So back in 2005, AOL, NBC, the BBC and the Discovery Channel hosted a multiseries 'documentary' called The Greatest American which was a show that culminated in the accounting of the Top 100 Greatest Americans in history as voted on by millions of people (presumably American). Around the same time other similar 'Top 100' or 'Greatest' series going on with countries ranging from Britain to Romania.
Anyways, as expected, the list heavily skewed towards recent memory as well as towards individuals in pop culture and entertainment. During the airing of the four part series, there was a separate vote for the Top Five Americans, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Ironically... I feel that MLK and Lincoln as well as Washington and Franklin split votes allowing Ronald Reagan to somewhat surprisingly become the Greatest American by popular demand.
And here are the top 25 vote getters.
So... clearly the above list is flawed and with the discussions of the National Garden of Statuery, it makes one wonder who would be put in a top 100 list today and if it'd be as distorted as this one (it would be if not conducted by The Sietch of course).
And honestly... and I'm only semi serious here... we should have a Greatest American ballot taken every ten years alongside the Census just to see how stupid us Americans are and how times have changed every so often.
Anyways, as expected, the list heavily skewed towards recent memory as well as towards individuals in pop culture and entertainment. During the airing of the four part series, there was a separate vote for the Top Five Americans, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Ironically... I feel that MLK and Lincoln as well as Washington and Franklin split votes allowing Ronald Reagan to somewhat surprisingly become the Greatest American by popular demand.
The Greatest American - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
And here are the top 25 vote getters.
- Ronald Reagan, (1911–2004) actor and 40th President
- Abraham Lincoln, (1809–1865) 16th President
- Martin Luther King Jr., (1929–1968) minister and civil rights leader
- George Washington, (1732–1799) general and 1st President
- Benjamin Franklin, (1705–1790) author, printer, scientist and politician
- George W. Bush, (1946–) 43rd President
- Bill Clinton, (1946–) 42nd President
- Elvis Presley, (1935–1977) musician and actor
- Oprah Winfrey, (1954–) talk show host and actress
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, (1882–1945) 32nd President
- Billy Graham, (1918–2018) minister
- Thomas Jefferson, (1743–1826) writer and 3rd President
- Walt Disney, (1901–1966) animator and film producer
- Albert Einstein, (1879–1955) physicist
- Thomas Alva Edison, (1874–1931) inventor
- John F. Kennedy, (1917–1963) 35th President
- Bob Hope, (1903–2003) actor and comedian
- Bill Gates, (1955–) businessman
- Eleanor Roosevelt, (1884–1962) First Lady, activist and diplomat
- Lance Armstrong, (1971–) cyclist
- Muhammad Ali, (1942–2016) boxer
- Rosa Parks, (1913–2005) civil rights activist
- The Wright Brothers, inventors and aviation pioneers
- Henry Ford, (1863–1947) industrialist and businessman
- Neil Armstrong, (1930–2012) astronaut
- Maya Angelou, (1928–2014) poet and writer
- Susan B. Anthony, (1820–1904) women's rights activist
- Lucille Ball, (1911–1989) actress and comedian
- Alexander Graham Bell, (1847–1922) inventor and scientist
- Barbara Bush, (1925–2018) First Lady
- George H. W. Bush, (1924–2018) 41st President
- Laura Bush, (1946–) First Lady
- Andrew Carnegie, (1835–1919) industrialist and philanthropist
- Johnny Carson, (1925–2005) comedian and talk show host
- Jimmy Carter, (1924–) 39th President
- George Washington Carver, (1860s–1943) botanist and inventor
- Ray Charles, (1930–2005) musician
- César Chávez, (1927–1993) labor leader and activist
- Hillary Clinton, (1947–) politician
- Bill Cosby, (1937–) comedian
- Tom Cruise, (1962–) actor
- Ellen DeGeneres, (1958–) comedian and talk show host
- Frederick Douglass, (1818–1895) writer and abolitionist
- Amelia Earhart, (1897–1937) aviator
- Clint Eastwood, (1930–) actor and film director
- John Edwards, (1953–) politician
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, (1890–1969) general and 34th President
- Brett Favre, (1969–) football player
- Mel Gibson, (1956–) actor and film director
- Rudolph Giuliani, (1944–) politician
- John Glenn, (1921–2016) astronaut and politician
- Alexander Hamilton, (1757–1804) statesman and 1st Secretary of the Treasury
- Tom Hanks, (1956–) actor
- Hugh Hefner, (1926–2017) magazine publisher
- Katharine Hepburn, (1907–2003) actress
- Howard Hughes, (1907–1979) businessman, film producer and aviator
- Michael Jackson, (1958–2009) musician
- Steve Jobs, (1955–2011) businessman and inventor
- Lyndon B. Johnson, (1908–1973) 36th President
- Michael Jordan, (1963–) basketball player
- Helen Keller, (1880–1968) author and activist
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, (1929–1994) First Lady
- Robert F. Kennedy, (1925–1968) politician
- Rush Limbaugh, (1951–) radio talk show host
- Charles Lindbergh, (1902–1974) aviator
- George Lucas, (1944–) film director
- Madonna, (1958–) musician
- Malcolm X, (1925–1965) civil rights activist
- Phil McGraw, (1950–) psychologist and television personality
- Marilyn Monroe, (1926–1962) actress
- Michael Moore, (1954–) documentary filmmaker
- Audie Murphy, (1925–1971) soldier
- Richard M. Nixon, (1913–1994) 37th President
- Barack Obama, (1961–) politician (became 44th President after airing)
- Jesse Owens, (1913–1980) track and field athlete
- George S. Patton, (1885–1945) general
- Colin Powell, (1937–) politician and general
- Christopher Reeve, (1952–2004) actor
- Condoleezza Rice, (1954–) politician and diplomat
- Jackie Robinson, (1919–1972) baseball player
- Theodore Roosevelt, (1858–1919) writer, explorer, naturalist and 26th President
- Babe Ruth, (1895–1948) baseball player
- Carl Sagan, (1934–1996) astronomer and writer
- Jonas Salk, (1914–1995) medical researcher
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, (1947–) actor and politician
- Frank Sinatra, (1915–1998) musician and actor
- Joseph Smith, Jr., (1805–1844) religious leader
- Steven Spielberg, (1946–) film director
- James Stewart, (1908–1997) actor
- Martha Stewart, (1941–) businesswoman, writer and television personality
- Pat Tillman, (1976–2004) football player and soldier
- Harry S. Truman, (1884–1972) 33rd President
- Donald Trump, (1946–) businessman (became 45th President after airing)
- Harriet Tubman, (1822–1913) abolitionist
- Mark Twain, (1835–1910) writer and humorist
- Sam Walton, (1918–1992) businessman
- John Wayne, (1907–1979) actor
- Tiger Woods, (1975–) golfer
- Chuck Yeager, (1923–) aviator
So... clearly the above list is flawed and with the discussions of the National Garden of Statuery, it makes one wonder who would be put in a top 100 list today and if it'd be as distorted as this one (it would be if not conducted by The Sietch of course).
And honestly... and I'm only semi serious here... we should have a Greatest American ballot taken every ten years alongside the Census just to see how stupid us Americans are and how times have changed every so often.
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