The Greatest American #1s vs. #16s

It's the time of year where brackets reign, so I thought we could do some bracketology history style. A few years back, Atlantic Monthly listed their 100 greatest Americans. I took the list, broke it into 4 brackets and ranked people according to the Atlantic Monthly rankings. So, the people and the rankings come from that mag.

I have 64 Americans, broken into 4 brackets, each bracket with Americans seeded 1-16.

Here are the 1s vs. 16s. I have placed this on some message boards and will tabulate the votes at the end of the week. Feel free to vote (or not)...

Early American Bracket
1. George Washington vs. 16. Nathaniel Greene

Well, there would be no USA without George. He won the Revolutionary War, was the first president, set many precedents, established American neutrality, the national bank, first census, etc etc etc.

Greene was a Revolutionary General. He fought Cornwallis and drove the British nuts. He played cat and mouse with Cornwallis all the way to Yorktown.

Antebellum and Civil War
1. Abraham Lincoln vs. 16. John C Calhoun

Lincoln won the Civil War, freed the slaves, kept the union together.

Calhoun threatened secession and was a staunch states' rights activist and slaveholder.

Reconstruction through WWII
1. FDR vs. 16. Eleanor Roosevelt (no I did not plan this)

FDR gave us the New Deal, saved capitalism, modernized government, and won WWII saving Western Civilization.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a well respected activist for the rights of the downtrodden, leader at the UN, and First Lady.

Modern Era
1. Martin Luther King Jr. vs. 16. Betty Friedan

MLK led the Civil Rights Movement and made white America look in the mirror.

Betty Friedan analyzed domestic America and argued that housewives did not like their lot in life.