# 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:** 5
**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:** [February 15, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/81 "2010-02-15T16:18:55Z")
None of the three Amerindians were ever American citizens nor were they considered Americans nor did they consider themselves Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/82 "2010-02-15T20:16:44Z")
Let’s whack: Lucille Ball Franklin D. Roosevelt (2 votes) Malcolm X (2 votes) Upton Sinclair Helen Keller Jimi Hendrix Cesar Chavez (2 votes) ---
**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 15, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/83 "2010-02-15T20:57:36Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > None of the three Amerindians were ever American citizens nor were they considered Americans nor did they consider themselves Americans. In the setup thread, **bibliophage** wrote, I see Tecumseh and Sitting Bull mentioned. I considered them, along with Crazy Horse, for my list but I wasn’t sure if they qualified; As far as I know they weren’t citizens of the U.S. Can we get a ruling? And I replied, Yes, I will accept any Native American nominations for this thread, even if they were not U.S. citizens under the law at the time. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/84 "2010-02-16T01:47:13Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Let’s whack: > > Lucille Ball > Franklin D. Roosevelt (2 votes) > Malcolm X (2 votes) > Upton Sinclair > Helen Keller > Jimi Hendrix > Cesar Chavez (2 votes) Malcolm X’s gone already. Thankfully. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/85 "2010-02-16T04:04:30Z")
Carrie Chapman Catt – 3 Margaret Sanger – 1 Jackie Robinson – 1 Eleanor Roosevelt – 1 Harriet Tubman – 1 Walt Disney – 1 Helen Keller – 1 Mark Twain – 1 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/86 "2010-02-16T05:32:25Z")
Daniel Bliss – not well-known enough Willis Carrier – I like air conditioning, but… Richard Nixon – greatest contribution was resigining PT Barnum – abused animals and ripped off humans Andrew Jackson – tough call, he was hugely influential, but practically genocidal JP Morgan – business already has enough influence in this country John Coltrane – I can’t see a musician going all the way, but not many people are voting against them; Coltrane is (barely) the lesser light of the musicians left John D. Rockefeller – here’s a dime, now get off our list Douglas MacArthur – WWII reputation inflated (later impressive at Inchon), self-promoting, loss pf Philippines largely his fault; but it’s crushing the Bonus Army that earns him my black mark Jonas Salk – if there’s a vote against Enders, there should be one against Salk, who more or less stole credit for Enders’ work ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/87 "2010-02-16T06:13:11Z")
I’ll probably be going after insignificant folks soon enough, but we still have a few that I would consider actively bad, here. Put me down for five each for Rockefeller, for his destructive monopolistic business practices, and for Disney, for his McCarthyism. Or to be explicit about it, John D. Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller Walt Disney Walt Disney Walt Disney Walt Disney Walt Disney ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/88 "2010-02-16T12:33:39Z")
Dick Nixon- 5 Andy Jackson- 5 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/89 "2010-02-16T12:49:32Z")
I’m guessing that if you haven’t voted yet, you can probably save any votes you would have cast for Nixon for someone else. I’m pretty sure he’s beyond saving at this point. ---
**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 16, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/90 "2010-02-16T14:22:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ll probably be going after insignificant folks soon enough, but we still have a few that I would consider actively bad, here. Put me down for five each for Rockefeller, for his destructive monopolistic business practices, and for Disney, for his McCarthyism. > > Or to be explicit about it, > > John D. Rockefeller > John D. Rockefeller > John D. Rockefeller > John D. Rockefeller > John D. Rockefeller > Walt Disney > Walt Disney > Walt Disney > Walt Disney > Walt Disney Cool, that should finish off John D, Nixon appears dead and Andrew Jackson too. ---
**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 16, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/91 "2010-02-16T18:35:40Z")
Second-round voting is now closed. I’ll post the tallies later today. ---
**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 16, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/92 "2010-02-16T19:43:12Z")
This was not a good time to be an entertainer named Walt. The top bracket, from Nixon (well-deserved, and good riddance) to Orson Welles, is now eliminated. Please correct me if I made any errors since **Tom Scud** ’s previous tally: 1 Richard Nixon 31 2 Andrew Jackson 16 3 P.T. Barnum 14 4 John D. Rockefeller 12 5 Walt Kelly 10 6 Walt Disney 9 7 Jim Henson 8 7 Frank Lloyd Wright 8 7 Daniel Bliss 8 8 Nikola Tesla 7 8 John Coltrane 7 8 Margaret Sanger 7 9 Babe Ruth 6 9 Orson Welles 6 John Adams 5 George Patton 5 Tecumseh 5 Carrie Chapman Catt 5 Carl Sagan 4 Bruce Catton 4 Langston Hughes 3 Joshua Chamberlain 3 Cesar Chavez 3 Helen Keller 3 Henry Bergh 2 Richard Feynman 2 Robert Frost 2 Jesse Owens 2 Elvis Presley 2 Franklin D. Roosevelt 2 John Franklin Elders George Gershwin Kurt Godel John F. Kennedy Audie Murphy Jim Thorpe Walt Whitman Lucille Ball Upton Sinclair Jimi Hendrix Jackie Robinson Eleanor Roosvelt Harriet Tubman Mark Twain Willis Carrier J.P. Morgan Douglas MacArthur Jonas Salk The third round of voting begins now, and will run through noon EST on Thurs. Feb. 18. Same rules as the second round: Each of us again has ten votes, but may use no more than five votes against any individual. Presidents are not immune. No vote trading, please. Let’s consider all of the nominees on their merits. ---
