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A little thread to hopefully bring us together with Americans we all (mostly) admire.

Important rule: NO LIVING PEOPLE. This should cut down on the potential controversies.

I think any such list should start with

1. James Madison

(https://cdn.britannica.com/s:800x450,c:crop/99/172699-138-C62B7EBF/overview-James-Madison.jpg)

Architect of the Constitution, 4th President, wife founded snack cake empire

2 President Abraham Lincoln

He led the nation the American Civil War. He succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.

GEORGE WASHINGTON:  The only man who could have been our first President.  At the end of the Revolution, his officers were prepared to crown him as the first King of the United States.  He declined that honor, disbanded his army, and handed his sword back to the Congress. 
It was because of this almost unprecedented act that he was entrusted with the powers of the Presidency five years later.  A man who would refuse a crown freely offered was a man who could be trusted with power.

4. Rosa Parks

(https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/7dd0c93257a99a555f3b17402bcf8105e19a69c2/c=5-0-1505-2000/local/-/media/2016/02/04/USATODAY/USATODAY/635901709997759789-AP-Rosa-Parks-Arrested.jpg?quality=50&width=640)

5. FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

(https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/sites/g/files/oee991/files/styles/bio_frame/public/media/2019/04/44franklindelanoroosevelt.jpg?itok=DITFUT2N)

6) Theodore Roosevelt

7.  Audie Leon Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of WW2.

(And a hometown hero of ours!)

8. Gilbert Baker

(https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0ca935b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1151+0+0/resize/840x472!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F34%2Fd8%2F6680d7af72908922e5c56001f2d9%2Fla-1491015003-sp9urya0ov-snap-image)

9. DWIGHT EISENHOWER

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Major_General_Dwight_Eisenhower%2C_1942_TR207.jpg)

10.  Grover Clleveland

Arguably the most personally honest man ever to be President of the United States.  When the story of his sexual indiscretions from ten years in the past broke in the middle of the 1884 campaign, he instructed his staff:  "Whatever you do, tell the truth."

11. Frederick Douglas

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Frederick_Douglass_%28circa_1879%29.jpg)

Escaped slave, writer, abolitionist

12 Martin Luther King Jr.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr..jpg)

13.  Davy Crockett

(https://i.imgur.com/dfnfrjM.jpg?1)

King of the Wild Frontier, politician, and (according to some sources) one of the last men to die at the Alamo

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Phyllis_Schlafly_by_Gage_Skidmore_3_%28cropped%29.jpg/180px-Phyllis_Schlafly_by_Gage_Skidmore_3_%28cropped%29.jpg)

14) Phyllis Schlafly

Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phyllis_Schlafly_by_Gage_Skidmore_3_(cropped).jpg

Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

15) Andrew Jackson
16) Harriet Tubman

Andrew Jackson was a bastard. 

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Chester_Harding_-_Daniel_Boone_-_NPG.2015.102_-_National_Portrait_Gallery.jpg/200px-Chester_Harding_-_Daniel_Boone_-_NPG.2015.102_-_National_Portrait_Gallery.jpg)

17) Daniel Boone

Pic Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chester_Harding_-_Daniel_Boone_-_NPG.2015.102_-_National_Portrait_Gallery.jpg:

Not a hero. 

18 John F. Kennedy

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/John_F._Kennedy%2C_White_House_color_photo_portrait.jpg)

19 Roger Williams:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Roger_Williams_statue_by_Franklin_Simmons.jpg/294px-Roger_Williams_statue_by_Franklin_Simmons.jpg)

Pic Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roger_Williams_statue_by_Franklin_Simmons.jpg

He saved New Orleans from the British, with all the disastrous possibilities a defeat there would have entailed. And for all his flaws, he expanded the electorate and listened to the voice of the common man.

