My nominees are:
1. Henry Knox. The "fat man" gets no respect. However, this self taught Boston book seller had the idea to drag the guns of Ticonderoga over the montains in the dead of winter and led the expedition there and back, sited the guns on Dorchester Heights so the British had to evacuate Boston, kept his guns in the thick of the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth and Yorktown, proposed a military academy at West Point, kept the concept of a U.S. army alive during the Confederation period as Secretary of War, adminstered the start of a real U.S. Army and Navy as Washington's Secretary of War and had remarkably enlightened views (at least by 18th and 19th Century standards) about Native Americans. Plus, by all acounts, he was a nice guy.
2. John Jay. Member of the Continental and Confederation Congresses. President of the Continental Congress. Minister to Spain and one of the negotiator of the Treaty of Paris. Secretary of Foreign Affairs during the Confederation. First Chief Justice. Special envoy to GB and negotiator of the Jay Treaty which postponed a war with GB that the U.S. could only lose, then and later in 1812. Governor of New York. Founder of abolition and manumission societies. Perhaps if he did not look like Ichabod Crane and lacked a sense of humor he would be famous for his integrity and service.
3. Charles Evans Hughes. Crusading progressive Governor of New York. GOP candidate for President in 1916 who would have made a much President than his opponent. Defender of Socialists elected to the NY State Assembly who were denied thier seats because of the Red Scare. Secretary of State. Chief Justice and defender of the Court against FDR's court packing plan who lead the court in upholding most (but not all) of the New Deal. No man looked more like a Chief Justice (or perhaps even the Lord Almighty).
4. Julius Rosenwald. Dick Sears wrote great advertising copy and came up with the idea of a catalog, but it was his partner, Julius, who made the mail order business work efficiently and expanded the company into retail stores. After making untold millions of dollars for himself and Sears employees through stock option plans and helping to create a national consumer culture, Julius gave a substantial portion of his fortune to build schools for Afracan American children all through the South.
5. Andrew Mellon. The first great American venture capitalist. His investments helped start industries such as aluminium, speciality chemicals, railroad sleeping cars and electricity which powered the American economy of the 20th Century. As Harding's Secretary of the Treasury his low tax and debt reduction policies helped get the U.S. out of the post war recesssion but he stayed on too long and he could not, or would not, realize that the crisis of 1929-1930 was different and much greater so he became the symbol of an uncaring government. However, his greatest contribution may have been his gift to the nation of his unmatched art collection and the money to build a museum for it which is now the magnificent National Gallery in Washington D..C. The gift and the building of the museum occurred at the same time that FDR was forcing a tax evasion prosecution case against him which finally resulted in Mellon being completely exonerated.
6. Elihu Root. The Secretary of War, Secretary of State, Senator and Noble Peace Prize winner that no one has ever heard of. He championed the modernization and rationalization of the Army, promoted international arbitration and fair treatment of Latin America. He supervised America's colonial empire with a goal of involving the native peoples in the government. He was the model of the Wall Street lawyer/public official that Stimson, Acheson, McCloy, Dulles, Vance etc, etc. would follow.