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Originally Posted by rubberneck
The actual title of the piece is the 100 most significant Americans of all time. Visiting North America doesn't make you an American. In plain English the title of American implies citizenship. YMMV.
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FWIW, the purpose of the special issue is as follows.
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A new, special issue of Smithsonian magazine attempts the impossible: to list out the most significant people in United States history
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If Arnold Schwarzenegger should on the list, he should be under cultural icons because of his impact on mass popular culture. But then, Spielberg, Lucas, or Katzenberg would better represent that impact.
Missing from the "empire builder" section is either Heffner, Flynt, or Stagliano.
The category "first women" should have neither Palin and Clinton. They represent the same thing: ambition over experience, and they have not transformed the political and social landscape. Ms. Winfrey is simply doing more lucratively what Helen Gurley Brown, Diana Vreeland, and others did better: empower Americans to live their lives as they wished.
MOO, a category missing from the list is intellectuals and within that category the following are potential candidates.
J. C. Calhoun
W.E.B. DuBois (moved from the "rebels & resisters" section)
W. A. Dunning
A. Hamilton
W. James
G. F. Kennan
A. C. Kinsey
A. T. Mahan
#TWOCENTS #YMMV