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The single most important American?

JC Callender

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Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?
 
Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?

I'd like to play. I really would.

But life has taught me that there is no such thing as a "single most important event."

There are too many interlinking causes and effects that lead to choices. Without slavery Lincoln would be just another American. Without King George's childishness we might have remained a Dominion of The United Kingdom. Without curiosity, Adam and Eve might still be living alone in Eden.

Still, I'll watch the thread. It could be interesting. :popcorn2:
 
I'd like to play. I really would.

But life has taught me that there is no such thing as a "single most important event."

There are too many interlinking causes and effects that lead to choices. Without slavery Lincoln would be just another American. Without King George's childishness we might have remained a Dominion of The United Kingdom. Without curiosity, Adam and Eve might still be living alone in Eden.

Still, I'll watch the thread. It could be interesting. :popcorn2:

I agree. But for fun and given what history has presented us, my choice would be Lincoln first, as he didn't seem to be surrounded by the awesome personalities and glory that someone like Washington was. Lincoln obviously had the brutal job of ending slavery and keeping the union together and ultimately was assassinated for doing it.

As far as event, I don't know...I'm going to hope for some replies to see what others think.
 
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Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?

1) Me!
2) Because I love the Constitution
3) The victory at Yorktown
 
Casey Kasem.
 
I like to look at some of those who kind of tied together disparate factions together, perhaps introducing them to other powerful figures or mentoring them. I might have to go with Ben Franklin on this one, but Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson would in their own ways fit that bill pretty well.
 
Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?

Mothers. All of them. Why? They shape the future with their love and caring.

The United States of America Revolution - those men and women put their lives, their fortune, and their families future at risk for a dream that we now enjoy and most take for granted.
 
I like to look at some of those who kind of tied together disparate factions together, perhaps introducing them to other powerful figures or mentoring them. I might have to go with Ben Franklin on this one, but Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson would in their own ways fit that bill pretty well.

That's why I picked Lincoln, because all of those guys kind of had each other, there were so many awesome personalities at that time. Out of all of those, I might have to go with Franklin though, I think he went a long way in defining "self-made" for Americans and then of course all of the political stuff. A really great role model for future Americans. Hamilton was self-made too for the most part, I think he would've become something very important even if it weren't for Washington, although I don't know if he would've ever found the types of opportunities he had were it not for Washington.
 
Mothers. All of them. Why? They shape the future with their love and caring.

The United States of America Revolution - those men and women put their lives, their fortune, and their families future at risk for a dream that we now enjoy and most take for granted.

I disagree with all mothers because all of them aren't good at what they do. I will say that imo motherhood is the most important job though.
 
I believe that I am the most important American in history, because I am a narcissistic douchebag. As for the most important date in American history, it was obviously my birth.
 
I believe Bill Clinton is the single most important American, and African-American, after all he was the first black president

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He screwed many women in the oval office I'm quite sure, got away with it, is apparently a hero now, and has a bunch of love children everywhere I assume, all over the world, with all the ambassador's wives! Another thing he screwed, America! He even helped spring up Hillary, who is obviously a 'saint'.

Good ol' B.J Clinton the most honorable man to preside over the oral office. He has a profound effect on America, whether we can argue negative, or positive, he must have done enough to make us look by his 'behavior', hell he didn't discriminate with who he touched, thick women, thin women, all colors of women, he was totally not discriminatory to anyone at all, all were welcome under his desk :). A true activist for equality under the oral office.
 
Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?

Ben Franklin. According to him the only thing he ever invented was a country. He was an exceedingly astute journalist and writer, a businessman, inventor of bi-focal glasses, and was a strategic keystone serving as ambassador to the French during the revolutionary war.

Behind him I would place Mark Twain, who remains to this day America's conscience.

In reality however the one individual who had the single most dramatic impact on the creation of the United States would be non other than King George himself. To Colonists at the time the "German King" was an idiot who could not speak English and who became the epitome of "tyrant". That more than anything else enabled the entitled landowners of the day to convince the people who would fight there was a need for war.
 
Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?

During the next 15 years the structure of international security will be set that will determine, whether we will have a world war in this century.
 
I believe that I am the most important American in history, because I am a narcissistic douchebag. As for the most important date in American history, it was obviously my birth.

I'm sure, you're right. Douchebag, huh? We're privileged.
 
Who do you believe is the single most important American of all time and why? And bonus question: what do you think is the single most important event in American history?

Lenny Bruce, he saved us from crap like Jack Carter and Shecky Greene and hundreds of other crap comedians, and he ushered in guys like Carlin.
 