20. Geronimo
Apache warrior.

(https://i.imgur.com/EsMFHjD.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

While he was a hero, I don't think he was an American. He was born an Apache in what was then Mexico. When he was in America, he was a prisoner of war.  :bluesad:

21 Ruth Bader Ginsburg

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg#/media/File:Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg,_SCOTUS_photo_portrait.jpg)

Ginsburg spent much of her legal career as an advocate for gender equality and women's rights.

22. HARRY TRUMAN

(https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/sites/default/files/styles/tall_rectangle_custom_user_small_2x/public/images/contributor/deweydefeatstruman.jpg?itok=lwuvxQjB&timestamp=1407706493)

23. 
Bass Reeves, the man believed to be the real inspiration for the Lone Ranger. 

(https://i.imgur.com/oqV1r9K.jpg?1)

24) Scott Joplin

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Scott_Joplin.jpg/188px-Scott_Joplin.jpg)

Photo source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scott_Joplin.jpg

People who influence culture are heros too.
Ragtime led to Blues, Jazz, R&B, & Rock & Roll.

25.  Alexander Hamilton - a war hero during the Revolution, he helped frame the Constitution at Philadelphia, and then became the most powerful cabinet officer in American history, really the closest thing America ever had to a Prime Minister.  His financial plan restored America's credit and helped our fledgling republic avoid bankruptcy and ruin.  But for his premature death at the hands of Aaron Burr, he might well have become a great President.

Yes.  A voice which may have encouraged the Trail of Tears. 

But that is a judgment on 19th century America as a whole, not on one man.  There is a danger in judging people who lived 200 years ago by the standards of today.

26) Walt Disney

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Walt_Disney_1946.JPG/160px-Walt_Disney_1946.JPG)

Photo Source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walt_Disney_1946.JPG

The list so far:

1. James Madison
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Rosa Parks
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Audie Murphy
8. Gilbert Baker
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Grover Cleveland
11. Frederick Douglas
12. Martin Luther King Jr.
13. Davy Crockett
14. Phyllis Schlafly
15. Andrew Jackson
16. Harriet Tubman
17. Daniel Boone
18. John F. Kennedy
19. Roger Williams
20. Geronimo *
21. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
22. Harry Truman
23. Bass Reeves
24. Scott Joplin
25. Alexander Hamilton
26. Walt Disney

and I'll add

27. Susan B. Anthony

(https://cdn.britannica.com/28/13428-050-37CEEE27/Susan-B-Anthony.jpg)

Suffragette

28 Neil Armstrong

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong#/media/File:Neil_Armstrong_pose.jpg)

He was the first person to walk on the Moon.

^ Wow- I almost listed him just now!

29. Chuck Yeager

(https://i.imgur.com/1sOFSJs.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

One cannot pick and choose what to judge from history.  What was evil 200 years ago is evil today.  Agreement was made and broken simply because the Cherokee, Seminole, others were not white.  It's evil; and you're being an apologist.  

30) Ben Franklin

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Joseph_Siffrein_Duplessis_-_Benjamin_Franklin_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/197px-Joseph_Siffrein_Duplessis_-_Benjamin_Franklin_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

Pic from: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Siffrein_Duplessis_-_Benjamin_Franklin_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Almost halfway there!

31. JOHN ADAMS - the Atlas of the Revolution. 

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Gilbert_Stuart%2C_John_Adams%2C_c._1800-1815%2C_NGA_42933.jpg/800px-Gilbert_Stuart%2C_John_Adams%2C_c._1800-1815%2C_NGA_42933.jpg)

32) Alexander Graham Bell

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Alexander_Graham_Bell.jpg/184px-Alexander_Graham_Bell.jpg)


Photo source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_Graham_Bell.jpg

Scottish.

I think immigrants should be allowed.

