Book Airfare - Hardly the Most Famous Men Or Women in American History

And four are African-Americans, six of the most famous Americans are women, according to a survey of school-age children. Other than presidents and first ladies, last month's Smithsonian magazine included a startling article on a recent survey by Sam Wineburg to determine the most "famous" Americans since the time of Columbus.

These were the top ten: in order,

Martin Luther King Jr. 1.

Rosa Parks 2.

Harriet Tubman 3.

Anthony Susan B. 4.

Benjamin Franklin 5.

Amelia Earhart 6.

Oprah Winfrey 7.

Marilyn Monroe 8.

Thomas Edison 9.

Albert Einstein 10.

) But from the survey we learn (or are reminded of) three things. Wineburg concluded that he would have gotten the same results if he had asked participants to name "important" Americans. (Mr. This is not a list of either the ten most famous Americans or the ten most important Americans, on its face.

Anthony as a person of fame. Any kid who's heard of "diversity" knows he won't go wrong by identifying Martin Luther King or Susan B. That's why no rappers or studio wrestlers made the list. Children usually tell grown-ups what they think they're supposed to, first.

And what else can explain the name of a woman aviator best known for failing to fly around the world? But who would seriously argue that she had more than a very modest impact on American history - even on the history of abolition? Hers is a great story that schoolchildren ought to know. What else can explain the name of Harriet Tubman on this list? And as much time to African-Americans as to Caucasians, "social studies" teachers) are now giving as much time to the better-known women in American history as they are to men, regrettably, this survey makes clear that history teachers (now. Political correctness has triumphed in our history classes, second.

At the expense of all the rest, my concern is with the third lesson that I draw from this list: History teachers are giving pre-eminence to those strands of American history that deal with the struggle for equal rights, at any rate.

And walked on the moon, orbited the Earth, learned to fly, are teachers today embarrassed that Americans conquered the wilderness? What about John Glenn and Neil Armstrong? Or Charles Lindbergh? Not the Wright brothers? I wonder if boys today even know who they were. And the boys all wanted coonskin hats, fifty years ago there were television shows about Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. Or even about Sacajawea? Don't schoolchildren learn about Lewis and Clark anymore? Where are the pioneers and explorers on this list?

Do we think that the Revolutionary War didn't count for much because the Founding Fathers left slavery in place? But what about Revolutionary War catalysts Paul Revere (the midnight rider) or Nathan Hale ("I only regret that I have but one life to give my country"), rosa Parks was a bona fide hero and a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Surely we're not ashamed of the military accomplishments that have kept us free and democratic for 200 years! General Douglas MacArthur? Lee? General Robert E. But what about Commodore Perry, general Washington and General Grant were ineligible for the list because they became presidents? Where are the generals and admirals?

Shouldn't Bill Gates be on a list of famous Americans, in 2008? We all knew about the only two billionaires in the world (Getty and Howard Hughes), when I was a boy. Either, i suppose it should be no surprise if kids aren't being taught about the men who built modern America, if political correctness is de-emphasizing military figures in our history curricula. And John Paul Getty, george Eastman, rockefeller? John D, andrew Mellon, morgan. P. J, what of giants of industry and finance like Andrew Carnegie.

Where are the giants of American philanthropy (essentially the same names as the giants of industry and finance)?

Anthony. King and Susan B. One can only conclude that decades of muddled ideas about "separation of church and state" in the schools are making people shy away from mentioning this man of God in the same breath with such secular saints as Dr. Billy Graham's name sat at the very top of surveys of most-admired Americans while other names came and went, for 50 years. Where are the religious leaders?

Achieved enough fame for such a list, the world's greatest jazz musician, or Louis Armstrong, america's greatest writer and a celebrity of the first order in his day, surely Mark Twain. Or Leonard Bernstein, duke Ellington, scott Joplin? Or Ernest Hemingway, virginia Woolf, edith Wharton, walt Whitman, ralph Waldo Emerson, harriet Beecher Stowe? Artists, musicians, poets, where on this list are any of America's novelists?

