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The GREATEST AMERICAN EVER is. . .
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...There's too many things wrong with that list.
I'd definitely have Washington be #1. Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln would follow in no real order. FDR did a great job with the Great Depression and WWII, but he gave the presidency a little too much power. So I'd say Thomas Edison, and then probably FDR.
Washington should be #1 just for not deciding to basically be king. That was huge. He was a good general during the Revolutionary War but really the fact that he denied that sort of power is a huge, huge deal. Who knows what state this country would be in, if it'd still exist, had he not done that.
I like Ben Franklin because the guy did so much for the colonies and the new country. He was a statesman, an inventor, a scientist, a philosopher... and he helped convince the French to aid the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Teddy Roosevelt did a lot to help bring about change in the new century in a big way. Food and Drugs Act, standing up to monopolies, allowing for the construction of the Panama Canal. There's more, but I've forgotten most.
Jefferson was a good founding father and a controversial president. Huge points for making sure the Constitution had a Bill of Rights.
Lincoln preserved the union. He freed the slaves. However, I think history might hold him up in a brighter light due to the assassination (like Kennedy). If I recall correctly, he only freed slaves in certain states because he was worried about others leaving the union at the time.
Then there's Edison. The guy damn near singlehandedly brought us into the modern age. The lightbulb (at least a much MUCH more efficient model). The phonograph, the motion picture, and shitloads more.
I dunno. It's been a long while since APUSH. GWB shouldn't be anywhere in the top 200 million let alone top 10. Ronald Reagan gets points for "bombing will commence in five minutes." That just sounds hilarious.
I'd definitely have Washington be #1. Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln would follow in no real order. FDR did a great job with the Great Depression and WWII, but he gave the presidency a little too much power. So I'd say Thomas Edison, and then probably FDR.
Washington should be #1 just for not deciding to basically be king. That was huge. He was a good general during the Revolutionary War but really the fact that he denied that sort of power is a huge, huge deal. Who knows what state this country would be in, if it'd still exist, had he not done that.
I like Ben Franklin because the guy did so much for the colonies and the new country. He was a statesman, an inventor, a scientist, a philosopher... and he helped convince the French to aid the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Teddy Roosevelt did a lot to help bring about change in the new century in a big way. Food and Drugs Act, standing up to monopolies, allowing for the construction of the Panama Canal. There's more, but I've forgotten most.
Jefferson was a good founding father and a controversial president. Huge points for making sure the Constitution had a Bill of Rights.
Lincoln preserved the union. He freed the slaves. However, I think history might hold him up in a brighter light due to the assassination (like Kennedy). If I recall correctly, he only freed slaves in certain states because he was worried about others leaving the union at the time.
Then there's Edison. The guy damn near singlehandedly brought us into the modern age. The lightbulb (at least a much MUCH more efficient model). The phonograph, the motion picture, and shitloads more.
I dunno. It's been a long while since APUSH. GWB shouldn't be anywhere in the top 200 million let alone top 10. Ronald Reagan gets points for "bombing will commence in five minutes." That just sounds hilarious.
Lincoln gets number one in my book for preserving the Union. Had the South been allowed to splinter, the United States wouldn't exist save as a memory. Instead, we'd have a series of warring empires --at least three of them and probably more -- with European-style conflicts and imperial powers fighting for influence. Lincoln, although the country's first dictator, also had a lot of detailed plans to bring the South back into the Union peacefully.
Washington probably deserves the second or third spot. His contribution cannot be calculated.
Washington probably deserves the second or third spot. His contribution cannot be calculated.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Jefferson was a regressive, who, if he had his way, would have completely stopped economic growth and trade in New England and focus on a society based on farming. He thought the ideal US was a country that would all become farmers instead of merchants or entrepenuears.
He was against slavery yet he didnt free his own slaves.
He hated the idea of a standing US navy...and even went as far to propose that we dock our ships on land in times of peace.
Plus he's got children all over town. (he was a slave fucker)
He was against slavery yet he didnt free his own slaves.
He hated the idea of a standing US navy...and even went as far to propose that we dock our ships on land in times of peace.
Plus he's got children all over town. (he was a slave fucker)
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