by
M. Richard Maxson
I suspect George Washington was your first guess. After all, who else comes to
mind? George Washington definitely was not the first President of the United States.
George Washington was the first President of the United States under the
Constitution we follow today. Think back to your history books - The United States
declared its independence in 1776, yet George Washington did not take Office until
April 30, 1789, so who was running the country during these initial years of our
young country? It was the eight, pre-constitution, U. S. Presidents. In fact, the
first President of the United States was one John Hanson. I can hear you now - John who?
John Hanson, was the first President of the United States. John Hanson, first President
of the United States. Check Google for more detailed information. There was also a
U.S. stamp made in his honor.
The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of
The Articles of Confederation. This document was actually proposed on June 11, 1776,
but not agreed upon by Congress until November 15, 1777. Maryland refused to sign
this document until Virginia and New York ceded their western lands (Maryland was
afraid that these states would gain too much power in the new government from such
large amounts of land). Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed
to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included
George Washington. In fact, all the other potential candidates refused to run against
him, as he was a major player in the revolution and an extremely influential
member of Congress.
As the first President, Hanson had quite the shoes to fill. No one had ever been
President and the role was poorly defined. His actions in office would set
precedent for all future Presidents. He took office just as the Revolutionary War
ended. Almost immediately, the troops demanded to be paid. As would be expected
after any long war, but there were no funds to meet the salaries. As a result,
the soldiers threatened to overthrow the new government and put Washington on the
throne as a monarch. All the members of Congress ran for their lives, leaving Hanson as
the only guy left running the government. He somehow managed to calm the troops down
and hold the country together. If he had failed, the government would have fallen
almost immediately and everyone would have been bowing to King Washington.
Hanson, as President, ordered all foreign troops off American soil, as well as
the removal of all foreign flags. This was quite the feat, considering the fact
that so many European countries had a stake in the United States since the days
following Columbus. Hanson established the Great Seal of the United States, which
all Presidents have since been required to use on all official documents. President
Hanson also established the first Treasury Department, the first Secretary of War,
and the first Foreign Affairs Department. Lastly, he declared that the fourth
Thursday of every November was to be Thanksgiving Day, which is still true today.
The Articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one year term
during any three year period, so Hanson actually accomplished quite a bit in such
little time. Seven other presidents were elected after him:
1. John Hanson
2. Elias Boudinot (1782-83),
3. Thomas Mifflin (1783-84),
4. Richard Henry Lee (1784-85),
5. John Hancock (1785-86),
6. Nathan Gorman (1786-87),
7. Arthur St. Clair (1787-88), and
8. Cyrus Griffin (1788-89),
....all prior to George Washington taking office.
So what happened? Why don't we hear about the first eight presidents? It's quite
simple - The Articles of Confederation didn't work well. The individual states
had too much power and nothing could be agreed upon. A new doctrine needed to be
written - something we know as the Constitution.
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