1 Abraham Lincoln

He saved the Union, freed the slaves, and presided over America’s second founding.

2 George Washington

He made the United States possible—not only by defeating a king, but by declining to become one himself.

3 Thomas Jefferson

The author of the five most important words in American history: “All men are created equal.”

4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt

He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and then he proved it.

5 Alexander Hamilton

Soldier, banker, and political scientist, he set in motion an agrarian nation’s transformation into an industrial power.

6 Benjamin Franklin

The Founder-of-all-trades— scientist, printer, writer, diplomat, inventor, and more; like his country, he contained multitudes.

7 John Marshall

The defining chief justice, he established the Supreme Court as the equal of the other two federal branches.

8 Martin Luther King Jr.

His dream of racial equality is still elusive, but no one did more to make it real.

9 Thomas Edison

It wasn’t just the lightbulb; the Wizard of Menlo Park was the most prolific inventor in American history.

10 Woodrow Wilson

He made the world safe for U.S. interventionism, if not for democracy.