Well, since this long sleeping thread, which predates my membership has been reawakened, I'll thow in my vote for Washington. He spent eight long years in the field winning the war of independence for us. A rich man who could have retired to a life of ease as a gentleman farmer, he remained in the field year after year to command an army with no supplies, no pay for the soldiers, etc., never surrendering, never negotiating for terms, never sticking around for battles he wasn't winning, doing damage to a superior enemy while retreating, writing letters to Congress every week begging for materials and policies that might give him a chance. I don't think many laymen really appreciate just how bold and dangerous his attack on the Hessians at Trenton was. After the war, his resgination as general in a simple ceremony at the Congress prompted George the 3rd to call him, "the greatest man in the world." Many others would have used the position to assure some sort of postwar power.
He played a vital role in putting down a rebellion by officers who wanted to force the impotent Confederation Congress to pay them.
He presided over the Consititutional Convention of 1787. He served two terms as president, not because he wanted to, but only because the other founders convinced him that his presence was necessary for the survival of the union. He worked hard, and very selflessly to establish how the new, untried Consitution translated into a practical government, and he carefully established precendents for how the executive related to the other branches of government. He was too dignified to answer his critics, even when he was despicably libelled. And all of this is only the most superficial list of his achievements.
