The Atlantic Unveils 100 Most Influential Americans List

Yahoo ^ | 11/22/06

[Diggadave]

Paine was English.

He was certainly a US citizen (eventually) and influenced Americans, as he did the English & the French, but he could be found just as easily on a list of Influential Englishmen as Influential Americans

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Only if I get counted as #101.

There are already 101 people on the list.

Entry #70 is "Lewis and Clark. That's two people.

You'll have to settle for #102.

[Alberta's Child]

True, but people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were technically "British," too!

[stainlessbanner]

Lee and Calhoun made the list.
Missing: Jeff Davis, Richard Petty, Daniel Boone, Stonewall Jackson, Davey Crockett, Sam Houston, Johnny Cash.

[TChris]

Milton Friedman should be on this list. It's a glaring oversight, IMO.

[James Ewell Brown Stuart]

Any list that does not include the great Stonewall Jackson does not count. And Lee at 57, is a travesity.

[raj bhatia]

Hamilton below Jefferson and FDR? Do the historians know what the hell they are talking about when they say "influence"? Our life today is what Hamilton decided it ought to be. Period. It does not get any more influential.

[GSlob]

I think you are ascribing WAY TOO much importance to music. Although even Confucius and Plato warned about music insidiousness and power to corrupt ["the tunes of Chen are wanton", as Confucius put it].

[Joe 6-pack]

"You'll have to settle for #102."

Just when ya'll thought I couldn't get any lower than I already am...;-)

[riverdawg]

"[Jonathan Edwards] was a famous theologian and preacher during the period known as the 'Great Awakening' ..."

Thanks. I recall reading about the Great Awakening" many years ago, but the name didn't ring a bell. Is there a book on him and this period that you (or anyone else) can recommend?

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Where is John Adams? We wouldn't have had a revolution if Adams hadn't been there in Boston keeping the pot stirred!

[redangus]

I would add Oprah. She was done more to screw up this nation than almost any single person in American history. There is a reason they call it the "Oprahsizing of America".

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Influence doesn't necessarily mean positive effects...we're still dealing with impacts of LBJ's policies and actions.

[Chi-townChief]

And let's not forget the one and only Chuck Berry:

[Atlas Sneezed]

I agree with Elvis because of his influence on music for the last 50 years.

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If you define influential by the "how much different would our lives be if he had never existed"-test, then any entertainer would have a hard time making the list. You might get some authors who affected national views (Twain, Stowe, etc.) but the fact that we'd be listening to a slightly different form of pop music hardly is a blip.

My take is that the technology innovators (from Whitney to Gates) should be ranked higher.

[Free_in_Alabama]

Oppenheimer and Sam Adams were 2 that would have made the list from me.

[Revolting cat!]

Me, I'm working hard on get on the list of 100 Least Influential Americans.

[Dixie Yooper]

Swap Ben Franklin with Thomas Jefferson. Franklin is the one most responsible for the United States being a republic,not a democracy.
Swap Thomas Edison with Franklin Roosevelt.

[Revolting cat!]

working hard on

Uh, oh, ian slip!

[Dixie Yooper]

Why is LBJ even on the list?