Greatest American elimination game (game thread)

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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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.)

Yes, thanks.

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]

Well I guess there is a sort of symmetry to Jefferson and Adams going together yet again.

So how many are we voting off this round?

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?

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.

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.

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