He was our first president. That qualifies for something.

George Washington realized strategic dimension in the Revolutionary War. Let's face it, the British during most of the war controlled one place--New York City. Oh they might take Newport or Philly or Savannah or Charleston, but distance and numbers of troops limited them to the immediate vicinity of those cities. Washington realized that if he could keep an a Army in being, and wait for the moment, victory was certain. British logistics were almost impossible. Almost all British supplies had to come be sea. Take food for instance. If a person eats three pounds of food a day, that is half a ton of weight a year. That doesn't count clothes, rum, ammunition, shoes, tents, etc. The distance from England to America was over two months by sea. The British were able to get very little produce locally since they controlled no land. Most of the cattle had to come from Europe by sea. The Brits were only able to seize about 10% of their meat needs locally. The troops lived on salt beef and salt pork that came in over the sea. All the horses, for instance, had to come by sea. Wagons had to come by sea. Thousands of horses were lost on the way. The British were sometimes lucky by being able to steal fodder for the horses on raids, but most of the grain had to come by sea. Keep at it and wait for the opportunity. Yorktown, six years after the start of the war, was the result. It didn't matter how many battles or skirmishes you lost, as long as you could keep your army together.

The most fascinating thing about Washington is how he became so famous and respected for actually losing battles. . .)read up on his early adventures with the incompetent British Gen. Braddock). . .Washington was a rare combination indeed- a lack of a serious scholastic education but an obvious and gifted basic intelligence and attention to detail. . .and he might be one of the luckiest people in the history of battle- there are historical accounts of bullet-holes in his clothes but not a scratch on the man!

Finally, I agree. This man is a dignified hero. The popular story is that he lead an Army of Americans against the most powerful empire ever seen and won their freedom. The popular story seems to be the right one. Though I know little about his political career, his military career is simply heroic. Unlike a man like, lets say, Patton, he did not fight for glamour or glory, he fought for a dream that was America. Agree with numbah, he is the original, and one of the few.

He didn't fight to keep Americans free, he fought to set up the corporatocracy that is destroying America. I came from a British colony, and they treated their subjects quite well, even helped the black slaves run nations themselves, while the Americans were among the last to free them. Even then, they let them run loose and never bothered to properly integrate them, which has had repercussions with the American black population to this day...

Has to be at the top of this list because he repeatedly put his life on the line for the creation of this country. His leadership was the most effective of any American in the history of this country because of the results. He is the father of this nation for a very good reason.

The fact that I had to suggest this makes my head spin. He is the original American Hero.