**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 16, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/93 "2010-02-16T20:02:49Z")
My 3rd round eliminees: Willis Carrier Carrie Chapman Catt Bruce Catton Joshua Chamberlain Aaron Copland Kurt Godel J.P. Morgan Edward R. Murrow Thomas Nast James K. Polk Tough to have a last name that begins with “C”. ---
**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 16, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/94 "2010-02-16T20:07:55Z")
Cesar Chavez 5 Douglas MacArthur 5 (over-reaching tin-plated general with delusions of godhood) ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/95 "2010-02-16T22:12:29Z")
So you eliminated Babe Ruth. Babe Fricking Ruth! Damn. John F. Kennedy Bruce Catton Joshua Chamberlain John Adams John Adams John Adams John Adams John Adams Elvis Presley Elvis Presley ---
**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:** [February 17, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/96 "2010-02-17T02:34:18Z")
Five votes for John F. Kennedy (Revenge for elimination of Nixon) Five votes for Tecumseh (Actually allied with Britain in War of 1812) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/97 "2010-02-17T03:14:11Z")
As it happens, there are exactly ten people left on the list for whom I couldn’t really tell you who they are, which seems pretty un-great to me. So I’ll vote one each for Henry Bergh Willis Carrier Carrie Chapman Catt Bruce Catton Joshua Chamberlain John Franklin Enders William Lloyd Garrison John Marshall Edward R Murrow Roger Williams ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/98 "2010-02-17T11:19:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As it happens, there are exactly ten people left on the list for whom I couldn’t really tell you who they are, which seems pretty un-great to me. So I’ll vote one each for > > Henry Bergh > Willis Carrier > Carrie Chapman Catt > Bruce Catton > Joshua Chamberlain > John Franklin Enders > William Lloyd Garrison > John Marshall > Edward R Murrow > Roger Williams I like the way you think (apart from Murrow, whom you really ought to know). So: Henry Bergh Willis Carrier Carrie Chapman Catt Bruce Catton Joshua Chamberlain John Franklin Enders William Lloyd Garrison John Marshall Roger Williams and Jimi Hendrix, who was a great musician but not necessarily the greatest American. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/99 "2010-02-17T15:04:33Z")
On two of the above: William Lloyd Garrison was probably the leading white abolitionist. He ran abolitionist newspapers, organized, gave speeches, the whole schmear. He’s absolutely a great American. I nominated Roger Williams, so I’m obviously partial to him. As most of you know, the colonies established by the pilgrims did not offer religious freedom: one had to be a Calvinist Puritan or face serious sanction. Williams fervently disagreed with this, arguing that the soul had must have liberty. He founded Rhode Island (well, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations if you want to be pedantic), paying the Indians a relatively fair price for the land (which is probably why RI is so small) and established freedom of religion there. Today, Roger Williams is widely considered the author of religious freedom in America. That’s who he was, and that’s why you shouldn’t vote to eliminate him. ---
**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 17, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/100 "2010-02-17T15:06:04Z")
The category-by-category list, updated for round 3: Politicians and activists: US Presidents and other political leaders: Presidents (11/13): John Adams: President, writer, statesman Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero [del]Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist[/del] Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer John F. Kennedy: President, “New Frontier” Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer James Madison: President, Framer, statesman [del]Richard Nixon: President, lawyer, author[/del] James K Polk: President, statesman 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 (3): Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior Tecumseh: Indian leader, uniter Activists: Women’s rights/suffrage (2/3): Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist Carrie Chapman Catt: Women’s rights suffragist [del]Margaret Sanger: Birth-control pioneer[/del] Civil Rights/Abolitionists (9/10): John Brown: Righteous, inspirational abolitionist Cesar Chavez: Civil rights activist 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 (14/15): Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer Philo Farnsworth: TV piorneer, inventor Richard Feynman: Physicist, Renaissance man Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor Kurt Gödel: Mathematician, incompleteness theorem Carl Sagan: Astronomer, science popularizer 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 (3/7): [del]P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman[/del] Andrew Carnegie: Industrialist, philanthropist [del]Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon[/del] Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic [del]Henry Ford: Inventor, industrialist, philanthropist[/del] J.P. Morgan: Financial giant, tycoon [del]John D. Rockefeller: Billionaire, philanthropist[/del] Generals and soldiers (7): Joshua Chamberlain: Civil War hero Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist Douglas MacArthur: WWII general Audie Murphy: Decorated soldier, actor George S. Patton: WWII general, orator John J. Pershing: Top WWI general Writers (12/17): [del]Ambrose Bierce: Author, journalist, satirist, critic[/del] [del]James Branch Cabell: Author, marriage proponent[/del] Bruce Catton: Civil War historian 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 (4/6): Leonard Bernstein: Composer, conductor, educator [del]John Coltrane: Musician, composer[/del] Aaron Copland: Composer, musician George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer [del]Jimi Hendrix, musician and activist[/del] Elvis Presley, rock-and-roller 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] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=6)