Who are the top 5 most influential American leaders?

Answer 1

FDR
Ben Franklin
Martin Luther King Jr.
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Jackson

Answer 2

Currently or in U.S. History? By sheer force of personality and effect--

Well-- Most influential Presidents would be Geo. Washington and Abraham Lincoln

Most influential non president would be Alexander Hamilton and his setting up of the United States, the economic structures and his influence on Pres. Washington

Most influential Chief Justice of the United States would be John Marshall.

Most influential Business Leaders would be Andrew Carnegie and J.Pierpont Morgan

Then in science/innovation leaders there was Thomas Edison, Robert Fulton, and Eli Whitney.

I sure there are many others I missed--but these folks had sheer force of personality to make changes and get people to follow.

Sorry for not hitting five but if you pick five from this group you would be in the ballpark.

Answer 3

1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Abe Lincoln
4. Martin Luther King Jr.
5 Franklin D. Roosevelt

Answer 4

Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
John Kennedy
Martin Luther King

Answer 5

George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King Jr.
John Adams

Answer 6

George Washington - set the tone and example for future presidents, was the first to turn over executive power peacefully, an under-appreciated act.

Abraham Lincoln - Preserved the Union and ended slavery.

Theodore Roosevelt - worked to tame the worst excesses of laissez-faire capitalism while also setting the U.S. on the road to greater international participation, starting what would turn out to be "the American Century".

Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Gave country hope during Great Depression (still not certain that he ended it - WWII had a lot to do with that). Led the country in its largest armed conflict since the Civil War.

Ronald Reagan - turned country away from post-Watergate, post Vietnam and post-hostage situation miasma, (a psychological "Great Depression") began to reverse the big government is good attitude. Engaged in an arms race with the USSR that eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet system.

Answer 7

~Influential in what way? What era? Leaders in what capacity? John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison surely qualify in some measure, as do Frank Costello and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. As to nefarious, long-lasting but behind the scenes influence, one can never underestimate J. Edgar Hoover. In the field of Social Justice, the criminal justice system and individual rights and freedom, leave us not forget George Mason, James Madison and, most significantly, Earl Warren. The single person to have the most long-lasting and far-reaching impact on US government is without doubt Chief Justice John Marshall and his decision in Marbury v. Madison. Woodrow Wilson, FDR and William Taft surely belong on the list. You need to define the parameters of your question a little better.

Answer 8

George Washington
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Dwight David Eisenhour
John F. Kennedy

Dubwa certainly does not belong in this catagory.

Answer 9

It depends on your definition of leaders. When you talk about influential, I think you'd have to include icons like Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, Jim Henson, and Dick Clark...these might sound like kid stuff, but if you seriously think about the impact their visions had on American society in terms of bringing us all together and giving us a common way of thinking, it's those simple things that last forever in our collective conscience. Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln will never be forgotten, but they aren't part of our American psyche like the men I mentioned above.

Answer 10

george washington
abe lin.,
ben franklin,
martin luther king jr.
rose parks
thats who i think is the most ifluential american leaders