33. Walter Cronkite

(https://i.imgur.com/QaASDAt.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

Journalist

34. Sergeant Alvin York

(https://i.imgur.com/qEJ2Pgu.jpg?1)

35) & 36)

Orville & Wilbur Wright

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Wright_First_Flight_1903Dec17_%28full_restore_115%29.jpg/320px-Wright_First_Flight_1903Dec17_%28full_restore_115%29.jpg)

Photo From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wright_First_Flight_1903Dec17_(full_restore_115).jpg

37. BUZZ ALDRIN 2nd man to walk on the moon.  

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Buzz_Aldrin.jpg/800px-Buzz_Aldrin.jpg)

edit: OOPS!  He's ALIVE!  I wasn't thinking they had to be dade.  Which I knew... delete as necessary.  :bluesad:

38. Fred Rogers

39. Madam C.J. Walker

40. Ray Bradbury

if immigrants are allowed

41 Nikola Tesla

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/N.Tesla.JPG)

He was an inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system/

The list so far:

1. James Madison
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Rosa Parks
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Audie Murphy
8. Gilbert Baker
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Grover Cleveland
11. Frederick Douglas
12. Martin Luther King Jr.
13. Davy Crockett
14. Phyllis Schlafly
15. Andrew Jackson
16. Harriet Tubman
17. Daniel Boone
18. John F. Kennedy
19. Roger Williams
20. Geronimo *
21. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
22. Harry Truman
23. Bass Reeves
24. Scott Joplin
25. Alexander Hamilton
26. Walt Disney
27. Susan B. Anthony
28. Neil Armstrong
29. Chuck Yeager
30. Ben Franklin
31. John Adams
32. Alexander Graham Bell
33. Walter Cronkite
34. Sergeant Alvin York
35. Orville Wright
36. Wilbur Wright
37. Buzz Aldrin
38. Fred Rogers
39. Madam C.J. Walker
40. Ray Bradbury
41. Nikola Tesla


and I'll add

42. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Mark_Twain_by_AF_Bradley.jpg)

Writer, most quotable American

I think Mark Twain is my favourite American.

43. Elizabeth Ann Seton
44. Laura Ingalls Wilder
45. Billy Graham
46 F. Scott Fitzgerald

47 Helen Keller

48. Jimi Hendrix

http://youtu.be/TKAwPA14Ni4 (http://youtu.be/TKAwPA14Ni4)

49) Louis Armstrong

50. JACKIE ROBINSON

51.  Jesse Owens

52) George Washington Carver

53. Red Cloud


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cloud

(https://i.imgur.com/NJ5dUk2.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)
Chief of the Ogala Lakota Sioux.

54. Christy Mathewson

55. Bruce Lee

This may seem stupid- but the importance of Bruce Lee in Asian- American culture is underestimated.

(https://i.imgur.com/8hxa4vO.gif) (https://lunapic.com)

56. Walt Whitman

(Muuuust reeeeeesist saying "the Greatest American Herooooo"!)

A lot like Geronimo: a hero, but not in my mind an American hero. He waged war against the USA. I'd say he was an American victim.

^ He was born in America- he died in America. He was an American.
People born overseas count? But not American Indians?  :question:

57 Edgar Allan Poe

58 Hank Aaron who passed this morning  :bluesad:

the real home run king as far I'm concerned

You can put him on if you want. He is a hero. I just don't think Indians who fought wars against the US government to maintain their independence from America would be happy to be celebrated as Americans, if you could ask them.

^ They made treatys with America. They wanted to be treated like Americans. The powers that were stopped them.  They signed papers that ended up being not worth the paper they were written on.They were willing to join with America- if they would be treated like citizens, not like animals.
If former slaves- who fought against their oppressors can be considered heros- so should people who fought for their land- in America- be considered American heros.
They were American. They were heros.

59) Stephen Foster

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Stephen_Foster.jpg/172px-Stephen_Foster.jpg)

Pic from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stephen_Foster.jpg

I remembered last night some of his songs are still taught to kids, so he might still have an influence on culture.

It's all good.  I think you could call them American heroes because modern Americans can look up to them.

