# Greatest American elimination game (game thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423 "2010-02-10T15:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/201 "2010-02-22T16:26:57Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Sorry, dude. I think that Jefferson, even with his flaws, was one of our greatest thinkers, and while perhaps is not THE greatest American, certainly does not deserve to be cut at this early stage. I concur, and the “number of revotes” does seem to indicate that I do not stand alone. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/202 "2010-02-22T17:05:16Z")
And, as noon EST has passed, your final vote tally: 1 George S. Patton 16 2 James K. Polk 15 2 John Brown 15 4 Andrew Carnegie 14 5 Philo T. Farnsworth 13 6 Leonard Bernstein 12 6 J.P. Morgan 12 6 Audie Murphy 12 9 Joshua Chamberlain 11 9 Tecumseh 11 Thomas Jefferson 10 Aaron Copland 7 John Marshall 5 Sitting Bull 5 Helen Keller 5 Langston Hughes 4 Jim Thorpe 4 Jesse Owens 4 Henry Bergh 3 Walt Whitman 3 Albert Einstein 2 George Gershwin 2 Thomas Nast 2 Jackie Robinson 2 Will Rogers 2 Upton Sinclair 2 Dwight D. Eisenhower Ralph Waldo Emerson Alexander Hamilton Lewis and Clark James Madison Edward R. Murrow John J. Pershing Edgar Allen Poe Jonas Salk John von Neumann ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/203 "2010-02-22T17:17:11Z")
Many thanks, **Tom Scud**. Sorry to see the great Chamberlain go, in particular, but them’s the breaks. Patton through Tecumseh are now gone. That leaves us with: John Adams: President, writer, statesman Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician Aaron Copland: Composer, musician Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher, writer John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor Robert Frost: Greatest American poet William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist, writer George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer Helen Keller: Redefined language, mind Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian Lewis and Clark (Meriwether and William, resp.): Louisiana Purchase explorers Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer James Madison: President, Framer, statesman George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice Edward R. Murrow: Broadcaster Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer John J. Pershing: Top WWI general Edgar Allan Poe: Poet, writer, critic Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration Will Rogers: Humorist, social commentator Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor William Seward: Diplomat; bought Alaska Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher Jim Thorpe: Native American athlete Harry Truman: President, statesman Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn” John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor George Washington: President, general, statesman Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman Walt Whitman: Civil War poet Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors Same rules as to the next round of voting, which will conclude at noon EST on Weds. Feb. 24. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/204 "2010-02-22T17:32:35Z")
The category-by-category list, updated for round 5: Politicians and activists: US Presidents and other political leaders: Presidents (9/13): John Adams: President, writer, statesman Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero [del]Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist[/del] Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer [del]John F. Kennedy: President, “New Frontier”[/del] Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer James Madison: President, Framer, statesman [del]Richard Nixon: President, lawyer, author[/del] [del]James K Polk: President, statesman[/del] Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman Harry Truman: President, statesman George Washington: President, general, statesman Other leaders (9): Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice William Seward: Diplomat; bought Alaska Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader Native American leaders (2/3): Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior [del]Tecumseh: Indian leader, uniter[/del] Activists: Women’s rights/suffrage (1/3): Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist [del]Carrie Chapman Catt: Women’s rights suffragist[/del] [del]Margaret Sanger: Birth-control pioneer[/del] Civil Rights/Abolitionists (7/10): [del]John Brown: Righteous, inspirational abolitionist[/del] [del]Cesar Chavez: Civil rights activist[/del] Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist, writer Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate [del]Malcolm X: Civil rights leader[/del] Other Activists (4/5): Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals [del]Daniel Bliss: Educator, AUB founder[/del] Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker Scientists and inventors (9/15): [del]Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer[/del] George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer [del]Philo Farnsworth: TV piorneer, inventor[/del] [del]Richard Feynman: Physicist, Renaissance man[/del] Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor [del]Kurt Gödel: Mathematician, incompleteness theorem[/del] [del]Carl Sagan: Astronomer, science popularizer[/del] Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor [del]Nikola Tesla: Inventor, engineer[/del] John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors Businessmen and industrialists (1/7): [del]P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman[/del] [del]Andrew Carnegie: Industrialist, philanthropist[/del] [del]Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon[/del] Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic [del]Henry Ford: Inventor, industrialist, philanthropist[/del] [del]J.P. Morgan: Financial giant, tycoon[/del] [del]John D. Rockefeller: Billionaire, philanthropist[/del] Generals and soldiers (3/8): [del]Joshua Chamberlain: Civil War hero[/del] Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero [del]Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist[/del] [del]Douglas MacArthur: WWII general[/del] George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman [del]Audie Murphy: Decorated soldier, actor[/del] [del]George S. Patton: WWII general, orator[/del] John J. Pershing: Top WWI general Writers (11/17): [del]Ambrose Bierce: Author, journalist, satirist, critic[/del] [del]James Branch Cabell: Author, marriage proponent[/del] [del]Bruce Catton: Civil War historian[/del] Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher, writer Robert Frost: Greatest American poet [del]Robert Heinlein: Science fiction author[/del] Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet Helen Keller: Redefined language, mind [del]H.P. Lovecraft: Horror writer[/del] Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer Edgar Allan Poe: Poet, writer, critic Will Rogers: Humorist, social commentator [del]Shel Silverstein: Author, humorist[/del] Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn” Walt Whitman: Civil War poet “Show biz” (1/7): [del]Lucille Ball: Actress, comedian, redhead[/del] [del]P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman[/del] [del]Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon[/del] [del]Jim Henson: Beloved children’s programmer[/del] [del]Marilyn Monroe: Legendary film star[/del] Edward R Murrow: Broadcaster [del]Orson Welles: Writer, director, actor[/del] Musicians and composers (2/6): [del]Leonard Bernstein: Composer, conductor, educator[/del] [del]John Coltrane: Musician, composer[/del] Aaron Copland: Composer, musician George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer [del]Jimi Hendrix, musician and activist[/del] [del]Elvis Presley, rock-and-roller[/del] Comics (1/3): [del]Walt Kelly: “Pogo” creator, humorist[/del] [del]Jack Kirby: Comics pioneer[/del] Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker Athletes (3/5): Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration [del]Babe Ruth: Legendary baseball icon[/del] Jim Thorpe: Native American athlete [del]Babe Zaharias: Greatest female athlete[/del] Miscellaneous (1/3): Lewis and Clark (Meriwether and William, resp.): Louisiana Purchase explorers [del]Charles Lindbergh: Aviator, American hero[/del] [del]Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie School architect[/del] ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/205 "2010-02-22T17:57:26Z")
Going to do a straight vote, 10 candidates and one vote each, this time. John Adams Aaron Copland Ralph Waldo Emerson Robert Frost Alexander Hamilton Chief Joseph Jesse Owens Jim Thorpe John von Neumann Eli Whitney Adams and Hamilton as an anti-Federalist vote; Copland doesn’t really move me that much as a musician; Emerson and Frost seem to me relatively weak links in the writer category, which still has too many entries; Whitney’s invention may have done more ill than good; von Neumann just doesn’t quite seem to have the revolutionary effect of some of the other scientists and inventors; Chief Joseph also seems relatively less important than Sitting Bull or Tecumseh for that matter; I’ve been voting Owens and Thorpe for a while and see no reason to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/206 "2010-02-22T18:14:43Z")
So I don’t have to go back and try and find them, what were the rules again? No more than 5 votes per person? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/207 "2010-02-22T18:17:58Z")
10 total votes, no more than 5 per person, yeah. Multiple votes in the format: Person’s name # (i.e. Jack Abramoff 5) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/208 "2010-02-22T18:25:54Z")
John von Neumann 5 Albert Einstein 5 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/209 "2010-02-22T18:44:46Z")
Jesse Owens 2 Jackie Robinson 2 Jim Thorpe 2 Helen Keller 2 Will Rogers 2 Voting for the athletes just because I don’t really feel like being an athlete qualifies you for greatness. And the other two just because, while interesting people who did many worthwhile things, I’m not sure they qualify for greatness either. And writers are over-represented anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Red\_Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/210 "2010-02-22T18:51:20Z")
I’m gonna vote a spread this time, these are people who are notable, but I don’t think really embody what I consider to be Great or even Greatest. Also, it’ll be sad to see von Neumann go, but it’s probably time so I’m not going to buffer for him. Henry David Thoreau Thomas Nast Robert Frost Edward R. Murrow Jesse Owens Jim Thorpe William Seward Eli Whitney Aaron Copeland Langston Hughes ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/211 "2010-02-22T18:55:44Z")
**Aaron Copland** 5\*\* votes\*\*. \*\*Thomas Jefferson \*\ ***5 votes** ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/212 "2010-02-22T18:56:05Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Jesse Owens 2 > Jackie Robinson 2 > Jim Thorpe 2 > Helen Keller 2 > Will Rogers 2 > > Voting for the athletes just because I don’t really feel like being an athlete qualifies you for greatness. And the other two just because, while interesting people who did many worthwhile things, I’m not sure they qualify for greatness either. And writers are over-represented anyway. I concur with you on Jesse Owens and Jim Thorpe, but Jackie Robinson was much more than an athlete–and much more than just some random MLB-level Negro League guy that Branch Rickey picked to integrate the Dodgers. Had his monumental achievements in baseball not come along, Robinson may well be remembered today for winning his court martial, wherein the panel ruled, among other things, that a bus driver was out of line telling a black officer to move to the back of the bus, regardless of what other fabricated charges the CO wanted to hang on the incident. Sound familiar? Jackie Robinson is a seminal American figure, and it would be a shame to let him go while we’re still culling the herd. