# Who is the most important person to live in US history?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [November 14, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947 "2012-11-14T03:14:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/21 "2012-11-14T15:47:54Z")
I mean, yea…I don’t Mr. Gates has done anything negative. He made huge money but then donated it all back to worthwhile charities. He’s pretty amazing…
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### Author:  [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/22 "2012-11-14T15:50:44Z")
Einstein - consider the world today, if not for Albert-
Uranverein - The German nuclear energy project, which started in 1939
F-Go Nuclear Project headed by Bunsaku Arakatsu in Japan in 1943
Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov and the RDS nuclear programs.
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### Author:  [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/23 "2012-11-14T16:00:14Z")
I’d say George Washington. Boring answer, but I don’t think the United States would be the same country if not for him. We’d be part of Canada.
Because the American Revolution was so important in everything that’s come after (our form of government, taking over the rest of the continent, the Monroe Doctrine…) my pick for second place is Ben Franklin. I don’t think the revolution would have been successful without him or George Washington.
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### Author:  [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/24 "2012-11-14T16:09:04Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> Theodore Roosevelt wrote quite harshly of him, for refusing to enlarge the very small U.S. Navy during his (Jefferson’s) administration. The U.S. won the Naval phase of the War of 1812, but it was a close-won thing, and could easily have gone wrong.
Theodore Roosevelt is one of the last people Jefferson would seek approval from. He was a dangerous egomaniac who held nothing but contempt for the Constitution.
> [@](#):
>
> Still, his vision of the future was grievously flawed, and, like Andrew Jackson, he did a lot of harm trying to steer the country into the past.
In what way was Jefferson trying to “steer the country into the past”? Admittedly his vision of a primarily agricultural society did not come to fruition. His ideas have been largely ignored, especially in the last 100 years, but without his influence in the formative years we would likely have seen an overbearing federal government much earlier than Lincoln, and later Roosevelt and Wilson ,thrust one opon us. Who knows if the early republic would have maintained?
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### Author:  [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/25 "2012-11-14T16:19:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Lincoln not really caring a TON about slaves
I’ve heard a lot of criticism of Lincoln on this issue. Some people say he really didn’t like black people, that the Emancipation Proclamation was a political ploy to win English support, encourage revolution in the South, or that it didn’t have any impact because he was freeing the slaves in states where the Union had no jurisdiction at the time.
I say, regardless of Lincoln’s motives, he did a hell of a lot more for freedom and equality than any other president. Especially so when every other president up to that point was content to kick the slavery can a little farther down the road and make it somebody else’s problem.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/26 "2012-11-14T16:22:26Z")
Obama, for not being Bush.
😃
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### Author:  [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/27 "2012-11-14T16:36:26Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> Obama, for not being Bush.
> 😃
I’m amazed it took 25 replies. Hell, he won a Nobel Prize for not being Bush.
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### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/28 "2012-11-14T16:55:25Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#):
>
> I’m amazed it took 25 replies. Hell, he won a Nobel Prize for not being Bush.
Teddy Roosevelt also got the Nobel. I’m getting more in favor of Teddy nowadays, we need more leaders like him that thought that Wall Street financiers and powerful trust titans were acting foolishly.
And he also looked for the conservation of nature, it was once mentioned that Roosevelt once confronted one of the robber barons of the day and confessed that he did want to defenestrate him after meeting him, I do believe that he would look at the current barons that also do not care about the environment like the Koch brothers and this time he would not just think about it.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/29 "2012-11-14T19:20:22Z")
> [@Oedipus](#):
>
> As I understand it though, he was a huge part in the Federlist/Anti-Federalist debate. These arguments were over what the Constitution would contain and what type of nation we would have.
Not really. Jefferson sort of floated between the two camps and offered support to both sides. The fact that he was outside of the country during the debate may have been a factor; Jefferson was hearing and being heard on these issues only via letters traveling across the Altantic. By the time he returned to America, the Constitution had already been written, ratified, and put into effect.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/30 "2012-11-14T19:49:47Z")
Jefferson was also a colossal hypocrite; he talked a great deal about how the presidency should be weak, relative to Congress, and how Congress should be weak relative to state legislatures, and then massively expanded federal power, particularly his own. Not that I mind, of course.
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### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/31 "2012-11-14T19:55:16Z")
> [@Clothahump](#):
>
> Another vote for Washington.
>
> I wonder what he would think if we could bring him back to life today.