60. Eleanor Roosevelt
61. Dolley Madison
62. Eliza Hamilton
63. Shirley Jackson

64. HANK AARON

65. John Glenn
66. Simon Kenton
67. Quannah Parker
68. John Wayne
69. Jonas Salk

I would question that one-

A quote from the Duke in a 1971 Playboy interview-

"With a lot of blacks, there's quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can't all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. ... I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from the Indians. Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves."

Yeah, but words are just words. Ever read about Red Cloud's atrocities to other tribes?

Read his bio The Heart of Everything That Is. Red Cloud loathed outsiders and only made alliances out of necessity. He was a slaver and he carried out tortures on red, white, black, yellow, with savage glee. He loved war.

^ I don't know who wrote that book, but it sounds like BS.
"Words are just words".

A little history-

Red Cloud became an important leader of the Lakota as they transitioned from the freedom of the plains to the confinement of the reservation system. His trip to Washington, DC had convinced him of the number and power of European Americans, and he believed the Oglala had to seek peace.

He visited (not for the first time) the palaeontologist and geologist Othniel C. Marsh in New Haven, Connecticut in around 1880. Marsh had first visited the Red Cloud Agency in 1874, alleging, among other things, that "the Indians suffered for want of food and other supplies because they were cheated out of annuities and beef cattle and were issued inedible pork, inferior flour, poor sugar and coffee and rotten tobacco."

In 1884, he and his family, along with five other leaders, converted and were baptized as Catholics by Father Joseph Bushman.

Red Cloud continued fighting for his people, even after being forced onto the reservation. In 1887 Red Cloud opposed the Dawes Act, which broke up communal tribal holdings, and allocated 160-acre plots of land to heads of families on tribal rolls for subsistence farming. The U.S. declared additional communal tribal lands as excess, and sold it to immigrant settlers. In 1889 Red Cloud opposed a treaty to sell more of the Lakota land. Due to his steadfastness and that of Sitting Bull, government agents obtained the necessary signatures for approval through subterfuge, such as using the signatures of children. He negotiated strongly with Indian Agents such as Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy.

Outliving all the other major Lakota leaders of the Indian Wars, Red Cloud died on Pine Ridge Reservation in 1909 at the age of 87, and was buried there in the cemetery now bearing his name. In old age, he is quoted as having said, "They made us many promises, more than I can remember. But they kept but one -- They promised to take our land ... and they took it."

I've read many books on the Lakota Sioux- Red Cloud tried to stop the Indian Wars- Crazy Horse was the warrior leader- not Red Cloud.
He was fighting for the survival of his people. Is Truman a villian for dropping on A- bombs on Japan that killed Japanese women and children? Why is he a 'hero' and Red Cloud a villian?

John Wayne was a movie actor. That's it. He's no hero to anyone except armchair yahoos.
f**k John Wayne.

Oh, sorry, RC, after you mentioned an actor, Bruce Lee, and a stage performer, Hendrix, I guess I thought listing entertainers was fair game.

As for Red Cloud fighting for the survival of his people, yeah, he was, and I have no problem with you considering him a hero, I put up Quanah Parker, the last Comanche chief, but I think if someone is going to be criticized for his words, then calling someone out for his deeds is fair.

The Sioux were a warrior culture who'd been displacing, enslaving, conquering other tribes long before whites came on the stage, and people tend to begin their history only about the time the US expanded westward.

The cold fact is the Sioux were warriors who met their match when facing stronger warriors: the US military.

They didn't spew racism.
Jimi was an artist.
Bruce Lee had a peaceful philosphy, and gave Chinese Americans a hero when most  asians in american popular culture were depicted as Fu Manchu bad guys or played as clowns by white people (like Mickey Rooney in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S).

Oh yeah- as for warrior culture- then anyone on this list that fought in a war against an enemy is evil.
We- Americans- had slaves, practiced genocide on the native people, invented the KKK- ignore all that.
Red Cloud did not personaly direct anyone to do anything but fight for his people. I'm sure the Indians killed one another for centuries. Red Cloud is not responsible for the actions of others. Just like you or I are not responsible for anything our ancestors did.

