# 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:** 13
**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 24, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/241 "2010-02-24T13:43:13Z")
Your morning standings update: 1 Aaron Copland 14 2 Albert Einstein 12 2 Thomas Jefferson 12 4 John von Neumann 11 5 Jesse Owens 10 5 Thomas Nast 10 5 Eli Whitney 10 8 Edward R. Murrow 8 9 John Adams 7 9 Dwight Eisenhower 7 9 Helen Keller 7 9 Jim Thorpe 7 9 Upton Sinclair 7 Alexander Hamilton 6 Walt Whitman 6 Sitting Bull 6 Chief Joseph 5 Henry Bergh 5 Will Rogers 5 John Pershing 4 Jonas Salk 4 Harry Truman 4 Earl Warren 3 Langston Hughes 3 Robert Frost 3 Lewis and Clark 3 Daniel Webster 2 George Gershwin 2 Jackie Robinson 2 William Seward 2 Henry David Thoreau 1 Ralph Waldo Emerson 1 Susan B. Anthony 1 ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/242 "2010-02-24T14:29:06Z")
So we’re on the verge of bumping Jefferson AND Einstein? Wow, there’s some serious anti-brilliance action going on here. Sarah Palin, is that you? ---
**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 24, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/243 "2010-02-24T14:38:03Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > So we’re on the verge of bumping Jefferson AND Einstein? Wow, there’s some serious anti-brilliance action going on here. > > Sarah Palin, is that you? Einstein was great, but some feel his great work was done not as an American. Thus not a Greatest American. As to Jefferson, the man was a wasteful, messed-up jackass that was brilliant. Not the greatest American. He was also a back-stabber. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/244 "2010-02-24T14:47:53Z")
Yeah, I nearly threw in a couple of Einstein votes myself, on the grounds that he was really more of a German than an American when he achieved greatness. ---
**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 24, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/245 "2010-02-24T14:52:20Z")
I was planning on going along with the OP’s categories, but still, voting for Einstein as a Greatest American is kind of like voting for Randy Johnson as one of the greatest Yankees of all time. ---
**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 24, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/246 "2010-02-24T15:11:59Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I was planning on going along with the OP’s categories, but still, voting for Einstein as a Greatest American is kind of like voting for Randy Johnson as one of the greatest Yankees of all time. I’m not ready to vote for Einstein off, but I fully understand those that do. Einstein did do more for America than Randy did for the Yanks though. He inspired many to go into the sciences, he made Physics and Physicists more human and charming. He and Carl Sagan might be the two scientist in America that gave Science its best faces. ---
**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 24, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/247 "2010-02-24T15:24:03Z")
Just about everybody on the list from the very beginning of the game had, I think, a legitimate claim to be there. YMMV. But I will shed no tears for any of the current group on the chopping block (even though my wife used to work with Edward R. Murrow’s son; he’s a nice guy). ---
**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 24, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/248 "2010-02-24T16:37:42Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > 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 I like Ike, and I want to get rid of those darned Federalists, so I’m revoting: John Adams 2 (+1) Alexander Hamilton 3 (+2) Ralph Waldo Emerson 0 (-1) Robert Frost 0 (-1) Chief Joseph 0 (-1) Others the same Sorry for dropping this in so close to the end. ---
**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 24, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/249 "2010-02-24T16:39:50Z")
Updated standings: 1 Aaron Copland 14 2 Albert Einstein 12 2 Thomas Jefferson 12 4 John von Neumann 11 5 Jesse Owens 10 5 Thomas Nast 10 5 Eli Whitney 10 8 John Adams 8 8 Edward R. Murrow 8 8 Alexander Hamilton 8 Dwight Eisenhower 7 Helen Keller 7 Jim Thorpe 7 Upton Sinclair 7 Walt Whitman 6 Sitting Bull 6 Henry Bergh 5 Will Rogers 5 Chief Joseph 4 John Pershing 4 Jonas Salk 4 Harry Truman 4 Earl Warren 3 Langston Hughes 3 Lewis and Clark 3 Robert Frost 2 Daniel Webster 2 George Gershwin 2 Jackie Robinson 2 William Seward 2 Henry David Thoreau 1 Susan B. Anthony 1 Ralph Waldo Emerson 0 ---
**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 24, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/250 "2010-02-24T16:41:48Z")
I’m a bit sorry to have helped get the ball rolling on von Neumann this turn; if I’d realized we were going to throw Einstein over the side I might have kept him around. As it stands, we’re going to be fresh out of physicists after this. ---
**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 24, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/251 "2010-02-24T17:01:32Z")
Hamilton’s too important to drop now. My revote: Thomas Nast (-5) Helen Keller (x5) ETA: D’oh! My clock is three minutes slow. ---
