The Father of His Country loses in a squeaker. What a shame:
George Washington 5
Susan B. Anthony 4
Martin Luther King Jr. 1
That leaves:
Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist
Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor
Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian
Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer
Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman
Same rules as before, folks. Our new deadline is noon EST on Weds. March 24.
Top five for Susan B. Anthony is pretty impressive, I think it is her time to go.
I will bid farewell to Washington with my all-time favorite mental image of him: the only time I know of in which he allowed himself to appear undignified.
Anthony. No question this time.
What’s interesting about this list to me is that Franklin is the exception. Now that all the generals are gone, everyone on the list is famous for fixing (or trying to fix) one of America’s great besetting social flaws:
[Lack of] Civil rights, racial discrimination and Jim Crow laws
The sundered union AND slavery
Monopolies AND the destruction of public lands
Ben is probably the most well-rounded of the remaining figures (albeit in close competition with Teddy) but not especially a crusader against one of the great American weaknesses.
That said, I like ol’ Ben. And he certainly was unique.
I’m still going to vote against Susan B. Anthony, using the questionable criterion that she simply didn’t stand out as much above her peers as the remaining titans did. Maybe this is because of the way women collaborate, perhaps putting me at risk of being sexist, but Anthony worked so closely with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Amelia Bloomer, and others, that she doesn’t seem to my memory to be as dominant a figure.
Sorry I’ve been out of commission - busy weekend and a new Mafia game on top of it. Anyway, I think I’m going to have to give a vote to
Susan B. Anthony
as well.
Although I stood alone last time, I’ll once again cast my vote for
Martin Luther King, Jr.
while also bemoaning the fact that Washington is gone. Hey, I generally love such upsets as the one Northern Iowa scored over Kansas in the NCAA men’s hoops tourney, but only if they’re on merit. Although I wouldn’t necessarily have voted him champion, I didn’t see a credible case made to knock George out so early.
Susan B. Anthony.
Also Anthony.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
It could be argued no slave owner should be in the final 5 at least. He was a great man, and unlike Jefferson he freed all his slaves upon his death so I hold it against him far less than Jefferson and others, but it is a big knock against Washington that should not be completely overlooked.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Largely for real cultural impact. Susan B. Anthony and her contemporaries’ actions benefit more Americans and had a larger cultural significance that MLK.
Also, I feel that MLK gets a lot of extra credit due for martyrdom and there is a hint of hypocrisy in that he was arguing for civil rights while marginalizing women and their role in the Civil Rights Movement. IMO, MLK has gone far enough in this game.
MLK
Tally:
Anthony - 6
MLK - 4
End woman’s suffrage now! - Susan B Anthony.
Now you know how I feel about plagiarists.
Lord knows I forgive MLK, and everyone should, but to see him exalted as one of the five greatest Americans makes me wince–especially when his accomplishments (or, honestly, lack thereof) do not seem to be well-understood.
Susan B. Anthony
MLK
Susan B. Anthony - 8
MLK - 5
Susan B is out. Leaving:
Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor
Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian
Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer
Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman
I will assume the new deadline is noon EST on Friday, March 26th.
He wasn’t an elected official. He was a preacher. His accomplishments - galvanizing a nation into rejecting bigotry and hate, no less - are astonishing, considering his resources.
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln had an army, remember.
Oh, I’m voting off Washington, by the way. If anyone’s overrated, it’s him.
Too late – he was eliminated Monday.
I’ve been voting the same way for the last few rounds, and think I’ll finally be in the plurality this time.
Martin Luther King, Jr.