The book was a bestseller.  Some disagree with the framing and contextualizing apparently.  


Huh?  :question:

70 Charlie Chaplin

He stood up to Hitler with The Great Dictator before the United States did.

71.  Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

 Even though he was in his 50's, he volunteered to serve in WW2 and won the Medal of Honor for his courage on Omaha Beach.  He died in his sleep just a few days later of a heart attack.

72. Father Ralph Beiting

73. Muhammad Ali

Boxer and  human rights activist.

I met him once! He was given a tour at the factory that he bought stock in here in Lawton. We made pie filling. That was in 1989.

(https://i.imgur.com/3tEBfZT.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

Uhm... wasn't he English?

Yes. He was never nationalized.

He allegedly came over on the same boat as Stan Laurel. Chaplin never became a citizen, but there is a bit of the American Dream in his life story, going from no-name immigrant to a successful star with his own studio in a few years. And he was independent, sticking with silent films longer than anyone, helping found UA, etc.

Next suggestion:

74) Sam Houston

^ I agree.
If Chaplin is included- so should be

75. John Lennon

(https://i.imgur.com/o71GWvf.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)
Artist and peace activist.

76) Jack Tramiel - Honestly, he scares me, & I would not want to do a business deal with him, but it’s hard not to respect a Holocaust survivor who moved to America & helped found an industry. (I don’t think someone needs to be perfect, or even likable, to be an American hero; they do need to have some admirable qualities, like tenacity, an appreciation of freedom, a positive influence on culture, etc.)

77.  Calamity Jane

(https://i.imgur.com/wX1A4WX.jpg?2)

1. James Madison
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Rosa Parks
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Audie Murphy
8. Gilbert Baker
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Grover Cleveland
11. Frederick Douglas
12. Martin Luther King Jr.
13. Davy Crockett
14. Phyllis Schlafly
15. Andrew Jackson
16. Harriet Tubman
17. Daniel Boone
18. John F. Kennedy
19. Roger Williams
20. Geronimo
21. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
22. Harry Truman
23. Bass Reeves
24. Scott Joplin
25. Alexander Hamilton
26. Walt Disney
27. Susan B. Anthony
28. Neil Armstrong
29. Chuck Yeager
30. Ben Franklin
31. John Adams
32. Alexander Graham Bell
33. Walter Cronkite
34. Sergeant Alvin York
35. Orville Wright
36. Wilbur Wright
37. Buzz Aldrin
38. Fred Rogers
39. Madam C.J. Walker
40. Ray Bradbury
41. Nikola Tesla
42. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
43. Elizabeth Ann Seton
44. Laura Ingalls Wilder
45. Billy Graham
46 F. Scott Fitzgerald
47. Helen Keller
48. Jimi Hendrix
49. Louis Armstrong
50. Jackie Robinson
51. Jesse Owens
52. George Washington Carver
53. Red Cloud
54. Christy Mathewson
55. Bruce Lee
56. Walt Whitman
57. Edgar Allan Poe
58. Hank Aaron
59. Stephen Foster
60. Eleanor Roosevelt
61. Dolley Madison
62. Eliza Hamilton
63. Shirley Jackson
64. John Glenn
65. Simon Kenton
66. Quannah Parker
67. John Wayne
68. Jonas Salk
69. Charlie Chaplin
70. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
71. Father Ralph Beiting
72. Muhammad Ali
73. Sam Houston
74. John Lennon
76. Jack Tramiel
77.  Calamity Jane

(numbering was off because Hank Aaron was named twice)

and I'll add

78. Jim Thorpe
Multiple Gold Medal Winner, arguably the most versatile athlete of the 20th Century

(https://www.biography.com/.image/t_share/MTE5NDg0MDU1MTUwNDI5NzEx/jim-thorpe-9507017-1-402.jpg)

(Glad to see Ali and Poe made it, I would have nominated them too)

^ Great choice. I wrote a book report about him in 6th grade.  :thumbup:

79. John Brown

(https://i.imgur.com/601yLyS.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)
Activist and abolitionist.

