The 25 Greatest AmericansThis is my list of the 25 people or groups of people that I feel have had the most beneficial effect on the United States, or whose work will benefit the US and the world. I have at least 25 more who could have been here, but these Americans are the ones I feel have or will influence my life. 
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the American Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia. The above description is from Jefferson's tombstone. He was the third President of the United States, but he felt his greatest contributions were outside that office. My favorite aspect of his life was that of architect - his innovations are still seen today. When he founded the University of Virginia, he placed the library as the center of campus life, not the chapel - a first for any university in America. Working with (and against) Alexander Hamilton as President Washington's Secretary of State, he helped create the mold of government we still see today, along with the foundation of the two-party system of politics. 
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