Who voted on this?
Ralph Nader needn't be on that list. Neither should Babe Ruth. Someone needs to defend W.E.B. Dubois' and Thomas Paines' high ranking, too.
MLK Jr. isn't #8, either. He might belong on the top 100, but not that high.
Walt Whitman more influential than the WRIGHT brothers??? Give me a break.
OTOH, nice to see James Polk on the list; a forgotten but important President.
Yeah, she really influenced a lot of people.................
The three biggest land gains in U.S. history were made under Grant (Alaska, aka "Seward's Folly"), Jefferson (The Louisiana Purchase), and Polk (Texas, California, "New Mexico").
Yet Polk is number 50 (compare to Grant at 12 and TJ at 3). Sigh.
Paine's 'Common Sense' was the impetus for the American Revolution more then any other text.
Well, as far as Paine goes, without his pamplets, public opinion could have gone against the Revolution -- and that includes the young (and old) men who were fighting it. So no Paine, no ... (nah, won't say it). No Paine, no America, no most influential Americans list (or most of the Americans on the list, either.)
I support Thomas Paines' inclusion. His words at the right time helped us win the American Revolution. Without him, Washington would have had a much more difficult time keeping the army together.
I agree that Nader shouldn't be on the list, nor Babe Ruth.