Most Influential Person of Twentieth Century?

[Abide]

Im not sure yet, my guess right now is tentative but Im gonna say Truman.

[InterestedParty]

Good or bad?

Good... FDR. The man didn't serve 3 terms as President because he was lucky.

Bad... BinLaden

[OldSchool Politician]

No Doult ....It was William.Jefferson.Clinton. He was the coolist, and still is the coolist

[USMC the Almighty]

No Doult ....It was William.Jefferson.Clinton. He was the coolist, and still is the coolist

Haha, that's just funny. Tell me three positive things that Clinton did. BTW -- nice spelling of "coolest".

[Archangelwolf]

20 million new jobs
lowest unemployment rate
highest home ownership rate in history
lowest crime rate
reduced welfare rolls
first balanced budget in decades
affordable college loans
affordable veteran's benefits

Should I continue?

I will leave with this tidbit of information. In 2000, before being elected Vice-President, Dick Cheney made the following statement: "A commander-in-chief leads the military built by those who came before him. There is little that he or his defense secretary can do to improve the force they have to deploy. It is all the work of previous administrations. Decisions made today shape the forces of tomorrow.....when that first (Persian Gulf) war ended, the first thing I did was to place a call to California and say thank you President Ronald Reagan...."

Hmmm, I think Bill Clinton is still waiting for his phone call.

Arch.

[Archangelwolf]

Franklin D. Roosevelt

He was willing to try ANYTHING to help the American people out; damn the consequences.

Arch.

[Nammy]

FDR was a good pres.

Can't deny that.

[vyo476]

FDR was a good pres.

Can't deny that.

You sure as hell can, especially if you're a Libertarian like our friend Truth. I'm surprised he hasn't jumped all over you for this yet but maybe he's just getting a bit tired of it all.

Bottom line: WWII saved America from the Great Depression, not Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And Arch, that whole "damn the consequences" thing was old after the first time you used it, which, in the order of your posts on FDR that I've read today, was about eighteen or so times ago. I'd be mildly interested in learning where you heard that phrase from; it slightly resembles Admiral David Farragut's quote, "Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!" from the Civil War, but somehow I doubt that this was a reference you were trying to make.

[vyo476]

Haha, that's just funny. Tell me three positive things that Clinton did. BTW -- nice spelling of "coolest".

The topic is "influential," not "positive." That said I agree: Clinton wasn't exactly an Earth-shatteringly important man. Not in the way that, say Josef Stalin was. Negative as his impact on the world was it was unshakingly a huge one; he was at the helm of the Soviet militarism that more or less created the Cold War, overseeing the transition of the Soviet Union from a benign, undernourished wasteland to a leader in global politics (read: global scare tactics).

Anyone feel like disagreeing...?

[USMC the Almighty]

The topic is "influential," not "positive." That said I agree: Clinton wasn't exactly an Earth-shatteringly important man. Not in the way that, say Josef Stalin was. Negative as his impact on the world was it was unshakingly a huge one; he was at the helm of the Soviet militarism that more or less created the Cold War, overseeing the transition of the Soviet Union from a benign, undernourished wasteland to a leader in global politics (read: global scare tactics).

Anyone feel like disagreeing...?

It's hard to disagree with someone who's position is spot on...

[The Founders Intent]

Good or bad?

Good... FDR. The man didn't serve 3 terms as President because he was lucky.

Bad... BinLaden

FDR introduced socialism into the govt.

[endtyranny]

I'd say unfortunately either Hitler or Stalin. I wish Eisenhower was more influence, he was a real president and if more had followed his example, the world would be a much better place.

[vyo476]

I'd say unfortunately either Hitler or Stalin. I wish Eisenhower was more influence, he was a real president and if more had followed his example, the world would be a much better place.

Yeah, 'cause if you ever need someone to ignore Joseph McCarthy, there's no better man than Dwight D. Eisenhower.

[USMC the Almighty]

Yeah, 'cause if you ever need someone to ignore Joseph McCarthy, there's no better man than Dwight D. Eisenhower.

That's not honest I would shoulder more of the blame for McCarthyism on Truman.

It was ultimately McCarthy's accusations of Ike and the Army that got him censured.

[vyo476]

That's not honest I would shoulder more of the blame for McCarthyism on Truman.

Marshall and Truman most certainly caused McCarthyism to become a possibility. Eisenhower just ignored him.


It was ultimately McCarthy's accusations of Ike and the Army that got him censured.

So what does that say? Eisenhower got upset when McCarthy started picking on him, but while he was picking on the people of the United States it was okay? Eisenhower just isn't my favorite president.

[USMC the Almighty]

So what does that say? Eisenhower got upset when McCarthy started picking on him, but while he was picking on the people of the United States it was okay? Eisenhower just isn't my favorite president.