**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 24, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/252 "2010-02-24T17:04:49Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Hamilton’s too important to drop now. My revote: > > Thomas Nast (-5) > Helen Keller (x5) > > ETA: D’oh! My clock is three minutes slow. So I guess we’re going by my updated stadings of 20 minutes or so ago? (In any case, that wouldn’t have saved Hamilton; I’m not sure a single voter could have, but if so they’d have had to put a lot of 2 votes on the 7 vote people.) ---
**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 24, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/253 "2010-02-24T17:06:52Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > So I guess we’re going by my updated stadings of 20 minutes or so ago?.. Yes, thanks. ---
**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 24, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/254 "2010-02-24T17:16:14Z")
The category-by-category list, updated for round 6: Politicians and activists: US Presidents and other political leaders: Presidents (7/13): [del]John Adams: President, writer, statesman[/del] Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero [del]Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist[/del] [del]Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer[/del] [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 (8/9): Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor [del]Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman[/del] 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 (3/5): Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals [del]Daniel Bliss: Educator, AUB founder[/del] [del]Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker[/del] Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker Scientists and inventors (6/15): [del]Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer[/del] George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic [del]Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist[/del] 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] [del]John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath[/del] [del]Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin[/del] 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” (0/7): [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] [del]Edward R Murrow: Broadcaster[/del] [del]Orson Welles: Writer, director, actor[/del] Musicians and composers (1/6): [del]Leonard Bernstein: Composer, conductor, educator[/del] [del]John Coltrane: Musician, composer[/del] [del]Aaron Copland: Composer, musician[/del] George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer [del]Jimi Hendrix, musician and activist[/del] [del]Elvis Presley, rock-and-roller[/del] Comics (0/3): [del]Walt Kelly: “Pogo” creator, humorist[/del] [del]Jack Kirby: Comics pioneer[/del] [del]Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker[/del] Athletes (2/5): [del]Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete[/del] 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:** ![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 24, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/255 "2010-02-24T17:16:18Z")
Well I guess there is a sort of symmetry to Jefferson and Adams going together yet again. ---
**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 24, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/256 "2010-02-24T17:45:29Z")
So how many are we voting off this round? ---
**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 24, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/257 "2010-02-24T17:54:32Z")
Nice point, **What Exit?** Many thanks again, **Tom Scud**. Copland through Hamilton are now gone. That leaves us with: 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 Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic 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 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet 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 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” Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor George Washington: President, general, statesman Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman Walt Whitman: Civil War poet Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors Same rules as to the next round of voting (ten votes each, but no more than five against any individual nominee), which will conclude at noon EST on Fri. Feb. 26. Maybe after that we’ll go with five votes each, and no more than one on any individual. What do you think? ---
**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 24, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/258 "2010-02-24T18:00:17Z")
Ten votes is going to be tight this round; five and one sounds okay, but I’d even push for a smaller number - three perhaps. ---
**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 24, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/259 "2010-02-24T18:01:24Z")
My vote-offs this round: Henry Bergh x5 George Gershwin Chief Joseph John J. Pershing Earl Warren Walt Whitman I’ve been voting against Bergh since Round 2 - might as well finally have it count. He’s important, but now outclassed. ---
**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 24, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/260 "2010-02-24T18:05:27Z")
This is painful: Henry Bergh Chief Joseph Ralph Waldo Emerson Robert Frost George Gershwin Helen Keller John J. Pershing Edgar Allan Poe Will Rogers Jim Thorpe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=14)