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/213 "2010-02-22T19:07:36Z")
Now, as to voting: John Adams x5. Anyone who would sign the Sedition Act and let David Brown and Matthew Lyon sit in jail for orderly protest does not deserve to be in this discussion. At all. Thomas Nast. I like the cartoons too, but c’mon. Jesse Owens. An important symbol, but his major accomplishment was running fast. Jim Thorpe. My boyhood idol, but his influence was largely relegated to playing sports. As first president of the NFL, he was a figurehead. Will Rogers. Hell of a guy, but not in the same league as Lincoln and Washington. Not really even in the same league as Thoreau and Emerson. Daniel Webster. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/214 "2010-02-22T20:02:58Z")
In honor of Washington’s Birthday: “He is polite with dignity, affable without formality, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity; modest, wise and good.” – Abigail Adams, 1789 “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” - Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, 1799 _Washington’s Monument, February 1885_ by Walt Whitman Ah, not this marble, dead and cold: Far from its base and shaft expanding—the round zones circling, comprehending, Thou, Washington, art all the world’s, the continents’ entire—not yours alone, America, Europe’s as well, in every part, castle of lord or laborer’s cot, Or frozen North, or sultry South—the African’s—the Arab’s in his tent, Old Asia’s there with venerable smile, seated amid her ruins; (Greets the antique the hero new? ‘tis but the same—the heir legitimate, continued ever, The indomitable heart and arm—proofs of the never-broken line, Courage, alertness, patience, faith, the same—e’en in defeat defeated not, the same) Wherever sails a ship, or house is built on land, or day or night, Through teeming cities’ streets, indoors or out, factories or farms, Now, or to come, or past—where patriot wills existed or exist, Wherever Freedom, pois’d by Toleration, sway’d by Law, Stands or is rising thy true monument. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/215 "2010-02-22T20:30:40Z")
Upton Sinclair x5 Walt Whitman x5 I’m glad Jefferson was saved! The man who wrote “All men are created equal” certainly belongs in the Top Five, and perhaps even the Top One. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/216 "2010-02-22T20:37:25Z")
4 on Truman 5 on Eisenhower 1 on John Adams ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/217 "2010-02-22T20:38:30Z")
I’m voting the following 10 off the island: Henry Bergh Chief Joseph Aaron Copland George Gershwin Edward R Murrow Thomas Nast John von Neumann Earl Warren Walt Whitman Eli Whitney A lot of these are not quite as big as others in their category (Whitman vs. Frost, which is admittedly close; Whitney vs. Edison; Chief Joseph vs. Sitting Bull; Earl Warren vs. a couple others in “other leaders”) . Copland and Gershwin both have probably gone as far as they should go. Ditto for Murrow. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/218 "2010-02-22T21:21:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > In honor of Washington’s Birthday: > > “He is polite with dignity, affable without formality, distant without haughtiness, > grave without austerity; modest, wise and good.” – Abigail Adams, 1789 > > “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” - Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, 1799 > > _Washington’s Monument, February 1885_ > by Walt Whitman > > Ah, not this marble, dead and cold: > Far from its base and shaft expanding—the round zones circling, > comprehending, > Thou, Washington, art all the world’s, the continents’ entire—not > yours alone, America, > Europe’s as well, in every part, castle of lord or laborer’s cot, > Or frozen North, or sultry South—the African’s—the Arab’s in his tent, > Old Asia’s there with venerable smile, seated amid her ruins; > (Greets the antique the hero new? ‘tis but the same—the heir > legitimate, continued ever, > The indomitable heart and arm—proofs of the never-broken line, > Courage, alertness, patience, faith, the same—e’en in defeat > defeated not, the same) > Wherever sails a ship, or house is built on land, or day or night, > Through teeming cities’ streets, indoors or out, factories or farms, > Now, or to come, or past—where patriot wills existed or exist, > Wherever Freedom, pois’d by Toleration, sway’d by Law, > Stands or is rising thy true monument. Well put. He was a great American. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/219 "2010-02-22T21:35:03Z")
Two of the five greatest I picked in a similar poll a few years ago are now gone, and a third (Jefferson) barely survived last round. I was going to slate ten for elimination this time, but could only find seven that I was currently comfortable with voting against. However, I decided to “double up” on the ones I had named previously, and thus keep Eleanor Roosevelt off this ballot. So my choices (subject to strategic change) are: Helen Keller 2 Will Rogers 2 Jonas Salk 2 William Seward John von Neumann 2 Daniel Webster ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/220 "2010-02-22T22:47:12Z")
Early Count: John von Neumann 9 Aaron Copland 8 John Adams 7 Walt Whitman 6 Jesse Owens 5 Jim Thorpe 5 Albert Einstein 5 Will Rogers 5 Thomas Jefferson 5 Upton Sinclair 5 Dwight Eisenhower 5 Helen Keller 4 Harry Truman 4 Eli Whitney 3 Thomas Nast 3 Robert Frost 2 Chief Joseph 2 Jackie Robinson 2 Edward R. Murrow 2 William Seward 2 Daniel Webster 2 Jonas Salk 2 Ralph Waldo Emerson Alexander Hamilton Henry David Thoreau Langston Hughes Henry Bergh George Gershwin Earl Warren Don’t mean to overstep, but as long as I was doing it for me, I figured I’d share. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=12)