheat, and a thief who never had an original idea in his life. I guess if one wants to put corporate criminals on a pedestal, then yeah he would have to be at the top.

Ooooh, the shame!

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 11, 2005

Ouch, Gates and no Lincoln? The US would exist without Gates, the reverse is very debateable.

You and I disagree a great deal on Lincoln's legacy, Baker. Yes, he preserved the union. But I'm not sure that it couldn't have been preserved WITHOUT destroying the Constitution. Lincoln's record on the constitution, while arguably necessary for the time, set a HORRIBLE precedent that future presidents followed with lesser justification.

I did try to weigh the good and the bad somewhat, though, which is why I included Gates. I remember the world before DOS, and it was a world in which we had to write our own programs, which for the majority of us were slow and/or inefficient, and in which internet communication on the level we know it would be virtually impossible due to incompatibility of operating systems. Many software companies changed that, but Microsoft, despite its shady tactics, remains the most notable. I stand by my choice.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 11, 2005

By the way, baker, my omission of Washington was not as much because of a bias as because I already had three of the early patriots on the list. I feel that Thomas Paine's assistance in writing pamphlets for the patriot cause helped stir a number of people who would otherwise be fence sitters into action. Patrick Henry, was of course, one of the chief reasons the Bill of Rights was written. And Benjamin Franklin deserves as much credit for his inventions and contributions as an ambassador as his role in founding the country (I could have easily interchanged Thomas Jefferson in this role). My omission of Washington wasn't a slight, just a choice due to the shortness of the list.

Just thought I'd clarify THAT point before getting slammed for omitting Washington...lol

NJforever

on Jun 11, 2005

Some interesting votes, and even a little debate! This is turning out a little like the British one; they even had debates in Parliament about that one. I stand by my choice of Washington, because without him, this country never would have lasted, in more ways than one. His military skills helped win the Revolution, and his role in writing the Constitution, not to mention his time as president, win him Greatest American to me. But as I said before, interpret this any way you like. Makes the list a bit harder, like Bakerstreet said, but it also makes it a bit more fun, in my opinion.

Gideon MacLeish

on Jun 11, 2005

I stand by my choice of Washington, because without him, this country never would have lasted, in more ways than one. His military skills helped win the Revolution, and his role in writing the Constitution, not to mention his time as president, win him Greatest American to me.

NJ,

I must admit I wavered a bit before omitting Washington, for the very reasons you cite. But I wanted to kind of cross the historical spectrum, so I could only allow so many from each era. I chose Paine and Henry because their contributions were in their literary and oratorical skills that helped shape the opinions of the colonists (and, in the case of Paine, recruit volunteers), and as such they are often relegated to the backseat, while Washington's unquestionable military genius and leadership acumen take the forefront. They were, in many ways, the "wind beneath Washington's wings", and I thought it fair they deserved recognition. As for Jefferson vs. Franklin, it was a virtual coin flip, Franklin winning similarly because of his tendency to be relegated to a "lower" status, while his extreme popularity in Europe heled garner overseas support for our cause. When it comes to the colonial era, it just can't be done without omitting a great number of worthy Americans.

As to Lincoln, I feel that individuals like Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and others, contributed more towards the elimination of slavery than did Lincoln. An expanded list would have included them before Abe, who, I believe was in many ways, a product of the times (don't believe me? John C. Fremont garnered only 6% less of the popular vote than Lincoln in 1856; a divided Democratic Party, as Lincoln faced in 1860, might well have made Fremont, NOT Lincoln, the first Republican president and precipitated the Civil War under HIS administration).

In case you haven't yet guessed from my list, I believe that writers and orators have done a great deal more in shaping the nation than politicians. Politicians are often put in place by the rhetoric of the writers and orators.

bakerstreet

on Jun 11, 2005

Gid: I'm not a huge Washington fan, either. Not that I think he did anything wrong, I just think his "first President" thing generally overshadows people who made huge contributions.

I don't fault you, like I say it is a matter of criterea. Unless you come up with something more descriptive than "greatest", it is impossible to really come up with a good list.

Again, that doesn't excuse people who nominate Michael Jackson and Ellen Degeneres. We can sit and debate whether Theodore Roosevelt or Washington could be included, along with hundreds of others, and never sink to that level...

Dr Guy

on Jun 11, 2005

Seriously (and thanks).

Thomas Jefferson

Ben Franklin

George Washington

FDR

DDE

James Monroe

Andy Jackson

Paul Volker

MLK

RWR

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!