Maurice Hilleman or Norman Borlaug.
Hilleman invented the chickenpox, measles, mumps, Hep A and B, pneumonia, meningitis and Hib vaccines.
Borlaug developed semi-dwarf and rust-resistance wheat strains, which quadrupled yields 1940s-1970s and staved off hundreds of thousands of famine deaths. Won a Nobel Peace Prize.
 
Maurice Hilleman or Norman Borlaug.
Hilleman invented the chickenpox, measles, mumps, Hep A and B, pneumonia, meningitis and Hib vaccines.
Borlaug developed semi-dwarf and rust-resistance wheat strains, which quadrupled yields 1940s-1970s and staved off hundreds of thousands of famine deaths. Won a Nobel Peace Prize.

And so many other distinctions too. Sad that "everybody" knows who Madonna or ____ (fill in the blank) is, but so few know the name of the Father of the Green Revolution. Borlaug Institute

From Wiki:

Norman Ernest Borlaug (March 25, 1914 – September 12, 2009) was an American biologist, humanitarian and Nobel laureate who has been called "the father of the Green Revolution", "agriculture's greatest spokesperson" and "The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives". He is one of seven people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal and was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug
 
Possibly Alexander Hamilton.

The libertarian love of a virtually non-existent federal government and a nation consisting of a patchwork of small state governments that magically function like a single nation is a pipe dream. Naive and impossible. The articles of confederation failed, and Jefferson was wrong about quite a lot.

Hamilton realized that in order for a nation likely to grow as vast as America has requires - despite the perils and drawbacks - a strong federal government and an energetic executive. The establishment of a national bank is one of the many contributions he made that proved absolutely vital to our growth as a single and strong nation.



We'd have been conquered in short order if we adopted Jeffersonian/libertarian views of government.



(Of course, we wouldn't have gotten far had it not been for Lincoln's fight to preserve the union. I rank Hamilton before Lincoln because I'm not entirely convinced that Lincoln was the only politician who would have seen the necessity of fighting and winning the civil war. I suspect the war would have been fought without him, and won. Slavery, eventually, would disappear as society progressed.

Hamilton's contribution was an absolute necessity, and he put inhuman effort into making it. Lesser men would have failed).



But, of course, there are any number of persons or events in American history which, if they did not exist or if they played out differently, would have lead to a drastically different reality. So it's impossible to say anyone is the "most important".

As has been pointed out, if someone other than Ben Franklin went to France, it is possible that France would not have provided crucial assistance and we would have been conquered by England. Etc.
 
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Possibly Alexander Hamilton.

The libertarian love of a virtually non-existent federal government and a nation consisting of a patchwork of small state governments that magically function like a single nation is a pipe dream. Naive and impossible. The articles of confederation failed, and Jefferson was wrong about quite a lot.

Hamilton realized that in order for a nation likely to grow as vast as America has requires - despite the perils and drawbacks - a strong federal government and an energetic executive. The establishment of a national bank is one of the many contributions he made that proved absolutely vital to our growth as a single and strong nation.



We'd have been conquered in short order if we adopted Jeffersonian/libertarian views of government.




(Of course, we wouldn't have gotten far had it not been for Lincoln's fight to preserve the union. I rank Hamilton before Lincoln because I'm not entirely convinced that Lincoln was the only politician who would have seen the necessity of fighting and winning the civil war. I suspect the war would have been fought without him, and won. Slavery, eventually, would disappear as society progressed.

Hamilton's contribution was an absolute necessity, and he put inhuman effort into making it. Lesser men would have failed).



But, of course, there are any number of persons or events in American history which, if they did not exist or if they played out differently, would have lead to a drastically different reality. So it's impossible to say anyone is the "most important".

As has been pointed out, if someone other than Ben Franklin went to France, it is possible that France would not have provided crucial assistance and we would have been conquered by England. Etc.

By who? We beat the British without a strong central government.
 
By who? We beat the British without a strong central government.

The British largely beat themselves and France provided serious help (with its strong central government).

The remark is also entirely beyond my overall point about Hamilton and the failure of the AOC-style government libertarians seem to idealize.
 
The British largely beat themselves and France provided serious help (with its strong central government).

The remark is also entirely beyond my overall point about Hamilton and the failure of the AOC-style government libertarians seem to idealize.

We won the war, period, against the worlds best military. And if the remark is entirely beyond your overall point then you shouldn't have made your initial point about us getting conquered in short order.
 
Mount Rushmore sums it up pretty well .
 
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