history buffs...
this was in my mail box, sounds quite possible. anyone have input as to the validity of this claim?
Who was our first President???
I'm sure that George Washington was your best guess. After all, no one else comes to mind. But think back to your history books. The United States declared its independence in 1776, yet Washington did not take office until April 30, 1789. So who was running the country during these initial years of this young country?
It was the first eight 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, the first President of the United States. Don't go checking the encyclopedia for this guy's name. He is one of those great men that are lost to history. If you're
extremely lucky, you may actually find a brief mention of his name.
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, 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 a short time.
Seven other presidents were elected after him:
1. Elias Boudinot (1782-83),
2. Thomas Mifflin (1783-84),
3. Richard Henry Lee (1784-85),
4. John Hancock (1785-86),
5. Nathan Gorman (1786-87),
6. Arthur St. Clair (1787-88), and
7. Cyrus Griffin (1788-89),
..all prior to 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. And that leads us to the end of our story.
George Washington was definitely not the first President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today. And the first eight Presidents are forgotten in history.
YOU HAVE TO BE A LOVER OF HISTORY TO APPRECIATE THIS!!
(It took 8 years for us to establish a successful government. You might just remember this when you hear that so little progress has been made during these last 3 years in establishing a Government in Iraq.)
Who was our first President???
I'm sure that George Washington was your best guess. After all, no one else comes to mind. But think back to your history books. The United States declared its independence in 1776, yet Washington did not take office until April 30, 1789. So who was running the country during these initial years of this young country?
It was the first eight 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, the first President of the United States. Don't go checking the encyclopedia for this guy's name. He is one of those great men that are lost to history. If you're
extremely lucky, you may actually find a brief mention of his name.
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, 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 a short time.
Seven other presidents were elected after him:
1. Elias Boudinot (1782-83),
2. Thomas Mifflin (1783-84),
3. Richard Henry Lee (1784-85),
4. John Hancock (1785-86),
5. Nathan Gorman (1786-87),
6. Arthur St. Clair (1787-88), and
7. Cyrus Griffin (1788-89),
..all prior to 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. And that leads us to the end of our story.
George Washington was definitely not the first President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today. And the first eight Presidents are forgotten in history.
YOU HAVE TO BE A LOVER OF HISTORY TO APPRECIATE THIS!!
(It took 8 years for us to establish a successful government. You might just remember this when you hear that so little progress has been made during these last 3 years in establishing a Government in Iraq.)
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Hanson was not our first president. Hanson was the first president of the Second Continental Congress. At this time, the Continental Congress was a make shift group that was not under the control of the United States Constitution because it was not created yet. The US Constitution is what created the president along with the other two branches of government. What this article above doesn't say is that this is the Second Continental Congress, the first Continental Congress also had two different presidents at different times. SO, if they are claiming Hanson was president, actually two other people were before him. Furthermore, Hanson was basically the leader of the Congress, not the President of the United States, which didn't exist yet. 0 -
being a conn. native, we all knew this before the rest of the world![^] 0 -
George Washington was the first President 0 -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson
quote:Because he was the first man to serve a full term as President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and 1782, he has been called the first President of the United States, but this claim is inaccurate.0 -
Is your mailbox in Baltimore, New York, Chicago, or Seattle? [8D] 0 -
Now that we've settled that, on to an important question...who's stronger, Spiderman or the Hulk? Feel free to rewrite history to explain your answer. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by ripley16
Now that we've settle that, on to an important question...who's stronger, Spiderman or the Hulk? Feel free to rewrite history to explain your answer.
[:D] Now that's funny.
BTW, my dad can beat up your dad.[:)]0 -
Please put me on the list of people that could care less if he is or if he ain't....
I for one dedicate my time to proving that Abe Linclon and Jeff Davis we tied for 16th President....0 -
Interesting [|)] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by tobefree
Please put me on the list of people that could care less if he is or if he ain't....
I for one dedicate my time to proving that Abe Linclon and Jeff Davis we tied for 16th President....
That's easy...Lincoln was elected first, so he's #16. Jeff should be considered #16 1/2.
Man, I like solving these complex problems. Gives my life meaning.0 -
quote:Originally posted by ripley16
quote:Originally posted by tobefree
Please put me on the list of people that could care less if he is or if he ain't....
I for one dedicate my time to proving that Abe Linclon and Jeff Davis we tied for 16th President....
That's easy...Lincoln was elected first, so he's #16. Jeff should be considered #16 1/2.
Man, I like solving these complex problems. Gives my life meaning.
Cool 16 1/2 suits me fine.........0 -
There is a lot of hair splitting going on here, but what became known as the United States of American came into existence during the 2nd Continental Congress when the Articles of Confederation were signed.
The ratification occurred during the term of Samuel Huntington who served as President from September 28, 1779 to July 6, 1781. Consequently, Samuel Huntington was the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
The following men served as the President of the First Continental Congress:
Peyton Randolph (September 5, 1774 - October 21, 1774) and
Henry Middleton (October 22, 1774 - October 26, 1774)
The following men served as the President of the Second Continental Congress:
Peyton Randolph (May 10, 1775 - May 23, 1775)
John Hancock (May 24, 1775 - October 31, 1777)
Henry Laurens (November 1, 1777 - December 9, 1778)
John Jay (December 10, 1778 - September 27, 1779)
Samuel Huntington (September 28, 1779 - March 1, 1781[1]
The following men served as President of the United States in Congress Assembled:
Samuel Huntington (March 1, 1781[2] - July 9, 1781)
Thomas McKean (July 10, 1781 - November 4, 1781)[3]
John Hanson (November 5, 1781 - November 3, 1782)
Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 - November 2, 1783)
Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 - October 31, 1784)
Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 - November 6, 1785)
John Hancock (November 23, 1785 - June 5, 1786)
The whole thing is a moot point, since there was no office of President under the Articles of Confederation. That inherent weakness, and the inability to get anything done without a leader in charge, is but one of many reasons why the Articles were scrapped when it was realized that they were simply too flawed to repair.
The argument is being conducted about an office that did not even exist until we adopted an entirely new Constitution, and thus, an entirely different country. The fact that the old government did not exist is easily pointed out by the concern over what would be done about the bond debt of the now defunct Articles government, since those bonds had no more legal validity at that point than do the IOU's of a dead man. They are binding on the estate, but not on anyone else, and that estate had no money to pay them off.[:)]0 -
yep[;)] 0
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