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Subject: Who was the first President?
Who was the 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, 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 - Elias Boudinot (1782-83),
Thomas Mifflin (1783-84), Richard Henry Lee (1784-85), John Hancock
(1785-86), Nathan Gorman (1786-87), Arthur St. Clair (1787-88), and 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. Remember this
when you hear that so little progress has been make during these last 3
years in establishing a Government in Iraq.)
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