80: Sergeant Rob O'Neill: the man who shot Osama Bin Laden.
81. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who exposed Watergate.

Those guys are still alive, Trev. This is about dead people.

Yep. They have to be dead. There have been some controversies even over dead folks, lol.

I added BUZZ ALDRIN; he's alive. 

80 I think?

Cesar Chavez

He was an American labor leader, community organizer, businessman, and Latino American civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union.

37. Buzz Aldrin - alive.

Yeah, I missed Buzz being alive. We should take him off. That would make Chavez #79.

Let's try this again. Corrected list (I think the numbering is right):

1. James Madison
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Rosa Parks
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Audie Murphy
8. Gilbert Baker
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Grover Cleveland
11. Frederick Douglas
12. Martin Luther King Jr.
13. Davy Crockett
14. Phyllis Schlafly
15. Andrew Jackson
16. Harriet Tubman
17. Daniel Boone
18. John F. Kennedy
19. Roger Williams
20. Geronimo
21. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
22. Harry Truman
23. Bass Reeves
24. Scott Joplin
25. Alexander Hamilton
26. Walt Disney
27. Susan B. Anthony
28. Neil Armstrong
29. Chuck Yeager
30. Ben Franklin
31. John Adams
32. Alexander Graham Bell
33. Walter Cronkite
34. Sergeant Alvin York
35. Orville Wright
36. Wilbur Wright
37. Fred Rogers
38. Madam C.J. Walker
39. Ray Bradbury
40. Nikola Tesla
41. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
42. Elizabeth Ann Seton
43. Laura Ingalls Wilder
44. Billy Graham
45. F. Scott Fitzgerald
46. Helen Keller
47. Jimi Hendrix
48. Louis Armstrong
49. Jackie Robinson
50. Jesse Owens
51. George Washington Carver
52. Red Cloud
53. Christy Mathewson
54. Bruce Lee
55. Walt Whitman
56. Edgar Allan Poe
57. Hank Aaron
58. Stephen Foster
59. Eleanor Roosevelt
60. Dolley Madison
61. Eliza Hamilton
62. Shirley Jackson
63. John Glenn
64. Simon Kenton
65. Quannah Parker
66. John Wayne
67. Jonas Salk
68. Charlie Chaplin
69. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
70. Father Ralph Beiting
71. Muhammad Ali
72. Sam Houston
73. John Lennon
74. Jack Tramiel
75. Calamity Jane
76. Jim Thorpe
77. John Brown
78. Cesar Chavez

and somehow we missed

79. Thomas Jefferson

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Official_Presidential_portrait_of_Thomas_Jefferson_%28by_Rembrandt_Peale%2C_1800%29%28cropped%29.jpg)

Author of the Declaration of Independence. 3rd President, scammed the French with the Louisiana Purchase

80.  Captain Eddie Rickenbacker; America's "aces of aces" in World War I and founder of American Airlines.

81. "Secret soldiers" those men and women who will never be known by name, but who served bravely in intelligence work and covert operations, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

82 Jonas Salk

He developed one of the first successful polio vaccines in the world and saved countless peoples lives as a result.

He's #67.

82. Emily Dickinson

83. Martin Leonard Skutnick III

84. Paul Brown; the guy revolutionized football.

Did anyone mention ELLA FITZGERALD? 

No; I only see F. Scott.

85 Stanley Kubrick

Revolutionized movie making in so many ways.

