You are arguing in hyperbole. If you were to include every american author to have ever lived, the list would be untenable. There has to be a logical cut off,

You are arguing in hyperbole. If you were to include every american author to have ever lived, the list would be untenable. There has to be a logical cut off, and often in the world of the arts, that cut off is directly correlated to prominence as an artist.