The Greatest American

To give Louis a hand, below is the raw list of nominees, as of 1500 GMT, 10 April, listed by time of nomination. A '+' after the name indicates additional votes for the same name:

Ben Franklin + + + + + +
Thomas Jefferson + + + + +
Bruce Springsteen
James W. Monteith
James Madison + + + + +
George Lucas
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Charles Lindberg
Bill Clinton +
Hillary Clinton
George Washington + + + + + + +
Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Du Motier
Harry S Truman
John Steinbeck
Abraham Lincoln + + + + +
Theodore Roosevelt + + + +
Ronald Reagan +
George Patton + +
Douglas MacArthur
Andrew Jackson
Crazy Horse
Martin Luther King + + +
Thomas Edison +
Robert E. Lee + +
Albert Einstein +
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Richard Feynman
Joshua Chamberlain
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Elizabeth Blackwell
Carrie Chapman Catt
Robert Johnson
Miles Davis
James Brown
Benedict Arnold +
Jim Thorpe +
Todd Beamer ('Let's Roll')
Mike Modano (hockey)
Sitting Bull
Grigori Rasputin
Chris Chelios (hockey)
George Berkeley
Pat Lafontaine (hockey)
Walt Disney
William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Norman Ernest Borlaug
Chuck Norris
Mark Twain (S. Clemens) +
Lewis
Clark +
Sacagawea
Frederick Douglas
Wilbur Wright
Orville Wright
Bill Gates +
Elvis Presley
Ulysses S. Grant
Chief Joseph
James K. Polk
Walt Whitman
Mr. T
Melvil Dewey
Lyndon B. Johnson
Henry Clay
Henry Ford +
Sam Houston
Davy Crockett
Chesty Pullman
Steve Jobs
John F. Kennedy
Devastatin Dave
Paris Hilton
John Carmack
William Allen
Joseph Brant Thayendenegea
William Franklin (son of Benjamin)
Beverly Robinson
William Stark
Alexander Graham Bell
Benjamin Thompson
Samuel Seabury
Herman Melville
Lewis Morris
Susan B. Anthony
Harriet Tubman
Clara Barton
Cheryl Tiegs
Hugh Hefner
Tecumseh
Stonewall Jackson
George W. Carter
William Johnson
















=93 names
9 front-runners, with 3 or more votes

edit: added Fisherking's names

Non-US posters (15):
Louis VI the Fat
Duke of Gloucester
Petrus
Fenring (Kralizec)
Insane Apache
AdrianII
doc_bean
Stig
Vladimir
Gerard Byram
Hiji
Husar
Duke Malcolm
Ronin
Fisherking

Nominated:

Benjamin Franklin + +
Thomas Jefferson
Bruce Springsteen
James W. Monteith
James Madison + + +
George Lucas
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Charles Lindberg
Bill Clinton +
Hillary Clinton
Abraham Lincoln
Martin L. King
George Washington
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Richard Feynman
Joshua Chamberlain
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Elizabeth Blackwell
Carrie Chapman Catt
Robert Johnson
Miles Davis
James Brown
Benedict Arnold +
Walt Disney
William Hanna
Theodore Roosvelt +
Walt Whitman
Mr. T
Bill Gates
Henry Ford
Steve Jobs
John F. Kennedy
George Patton
Devastatin' Dave
Paris Hilton
John Carmack
William Allen
Joseph Brant Thayendenegea
William Franklin (son of Benjamin)
Beverly Robinson
William Stark
Alexander Graham Bell
Benjamin Thompson
Samuel Seabury
Herman Melville
Hugh Hefner
Joseph Barbera
Chuck Norris
James K. Polk
Sam Clemens (Mark Twain)
George R Clark
Tecumseh
Stonewall Jackson
Robert E. Lee
George Washington Carver
William Johnson

US posters (according to IP address) (13)

Proletariat
Gelatinous Cube
Sasaki Kojiro
Crazed Rabbit
Big Tex
KukriKhan
Reenk Roink
Pindar
Gregoshi
Lemur
Divinus Arma
Strike For The South
Marshal Murat

Nominated:

Thomas Jefferson + + + + +
George Washington + + + + + +
Ben Franklin + + +
Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Du

Motier
Harry S Truman
John Steinbeck
Abraham Lincoln + + + + +
Theodore Roosevelt + +
Ronald Reagan +
George Patton +
Douglas MacArthur
Andrew Jackson
Crazy Horse
James Madison +
Martin L. King + +
Thomas Edison +
Robert E. Lee +
Albert Einstein
Jim Thorpe +
Robb
Mike Modano
Sitting Bull
Grigori Rasputin
Chris Chelos
George Berkeley
Pat Lafontaine
Norman Ernest Borlaug
Mark Twain (S. Clemens)
Lewis
Clark
Sacagawea
Frederick Douglas
Orville Wright
Wilbur Wright
Bill Gates
Elvis Presley
US Grant
Chief Joseph
Melvil Dewey
LB Johnson
Henry Clay
Henry Ford
Sam Houston
Davy Crockett
Chesty Pullman
Lewis Morris
Susan B. Anthony
Harriet Tubman
Clara Barton
Cheryl Tiegs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by me

My vote is Lincoln.

A simple why: Lincoln is The American Civil War. The Civil War is the touchstone where the colonial root meets the nation that followed. It was at that point the sacrifice was made that created the secular faith of the nation. Lincoln not only preserved the Union, but turned the conflict from a base national preservation, to a moral campaign where the land was forced to reckon with the bigotry instilled in the founding legal document of the country: the Constitution. He thereby combined national interest with moral clarity. The moral dimension, as noted by Tocqueville among others, is what fed into and feeds the psyche of the American Experiment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lancelot

I dont want to derail the thread but that is a very sugar-coated history of Lincoln.

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Really! How so? Does "Lincoln is The American Civil War" sound sugar-coated? Given the blood spilt that conclusion would surprise me. To the other claims made:"Lincoln preserved the Union". This is historically correct. I'm not sure where the sugar would be. Also, "(He) turned the conflict from a base national preservation, to a moral campaign..." This also is historically accurate. The war did change in its rhetoric. The rhetorical posture did take on a larger moral posture over and above national preservation. That change is sourcable to Lincoln. Whither the sugar?

Thanks, Kukri! :2thumbsup:

I've opened up another thread for your votes.

You're welcome. We'll close this one to avoid confusion.