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The following is a list of very well-known [[United States|American]]s, organized by how they contributed to the [[United States]].

==Statesmen==
The following people all held high public office in the government of the United States, especially President.
===U.S. Presidents===
[[Image:Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg|50px|right|George Washington]]
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[[Image:Barack Obama.jpg|50px|right|Barack Obama]]
*'''[[Barack Obama]]''' (born 1961) is the current President of the United States and the first [[African-American]] President.  Before being President, he gave a famous speech in 2004 and served as a Senator.  He was elected President because many Americans thought he could bring hope and change to America.  As President, he is having to deal with the worst economy since the Great Depression.{{-}}

==
=Other Statesmen===
[[Image:BenFranklinDuplessis.jpg|right|50px|Ben Franklin]]
*'''[[Benjamin Franklin]]''' (1706-1790) was active in the movement to achieve independence from England.  He helped write the [[Declaration of Independence]] and the [[Articles of Confederation]] (the laws that the United States had before the Constitution).  He lived much of his life in [[Philadelphia]], but also went to [[England]] and [[France]] to represent America.  Besides being a politician, he is credited with inventing the lightning rod and founded several institutions, including the first public library in the United States.  He was a printer and an author of a yearly book called Poor Richard’s Almanack.{{-}}

[[Image:Alexander Hamilton portrait by John Trumbull 1806.jpg|right|50px|Alexander Hamilton]]
*'''[[Alexander Hamilton]]''' (1755-1804) was active in the American government at its founding.  He helped get the Constitution [[:wikt:ratify|ratified]], meaning he found support for it among the American people.  He is credited for establishing American monetary policy, which is the way the United States and its government deal with money.  He wanted the United States government to be very, very powerful, perhaps even more powerful than it is today.{{-}}

[[Image:Marshall-john-engraving-after-inman-harvard-legal.png|right|50px|John Marshall]]
*'''[[John Marshall]]''' (1755-1835) was the [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice of the Supreme Court]] from 1801-1835.  He started judicial review, meaning that the Supreme Court could undo a law if they thought it didn’t fit with the [[U.S. Constitution]].  Many of his rulings influence what the U.S. government is able to do to this day.{{-}}

<div style="float: right; padding-left: 5px;">[[Image:Henry Clay.JPG|50px|Henry Clay]][[Image:Daniel Webster 1.jpg|50px|Daniel Webster]]</div>
*'''[[Henry Clay]]''' (1777-1852, ''near right'') and '''[[Daniel Webster]]''' (1782-1852, ''far right'') both served as Congressmen, Senators and [[Secretary of State|Secretaries of State]] (the person who is in charge of dealing with how the U.S. relates to other countries) during the early and mid-19th century.  Though neither was elected President, both are thought to be two of America’s greatest statesmen.  Clay was known as the “Great Compromiser” because he made agreements that stopped [[American Civil War|states from leaving the Union]] until after his death.  Webster was a great speaker and argued many important cases before heeeeeeeeee sucks ⏎
the Supreme Court.{{-}}

==Generals==
The following people served as high-ranking officers in the U.S. Army.
[[Image:Ulysses Grant 1870-1880.jpg|right|50px|Ulysses S. Grant]]
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{{Template:Famous Americans}}
{{Famous Americans in Other Languages}}

[[Category:Lists of American people]]


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