# 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:** 21
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/402 "2010-03-05T19:23:20Z")
Robinson through Tubman are now gone. On to the ninth round with: Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer James Madison: President, Framer, statesman John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn” Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor George Washington: President, general, statesman Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors Yes, let’s go to THREE votes each, and no more than one against any individual. The next round will conclude at noon EST on Mon. March 8. As to the Inventor vs. the Chief Justice… lots of other people were working on the same stuff Edison was. I take nothing away from his genius, but sooner or later just about all of his inventions would have been created by others. Marshall, however, was exactly the right man at the right time to do what he did. Had he not, early in the development of American democracy, the course of U.S. history would’ve taken a very different - and worse - course. And don’t call me Isildur. Idjit shoulda ditched the Ring. 😉 ---
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/403 "2010-03-05T19:29:32Z")
James Madison Earl Warren Orville and Wilbur Wright Madison was a poor President; Warren and the Wrights are second-best-in-class for their particular areas of distinction (Warren to King for civil rights and J. Marshall for jurisprudence; the Wrights to Edison). ---
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/404 "2010-03-05T19:41:44Z")
Roger Williams Orville and Wilbur Wright Thomas Edison _It’s deja vu all over again for me._ ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/405 "2010-03-05T19:50:13Z")
Susan B. Anthony Mark Twain Roger Williams ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/406 "2010-03-05T19:53:27Z")
Damn. Am I so disillusioned with my childhood idols that I will now vote against Thomas Edison? No. John Marshall. After teaching US history and reading some of the debates around the constitution, I am convinced that the founders had something like judicial review in mind and that Marshall’s work did not constitute stunning innovation. James Madison. I hold him in greater regard than the “burn the White House” crowd in the presidential game, but he is not the Greatest American. [strike]Martin Luther King Jr.[/strike] Yeah, I said it. He was an incredible activist, but did his work have as much impact on our way of life as the Warren Court? No, it did not. Also, he was a serial plagiarist, a sin most grave in my heart. I cannot hold this against him in a broad sense, but he is not the Greatest American. His place in our memory has more to do with his martyrdom–and subsequent hagiography–than it does with his accomplishments. I’ll take Earl Warren over him–as well as Jackie Robinson, were I inclined to cry over spilled milk. That said, I will instead vote for Mark Twain. Heresy can wait another day. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/407 "2010-03-05T19:58:54Z")
How **does** one do strikethough on the dope boards? ---
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/408 "2010-03-05T20:00:28Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > How **does** one do [Strike]strikethough[/Strike] on the dope boards? [del]and its opposite, [del]thusly[/del] ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/409 "2010-03-05T20:01:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > [del]and its opposite. Thanks, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/410 "2010-03-06T01:30:46Z")
John Marshall Mark Twain Earl Warren ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/411 "2010-03-06T03:40:37Z")
Susan B. Anthony Mark Twain Earl Warren ---
**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:** [March 6, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/412 "2010-03-06T03:58:50Z")
Susan B. Anthony Mark Twain Roger Williams ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/413 "2010-03-06T04:01:57Z")
Susan B. Anthony Mark Twain Roger Williams ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/414 "2010-03-06T04:27:11Z")
Mark Twain Orville and Wilbur Wright Thomas Edison ---
**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:** [March 6, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/415 "2010-03-06T05:50:57Z")
Susan B. Anthony Mark Twain Roger Williams ---
**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:** [March 6, 2010, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/416 "2010-03-06T06:17:59Z")
James Madison Earl Warren Roger Williams BTW, I’m certainly not a qualified historian but the following is at odds with my readings: > [@](#): > > I will be sorry to see the architect of the Marshall Plan go by the wayside. Without diminishing Marshall, whose prestige might have been essential to the Plan’s adoption, I’ve read that the Plan was architected by State Dept. intellectuals (Acheson, Kennan, Clayton) and that if a single person is to be given the credit’s lion-share, it would have to be the Man at whose desk the Buck Stopped. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/417 "2010-03-06T15:30:19Z")
Hm. In that case I feel less bad about it. Ignorance fought! ---
**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:** [March 6, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/418 "2010-03-06T16:39:26Z")
George C. Marshall was a great soldier AND a great statesman. David McCullough in _Truman_ tells the story of the President insisting that the Plan bear the name of his SecState, as if it was “the Truman Plan” it would be DOA on Capitol Hill. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/419 "2010-03-06T19:01:44Z")
Mark Twain Orville and Wilbur Wright Roger Williams ---
**Author:** ![Stowed\_Bob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stowed_bob/32/3312_2.png) [@Stowed\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stowed_Bob)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/420 "2010-03-07T15:24:47Z")
Orville and Wilbur Wright James Madison Benjamin Franklin ---
**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:** [March 7, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/421 "2010-03-07T15:33:22Z")
James Madison John Marshall Earl Warren [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=22)