“Dear God, I’ve been _entombed alive!_”
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### Author:  [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/32 "2012-11-14T20:35:22Z")
Eli Whitney… if I couldn’t wear cotton sweats and jeans every day, I am not sure life would be worth living
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/33 "2012-11-15T03:21:54Z")
John C. Calhoun
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/34 "2012-11-15T03:54:55Z")
> [@Oedipus](#):
>
> Who is the most important person to live in US history?
Me. I mean, just ask me. I really thought that was obvious and don’t understand why the question even came up. 😕
ETA: But as individuals who are not me go, a lot _can_ be said for Calhoun.
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### Author:  [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/35 "2012-11-15T06:07:33Z")
Nikola Tesla - alternating current and active circuits - is the obvious answer.
Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby - the integrated circuit.
Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain - solid state electronics.
“Col.” Edwin Drake - drilling for oil.
Harold Hamilton and Martin Blomberg - the diesel locomotive.
William Tecumseh Sherman - more for the Union Pacific than anything else.
When they’re gone, Elon Musk (useful, desirable electric cars) and the inventor of hydrofracing for natural gas (one of my friends, who has every motorcycle he’s ever wanted as a result) will join the list.
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### Author:  [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/36 "2012-11-15T06:09:38Z")
> [@Clothahump](#):
>
> Another vote for Washington.
>
> I wonder what he would think if we could bring him back to life today.
He’d love it, and I bet he’d want to spend an entire growing season just watching a modern farm operate.
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/37 "2012-11-15T06:19:14Z")
The man who invented the motel.
Abraham Lincoln a close second.
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### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/38 "2012-11-15T06:47:40Z")
> [@Oedipus](#):
>
> The crappy thing is that the more you study history, the more dirt you hear about these amazing people.
>
> While I’ve heard about JFK banging everyone, Jefferson banging Sally Hemmings, Franklin being a huge playboy, and Lincoln not really caring a TON about slaves, I haven’t heard nearly as much dirt on Teddy Roosevelt.
>
> Anyone got something good on Teddy?
Personally, I cannot understand why sexual habits make one whit of difference compared to what a person accomplishes. Almost WFC, except, if it helps them be more emotionally balanced in the office, I say break out the blue dress and the cigar.
But seriously, you post as Fast Oeddie and you criticize whom _other people_ sleep with?
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/39 "2012-11-15T06:48:08Z")
Another vote for Washington. He could have been King of America. A lot of people in his position would have gone for it. He didn’t.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-important-person-to-live-in-us-history/640947/40 "2012-11-15T13:20:40Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#):
>
> what about JFK, by virtue of not avoiding nuclear Holocaust?
_Not_ avoiding nuclear holocaust? I do not think that means what you think it means.
> [@solosam](#):
>
> I’ve heard a lot of criticism of Lincoln on this issue. Some people say he really didn’t like black people, that the Emancipation Proclamation was a political ploy to win English support, encourage revolution in the South, or that it didn’t have any impact because he was freeing the slaves in states where the Union had no jurisdiction at the time.
>
> I say, regardless of Lincoln’s motives, he did a hell of a lot more for freedom and equality than any other president. Especially so when every other president up to that point was content to kick the slavery can a little farther down the road and make it somebody else’s problem.
Yeah, nobody who says that seems to propose anyone who did more for the slaves or did it before Lincoln. And the slaves themselves seemed to have no doubts.
Lincoln also adapted his views on racial questions pretty rapidly.
I saw a historian quoted on the History Channel who said that Lincoln’s greatest strength was his ability to learn from events and change his mind over time, something that’s all too rare, especially in the sort of driven egotists who become president.
> [@cougar58](#):
>
> Einstein - consider the world today, if not for Albert-
>
> Uranverein - The German nuclear energy project, which started in 1939
>
> F-Go Nuclear Project headed by Bunsaku Arakatsu in Japan in 1943
>
> Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov and the RDS nuclear programs.
Well, Germany was in rubble and Hitler dead from conventional arms before the German program amounted to anything, so Einstein made zero difference there.
Japan was in rubble and had zero chance of prevailing by 1945, and their program was much, much farther behind than the piddling, ineffectual German efforts. It’s generous to say it would have taken them years and years to get a bomb working – heck, had they been given the Manhattan Project’s plans in 1945, it’s almost certain they could not have made a bomb anyway – making the bomb required the expenditure of massive amounts of electrical power for a sustained period, something the B-29 campaign would have rendered all but impossible. So the only difference Einstein made there was speeding up the surrender (and ensuring that some plutonium and uranium would supplement the napalm already in use).
Kurchatov relied almost entirely on stolen Manhattan Project documents, so yeah, Einstein did help the Russian program indirectly.
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