And Einstein each making the cut, edison, with Franklin, that the kids are learning something about American's technological and scientific accomplishments, at least, the survey does show.

Elvis? Sinatra? Or Madonna? No Babe Ruth? The real proof that the kids told the survey-takers what they thought they were supposed to say is that there are only two entertainers on the list (Marilyn Monroe and Oprah).

Are we really to believe that this remarkable American woman is more famous than Elvis? Anthony House in a year. But I wonder if even five thousand souls visit the Susan B, my recent visit was well worth the time. Anthony's modest inner-city home open to the public as a museum. A tiny nonprofit organization struggles to keep Susan B, though, here in Rochester. And Elvis impersonators still proliferate, elvis records are still sold by the millions, millions flock to Graceland.

But they are not America's only story, civil rights are all well and good. Earhart), two of the names are identified with the struggle for women's rights (Anthony, and Winfrey); tubman, parks, four of the names on the list represent the struggle for racial equality (King. But instead those who crusaded for civil rights, or preachers, writers, soldiers, we can be sure of one thing: our children are being taught that our nation's greatest heroes are not pioneers.

Which yielded a list of famous Americans that was badly skewed by political correctness, i scoffed at the results of a survey of school-age kids conducted by Sam Wineburg. A fellow shouldn't criticize without offering constructive ideas of his own.

Who should be on such a list, but if the kids in the survey didn't really select the ten most famous persons in American history?

One for women, one for men, but let me propose two lists. Let's stick with that. American presidents and first ladies were ineligible, reported in the Smithsonian, in that survey.

Ten famous American men:

Charles Lindbergh Louis Armstrong
10. Clark
9; lewis &. Elvis Presley
8. Billy Graham
7. Mark Twain
6. Albert Einstein
5. Babe Ruth
4. 3. Martin Luther King Jr. Benjamin Franklin
2. 1.

Their claims to fame?

Picture on the hundred-dollar bill. Ben Franklin impersonators. Poor Richard's Almanack. Writer, diplomat, politician, scientist, printer. The lightning rod, bifocals, invented the Franklin stove. For a time the most famous person in the world, catalyst of the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin.

National holiday named after him. One of history's best-known speeches ("I have a dream"). Leading to lasting changes in laws and racial attitudes, catalyst of the American civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr.

Candy bar named after him. Bigger even than Mohammed Ali or Joe DiMaggio. Could pitch nearly as well as he could hit. Larger-than-life personality. The biggest name in America's national game. Babe Ruth.

Synonymous with genius. But looked the part, not a mad scientist. Supposed to be comprehensible by fewer than a dozen people, physicist and discoverer of theory of relativity. Albert Einstein.

Mark Twain imitators. Immensely popular during his lifetime. Literary critic, lecturer, humorist, steamboat operator. Creator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, our greatest writer. Mark Twain.

Scandal-free life, modest lifestyle. Prayed with presidents. Best-selling books. Brought millions to faith in Jesus Christ at crusades around the world. America's best-known religious figure. Billy Graham.

Elvis impersonators. Graceland. Legend cemented by early death. Las Vegas nightclub star. " B-movie star. " "Burning Love, " "Suspicious Minds, " "Love Me Tender, "Jailhouse Rock. The King of Rock and Roll. Elvis Presley.

Couldn't have made it without Shoshone guide and translator Sacagawea (picture on dollar coin). Reached the Atlantic, crossed the Rockies, paddled up the Missouri River. America's best-known explorers, lieutenant William Clark, captain Meriwether Lewis. Clark; lewis &.

" " The ubiquitous "What a Wonderful World. "Hello Dolly. Unmistakable style on voice and trumpet, ebullient personality. America's greatest jazz musician. Louis Armstrong.

Louis" in the Smithsonian. "Spirit of St. Baby boy kidnapped and murdered in the crime of the century. " Unprecedented celebrity from solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. "Lucky Lindy. Charles Lindbergh.