86.  Wyatt Earp

87. Linus Pauling
88. Buckminster Fuller
89. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

90. Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel

(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/d7/3d72bb41-a829-5d72-a7d4-907f6369024d/4e960bb37764d.image.jpg)

1. James Madison
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Rosa Parks
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Audie Murphy
8. Gilbert Baker
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Grover Cleveland
11. Frederick Douglas
12. Martin Luther King Jr.
13. Davy Crockett
14. Phyllis Schlafly
15. Andrew Jackson
16. Harriet Tubman
17. Daniel Boone
18. John F. Kennedy
19. Roger Williams
20. Geronimo
21. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
22. Harry Truman
23. Bass Reeves
24. Scott Joplin
25. Alexander Hamilton
26. Walt Disney
27. Susan B. Anthony
28. Neil Armstrong
29. Chuck Yeager
30. Ben Franklin
31. John Adams
32. Alexander Graham Bell
33. Walter Cronkite
34. Sergeant Alvin York
35. Orville Wright
36. Wilbur Wright
37. Fred Rogers
38. Madam C.J. Walker
39. Ray Bradbury
40. Nikola Tesla
41. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
42. Elizabeth Ann Seton
43. Laura Ingalls Wilder
44. Billy Graham
45. F. Scott Fitzgerald
46. Helen Keller
47. Jimi Hendrix
48. Louis Armstrong
49. Jackie Robinson
50. Jesse Owens
51. George Washington Carver
52. Red Cloud
53. Christy Mathewson
54. Bruce Lee
55. Walt Whitman
56. Edgar Allan Poe
57. Hank Aaron
58. Stephen Foster
59. Eleanor Roosevelt
60. Dolley Madison
61. Eliza Hamilton
62. Shirley Jackson
63. John Glenn
64. Simon Kenton
65. Quannah Parker
66. John Wayne
67. Jonas Salk
68. Charlie Chaplin
69. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
70. Father Ralph Beiting
71. Muhammad Ali
72. Sam Houston
73. John Lennon
74. Jack Tramiel
75. Calamity Jane ( Martha Jane Cannary)
76. Jim Thorpe
77. John Brown
78. Cesar Chavez
79. Thomas Jefferson
80. Captain Eddie Rickenbacker
81. "Secret soldiers"
82. Emily Dickinson
83. Martin Leonard Skutnick III
84. Paul Brown
85. Stanley Kubrick
86. Wyatt Earp
87. Linus Pauling
88. Buckminster Fuller
89. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
90. Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel

and

91. Ella Fitzgerald (for Allhallowsday)

(https://shepherdexpress.com/downloads/49204/download/Film_Ella-JustOneofThoseThings_%28EagleRockFilms%29.jpg?cb=20a5674d539d28ccbf70c50ccb676883)

92. William Faulkner

(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/unsolvedmysteries/images/d/dd/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a7163820970b-800wi.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20160506205321)

92. Hercules Mulligan
93. Washington Irving
94. Bob Hope

95. Thomas Paine

(https://i.imgur.com/eIwojiG.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

96. Nathan Hale

97 Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman made the decision to walk away from his career in the NFL and enlisted in the U.S. Army Rangers after 9/11.

He passed away after friendly fire.

Tillman was posthumously promoted from specialist to corporal. He also received posthumous Silver Star and Purple Heart medals.

98.  Frank Luke   (WWI flying ace known as the "Arizona Balloon Buster".

I met a man who knew him before Luke went off to war!

99. Surprisingly, he hasn't been named yet, but no list would be complete without

(https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/fit-in/1200x0/filters%3Aformat%28jpg%29/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Frainerzitelmann%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F06%2FE0MG76-e1560965378507-1200x1270.jpg)

Albert Einstein: theoretical physicist, the proverbial genius, became a US citizen in 1940

LUCILLE BALL / DESI ARNAZ They changed the way we watch television. 

101. Edward R. Murrow

Journalist

(https://i.imgur.com/16dNQ22.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

Great list. I agree with most choices, disagree with very few. There were a few I'd never heard of and learned about.

Honorable mention: Oliver Wendell Holmes.

 

What choices did you disagree with?

