First president of the USA?

[Redfish]

Hint: not Washington.

How many knew this?

John Hanson First President

 

[pinqy]

Hint: not Washington.

How many knew this?

John Hanson First President

Nope. He was President of Congress, not the U.S.

 

[Redfish]

Hint: not Washington.

How many knew this?

John Hanson First President

Nope. He was President of Congress, not the U.S.

read the link, there were actually 7 before Washington.

 

[B. Kidd]

Is he related to the Hanson Brothers?

 

[B. Kidd]

100 year old myth. Actually, he wasn't. It's complicated.

Myth 88 John Hanson was the real first president of the United States. History Myths Debunked

 

[Moonglow]

Washington was the first president under the Constitution...and of the US...

 

[RetiredGySgt]

There was no President under the Articles of Confederation. The Only Federal power lay in the Unicameral Congress.

Articles of Confederation - Facts Summary - HISTORY.com

 

[Redfish]

There was no President under the Articles of Confederation. The Only Federal power lay in the Unicameral Congress.

Articles of Confederation - Facts Summary - HISTORY.com

sorry, that is incorrect.

"
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, 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 running the government. He somehow managed to calm the troops 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 a 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. He served in that office from November 5, 1781 until November 3, 1782. He was the first President to serve a full term after the full ratification of the Articles of Confederation – and like so many of the Southern and New England Founders, he was strongly opposed to the Constitution when it was first discussed. He remained a confirmed anti-federalist until his untimely death.
Six other presidents were elected after him - Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788) - all prior to Washington taking office. Why don't we ever hear about the first seven Presidents of the United States? 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"

 

[pinqy]

There was no President under the Articles of Confederation. The Only Federal power lay in the Unicameral Congress.

Articles of Confederation - Facts Summary - HISTORY.com

sorry, that is incorrect.

From the Articles of Confederation

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated 'A Committee of the States', and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction

• to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses

While the position as presiding member of Congress was called President, it is still President of Congress, not of the United States. Similarly, the head of the Senate is the President pro tempore.

And in any case, Hanson was not the first President of Congress.
Samuel Huntington was President of the Continental Congress and remained President of Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified (March 1, 1781) and remained in the position as President until July 9, 1781 when his health forced him to resign. Thomas McKean replaced him and served until November 4, 1781.

John Hanson was the THIRD President under the Articles of Confederation, though the first to hold a full term.

 

[Redfish]

There was no President under the Articles of Confederation. The Only Federal power lay in the Unicameral Congress.

Articles of Confederation - Facts Summary - HISTORY.com

sorry, that is incorrect.

From the Articles of Confederation

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated 'A Committee of the States', and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction

• to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses

While the position as presiding member of Congress was called President, it is still President of Congress, not of the United States. Similarly, the head of the Senate is the President pro tempore.

And in any case, Hanson was not the first President of Congress.
Samuel Huntington was President of the Continental Congress and remained President of Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified (March 1, 1781) and remained in the position as President until July 9, 1781 when his health forced him to resign. Thomas McKean replaced him and served until November 4, 1781.

John Hanson was the THIRD President under the Articles of Confederation, though the first to hold a full term.

OK, thanks for the clarification. But my point remains, why is this not taught in american history?

 

[pinqy]

There was no President under the Articles of Confederation. The Only Federal power lay in the Unicameral Congress.

Articles of Confederation - Facts Summary - HISTORY.com

sorry, that is incorrect.

From the Articles of Confederation

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated 'A Committee of the States', and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction

• to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses

While the position as presiding member of Congress was called President, it is still President of Congress, not of the United States. Similarly, the head of the Senate is the President pro tempore.

And in any case, Hanson was not the first President of Congress.
Samuel Huntington was President of the Continental Congress and remained President of Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified (March 1, 1781) and remained in the position as President until July 9, 1781 when his health forced him to resign. Thomas McKean replaced him and served until November 4, 1781.

John Hanson was the THIRD President under the Articles of Confederation, though the first to hold a full term.

OK, thanks for the clarification. But my point remains, why is this not taught in american history?

Because there's no real reason to. The Articles of Confederation were a failure, were only in effect 8 years and have little relevance to overall U.S. History. Why does it matter who the President's of Congress were, other than John Hancock or a brief mention when talking about John Jay? They had zero power.

 

[whitehall]

The "USA"? There was no USA when Hanson was appointed in a backroom deal to get Maryland to ratify the "articles of confederation". The US Constitution wasn't ratified until 8 years later.

 

[pinqy]

The "USA"? There was no USA when Hanson was appointed in a backroom deal to get Maryland to ratify the "articles of confederation".

Yes, there was: Articles of Confederation

The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America".

So there was a United States of America, though Hanson was not President of it.

 

[Youch]

Hint: not Washington.

How many knew this?

John Hanson First President

Not many know a falsehood.

But hey....