The greatest historical figure of america george washington

Rooseveltand George Washington are most often listed as the three highest-rated Presidents among historians. TrumanWoodrow WilsonDwight D. EisenhowerAndrew Jacksonand John F. More recent Presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are often rated among the greatest in public opinion polls, but do not always rank as highly among presidential scholars and historians.

Significance[ edit ] The significance of historical figures has long been the subject of debate by philosophers. Hegel — considered that "world-historical figures" played a pivotal role in human progress, but felt that they were bound to emerge when change was needed.

Thomas Carlyle — saw the study of figures such as MuhammadWilliam Shakespeare and Oliver Cromwell as key to understanding history. Herbert Spencer —an early believer in evolution and in the universality of natural law, felt that historical individuals were of little importance.

To him, Napoleon was such a figure. Eventually a synthesis would resolve the conflict. Eventually, the Athenians quite rightly condemned Socrates to death.

But they could not stop the evolution of thought that Socrates had begun, which would lead to the concept of individual conscience.

They die early like Alexander; they are murdered, like Caesar; transported to St. They are great men, because they willed and accomplished something great; not a mere fancy, a mere intention, but that which met the case and fell in with the needs of the age.

Essentially they have little choice about what they do. This is in conflict with the views of George Bancroft or Ralph Waldo Emersonwho praised self-reliance and individualism, and in conflict with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engelswho also felt that individuals can determine their destiny.

He wrote to a friend, "I ignore utterly the personal element in history, and, indeed, show little respect for history altogether as it is ordinarily conceived. That which constitutes History, properly so called, is in great part omitted from works on the subject.

Only of late years have historians commenced giving us, in any considerable quantity, the truly valuable information.

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As in past ages the king was everything and the people nothing; So, in past histories, the doings of the king fill the entire picture, to which the national life forms but an obscure background. While only now, when the welfare of nations rather than of rulers is becoming the dominant idea, are historians beginning to occupy themselves with the phenomena of social progress.

The thing it really concerns us to know is the natural history of society. Eliot calls "those vast impersonal forces" hold us in their grip. What happens is predetermined.

Despite this, Lenin also believed the transition could be effected faster by voluntary action. The History of the world is but the Biography of great men We do not now call our great men Gods, nor admire without limit; ah no, with limit enough!

But if we have no great men, or do not admire at all,— that were a still worse case. Conducted on such principles, the Biography of great men, especially of great Poets, that is, of men in the highest degree noble-minded and wise, might become one of the most dignified and valuable species of composition.

That history is made by men and women is no longer denied except by some theologians and mystical metaphysicians. There have been rankings of the significance of major historical figures. For example, Cesar A.

Hidalgo and colleagues at the MIT Media Lab has calculated the memorability of historical figures using data such as the number of language editions for which there are articles for each person, the pageviews received, and other factors. Historical truth[ edit ] It is sometimes hard to discern whether apparently historical figures from the earliest periods did in fact exist, due to the lack of records.

Even with more recent personages, stories or anecdotes about the person often accumulate that have no basis in fact.

Although the external aspects of a historical figure may be well documented, their inner nature can only be a subject of speculation. With religious figures, often the subjects of voluminous literature, separating "fact" from "belief" can be difficult if not impossible. Ancient figures[ edit ] With older texts it can be difficult to be sure whether a person in the text is, in fact, a historical figure.Important Historical Figures Timelines & Key Events Native American History American Revolution Civil War US Presidents.

George Washington: Significant Facts and Brief Biography. Article. Abraham Lincoln and the Telegraph. List. By far the most important figure in the history of the United States, George Washington liberated the thirteen colonies from the superior forces of the British Empire against all military odds, and presided over the production and ratification of a constitution that (suitably .

Jun 29,  · The 50 Most American Americans in History, Ranked sewed the first-ever American flag after a visit from General George Washington. Then again, there’s no actual evidence that gluten makes. Jun 04,  · More than years after his death, George Washington is still the most popular man in the room.

“Washington is received almost universally with acclamation and roaring applause,” Dean. Americans call George Washington “the father of our country.” Most people know him best as the first president of the United States, from to Best Historical Figures Top Historical Figures As Voted By Our Readers The Best Historical Figures is a fairly new project and does not have enough votes yet to make a complete best list.