Phyllis Schlafly and Billy Graham because I did not think they were particularly heroic (though I don't especially dislike either of them). Geronimo and Red Cloud because they were heroes, but didn't meet my personal definition of "American."

I agree about the first 2- not about the second. We got immigrints- but not people born here.
I don't agree with Andrew Jackson either.
War is slammed into our heads with comic books and movies to be something cool. And it is cool! I read war comics and watch war movies!
But it's really not.

Wounded Knee- 1890

(https://i.imgur.com/M7TrSTN.jpg) (https://lunapic.com)

If looked hard enough, I could probably come up with a reason to disqualify everyone on this list, even the people I suggested.  :bluesad:

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bIJzbWfwE&list=PL1D42E84A8481F4AF&index=7#)

Still, I wonder if we should try for 150 or 200? There are more great Americans who deserve a spot, even if none of them are perfect. We already have 101 or 102.

Name whoever you like. I'm not going to repost the actual list, though. I'd just call them honorable mentions.

f**k all this! I have no heros.  :hatred:

http://youtu.be/f6aCuVkEA-0 (http://youtu.be/f6aCuVkEA-0)

104) John Carver - Wrote the Mayflower Compact.

List thus far:

1. James Madison
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Rosa Parks
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Audie Murphy
8. Gilbert Baker
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Grover Cleveland
11. Frederick Douglas
12. Martin Luther King Jr.
13. Davy Crockett
14. Phyllis Schlafly
15. Andrew Jackson
16. Harriet Tubman
17. Daniel Boone
18. John F. Kennedy
19. Roger Williams
20. Geronimo
21. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
22. Harry Truman
23. Bass Reeves
24. Scott Joplin
25. Alexander Hamilton
26. Walt Disney
27. Susan B. Anthony
28. Neil Armstrong
29. Chuck Yeager
30. Ben Franklin
31. John Adams
32. Alexander Graham Bell
33. Walter Cronkite
34. Sergeant Alvin York
35. Orville Wright
36. Wilbur Wright
37. Fred Rogers
38. Madam C.J. Walker
39. Ray Bradbury
40. Nikola Tesla
41. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
42. Elizabeth Ann Seton
43. Laura Ingalls Wilder
44. Billy Graham
45. F. Scott Fitzgerald
46. Helen Keller
47. Jimi Hendrix
48. Louis Armstrong
49. Jackie Robinson
50. Jesse Owens
51. George Washington Carver
52. Red Cloud
53. Christy Mathewson
54. Bruce Lee
55. Walt Whitman
56. Edgar Allan Poe
57. Hank Aaron
58. Stephen Foster
59. Eleanor Roosevelt
60. Dolley Madison
61. Eliza Hamilton
62. Shirley Jackson
63. John Glenn
64. Simon Kenton
65. Quannah Parker
66. John Wayne
67. Jonas Salk
68. Charlie Chaplin
69. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
70. Father Ralph Beiting
71. Muhammad Ali
72. Sam Houston
73. John Lennon
74. Jack Tramiel
75. Calamity Jane ( Martha Jane Cannary)
76. Jim Thorpe
77. John Brown
78. Cesar Chavez
79. Thomas Jefferson
80. Captain Eddie Rickenbacker
81. "Secret soldiers"
82. Emily Dickinson
83. Martin Leonard Skutnick III
84. Paul Brown
85. Stanley Kubrick
86. Wyatt Earp
87. Linus Pauling
88. Buckminster Fuller
89. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
90. Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel
91. Ella Fitzgerald
92. William Faulkner
93. Hercules Mulligan
94. Washington Irving
95. Bob Hope
96. Thomas Paine
97. Nathan Hale
98. Pat Tillman
99.  Frank Luke
100. Albert Einstein
101. Lucille Ball
102. Desi Arnaz
103. Edward R. Murrow
104. Oliver Wendell Holmes.
105. John Carver

Noticed we listed 92 twice, so Carver's #105.