The Greatest American - ?

For many years I have been an avid reader and researcher of History. Most recently I have concentrated on the early formation of the United States and in particular the Founding Fathers.

https://www.biography.com/people/groups/founding-fathers

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/founding-fathers-united-states#section_10

I recently had a conversation with some friends, and we debated who do we think is the greatest American in history. One can debate what means the greatest. Is it the greatest scientist, composer, writer or athlete? You can go on and on and select so many deserving individuals.

The person I believe who is the greatest is the one who contributed the most to us being an American and the creation of the United States. I won't go in to all the qualities, failures and attributes this person brought to all of us, but I would rather concentrate on one fact that I believe this person had that separates him from all others. It was his ability to know when he was wrong (Wisdom) and correct his faults and become a better person. He also had the insight of being one of the few people in the world at the time that understood what it was to be an American to the British and French as well as being a pseudo citizen of the European nations to the Americans.

Without his efforts to bring the France in to the battle against Britain (especially at Yorktown) and his knowledge of science, diplomacy, the written word and human emotions our country would not have been created or established as a free democracy.

 Perhaps his greatest foresight was his realization that slavery was wrong. Being a slave owner and later understanding how wrong he had been led him the be one of the first and most prominent abolitionists who created his wrongs by establishing schools for blacks among many other activities. 

This person spent his last years in life trying to convince congress of the evils of slavery and that it should be abolished. None of the other Founding Fathers would take this stand and support his efforts. Please don't confuse the fact that I'm saying he was the greatest person, but I'm saying he was the most influential in us becoming Americans in the eyes of the world.