He's not my favorite either, but I was just letting you know that he had a hand in McCarthy's demise

[vyo476]

He's not my favorite either, but I was just letting you know that he had a hand in McCarthy's demise

True enough. Joe McCarthy...what a dirtbag.

[PLC1]

FDR had a huge influence on the world, no doubt about it. Whether you think his new deal was or was not a good idea, it's hard to argue that he wasn't influential.

I would also nominate Winston Churchill as one of the most influential, and probably one of the best leaders of all time. He held his nation together during the dark time of the Nazi bombings, when there was no assurance that England would continue to even be England.

If you count influence for evil, don't forget about the #1 bad guy of recent history, Adolph Hitler.

And let's not forget about another of the world's greatest leaders, one that not only changed his own country, but has influenced other leaders. He gained his country's independence without violence, and in so doing made non violence and passive resistance a viable tool for revolutionary change. I'm describing Mahatma Gandhi, of course.

[Dave]

I would say that the most influential man of the 20th Century was J. Robert Oppenheimer. His invention of the atomic bomb completely shaped politics of the second half of the century.

[Bunz]

Im gonna mention two brothers that everyone else seems to have forgotten. The Wright brothers. Thier being the first in flight absolutely changed the world. Humans went from being able to cross the Atlantic in about a week, on ship to in the 60s being able to cross it in 6 hours. The Wright brothers get my vote on this one.

[Sgt Schultz]

Im gonna mention two brothers that everyone else seems to have forgotten. The Wright brothers. Thier being the first in flight absolutely changed the world. Humans went from being able to cross the Atlantic in about a week, on ship to in the 60s being able to cross it in 6 hours. The Wright brothers get my vote on this one.

Or Henry Ford. While he didn't invent the automobile bringing about mass production of the Model T at an affordable price to the masses changed America and the world.

[mysteryman]

The most influential man of the 20th century, albeit negatively,was Adolph Hitler.

Now before anyone comes unglued,let me explain.

His actions resulted in a war that the nations of the world still have not recovered from.
His actions almost totally destroyed a whole religion.
His actions led to the development of some of the most terrible weapons ever created.
His actions led to the destruction of thousands of years of art,literature,architecture,and other achievements.
His actions led to the creation of both the Warsaw Pact and Nato,which split Europe for almost half a century.

On the positive,his actions led to the creation of the UN,the development of modern combat medicine that is still saving lives on the battlefield,worldwide recognition that there must be rules of war and the war crimes acts that allowed his henchmen to be tried.

So,like it or not,he was the most influential man of the 20th century.

[PLC1]

Or Henry Ford. While he didn't invent the automobile bringing about mass production of the Model T at an affordable price to the masses changed America and the world.

Not only that, but Ford promoted the idea that the workers who made his cars should be able to afford his cars, and then made it possible for them to do so. There's a lesson modern manufacturers seem to have forgotten.

[Justinian]

Im not sure yet, my guess right now is tentative but Im gonna say Truman.

How do you figure that?

[PLC1]

I think we need to consider the guy who bailed out Christler Corporation. (http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=wherehavealltheleadersgone)

[Bunz]

The most influential man of the 20th century, albeit negatively,was Adolph Hitler.

Now before anyone comes unglued,let me explain.

His actions resulted in a war that the nations of the world still have not recovered from.
His actions almost totally destroyed a whole religion.
His actions led to the development of some of the most terrible weapons ever created.
His actions led to the destruction of thousands of years of art,literature,architecture,and other achievements.
His actions led to the creation of both the Warsaw Pact and Nato,which split Europe for almost half a century.

On the positive,his actions led to the creation of the UN,the development of modern combat medicine that is still saving lives on the battlefield,worldwide recognition that there must be rules of war and the war crimes acts that allowed his henchmen to be tried.

So,like it or not,he was the most influential man of the 20th century.
The other poster who mentioned Henry Ford also has a good point. But I will disagree with Hitler, and not on the fact that he is certainly the most evil mind in modern history. But because without the inventions of mass production and the airplane WWII would have been an entirely different event. It was the first war where mechanization was vital. Without the airplane and tank, Hitler would have been much less influencial. The cold war, which I think everyone will agree would have been much less cold, without the threat of thermonuclear war delivered by airplanes and missles. Without the airplane, Israel would probably no longer exsist as country if it would have been created at all. The US &USSR would not have turned into the superpower status they achieved do to manned flight and mass production. You would not have had a man land on the moon, you would not have the global village the exsists today without the airplane. Where I live in remote bush Alaska, I am a 50minute flight from Anchorage, without airplanes and mass production, I would be a 2 week boat ride or an even longer trip on sled dog. In terms of effecting the everyday lives of the most amount of people, it is not a question in my mind that Ford and the Wright bros had more effect on human kind in the 20th century than any world political leader.