And (20) Ralph Waldo Emerson (writer and philosopher), rockefeller (oil tycoon and philanthropist). (19) John D, (18) Daniel Webster (statesman), lee (general). (17) Robert E, (16) Muhammed Ali (boxing champion), (15) Henry Ford (automobile tycoon), (14) Frank Sinatra (singer), (13) Walt Disney (moviemaker), (12) the Wright brothers (aviators), it might include (11) Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), if the list went up to 20 famous American men.

Neil Armstrong (astronaut), calhoun (statesman). John C, billy Sunday (Protestant evangelist), horace Greeley (newspaper editor), walt Whitman (poet), andy Warhol (painter), scott Fitzgerald (writer). F, ernest Hemingway (writer), norman Vincent Peale (clergyman and author), houdini (magician), howard Hughes (billionaire), william Penn (Quaker founder of Pennsylvania), jack London (writer), henry Clay (statesman), henry David Thoreau (writer and philosopher), frederick Douglass (abolitionist and editor); norman Rockwell (painter and illustrator), john Glenn (astronaut), douglas MacArthur (general), robert Frost (poet), alexander Graham Bell (inventor), winslow Homer (painter), john Wayne (actor), bill Gates (Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist), daniel Boone (pioneer), candidates for an even longer list of famous American men might include Nathan Hale (Revolutionary War hero).

Ten famous women:

Amelia Earhart Edith Wharton
10. Betsy Ross
9. Anthony
8. Susan B. Harriet Beecher Stowe
7. Emily Dickinson
6. Helen Keller
5. Pocahontas
4. Marilyn Monroe
3. Oprah Winfrey
2. 1.

Their claims to fame:

Philanthropist, book critic, entrepeneur, magazine publisher, producer, incredibly popular television talk-show hostess, fabulously rich. Oprah Winfrey.

" Elton John's "Candle in the Wind. Married Joe DiMaggio. Posed for Playboy. Model, actress. Marilyn Monroe.

Disney animated movie. Died in England, married John Rolfe. Risked her own life to save John Smith's, saved Virginia colonists from starving. Daughter of Powhatan chieftain. Pocahontas.

" Academy award-winning "The Miracle Worker. Political activist, suffragette, author. Overcame dual disability. Helen Keller.

First-rate poet, reclusive New England spinster. Emily Dickinson.

Because I could not stop for Death

He kindly stopped for me --

The Carriage held but just Ourselves --

And Immortality

Uncle Tom's Cabin, history's most influential novel. America's most effective enemy of slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Picture on dollar coin. New bridge over the Genesee River in Rochester named after her and Frederick Douglass (known locally as the "Freddie-Sue"). Anthony Bridgeeventual enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment. Responsible for Frederick Douglass-Susan B; american's most influential proponent of legal rights for women. Convicted in Rochester for voting illegally. Temperance advocate, abolitionist, orator, suffragette. Anthony. Susan B.

Though she probably didn't, reputed to have designed and made the stars-and-stripes flag. Revolutionary War patriot, fighting Quaker. Betsy Ross.

Ethan Fromme, for every tenth grader. The Age of Innocence, the House of Mirth. War reporter, landscape architect, first-rate American novelist. Edith Wharton.

Disappeared in the Pacific trying to fly around the world. First woman to fly the Atlantic solo. Feminist icon, pioneer woman aviator. Amelia Earhart.

Abigail Adams, hillary Clinton, because they were wives of Presidents: Eleanor Roosevelt, disqualified from our list. Mostly non-entertainers, still more possible candidates are in the National Women's Hall of Fame. Gertrude Stein (writer), margaret Mead (anthropologist), dorothy Parker (writer), carrie Nation (temperance crusader), harriet Tubman (hero of Underground Railroad); katharine Hepburn (actress), ida Tarbell (investigative journalist); billie Jean King (tennis champion), sandra Day O'Connor (Supreme Court Justice); sacagawea (Indian guide), aretha Franklin (singer), virginia Woolf (writer), flannery O'Connor (writer), lucille Ball (actress), rosa Parks (civil rights catalyst), other famous women: Madonna (singer).

Lists of men and women based strictly on merit and historical importance would be quite different. These are famous people. Being famous and deserving fame are different matters, of course.