Who Was The First U.S. President?

S

SifuPhil

R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
Easy one, right?

Good ol' Georgie-Boy Washington!

George-Washington.jpg

But if you said that, you'd be wrong. In fact, George didn't take office until April 30, 1789, while the United States declared its independence in 1776.

So who ran the country for those initial years?

The first eight Presidents.

John Hanson was the very first President. 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.


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 — 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.
 

A great informative piece of history, Phil,,Thanks..I see you were doing something besides playing with your banana.

Phil:
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.
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Amazing, isn't it...now they can't get anything done in 8 years..too bad they didn't keep the term limits as was...

All very interesting history. Sounds like the Prez wasn't elected by voters, before the Declaration of Independence, but by Congress, yeah? I need to go and read more about this. Apparently, Hanson was an important historical mover and shaker back then, and yet who's ever heard of him unless you're a history buff.
 
News to me. Not that it matters but news nonetheless. That would go well on trivia nights. bwaaahahaha.

Interesting to note how much got done before things were made complicated by having to play politics for the benefit of the pesky voters isn't it?

Seems to have brought forth leaders with totally different talents to what was and is needed in them to run things efficiently and honourably.

Democracy is great but every silver lining has a cloud. :(:cool:
 

There is a book entitled 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England that begins with the premise "History is not what you thought; it is what you can remember." From that point of view, Washington was definitely the first President of the United States of America.

Anyone familiar with this work written by W.C. Sellar ?
 
Warrigal said:
There is a book entitled 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England that begins with the premise "History is not what you thought; it is what you can remember." From that point of view, Washington was definitely the first President of the United States of America.

Anyone familiar with this work written by W.C. Sellar ?
Click to expand...
I have a copy. Remember how it ends?

America was thus clearly top nation, and History came to a .
 
Oh damn Viv, now you've spoilt the ending.

'1066 and All That' rings a bell but the rest of it doesn't. I wasn't all that academic in my reading tastes so it's one of 'millions' I passed on.

I like the quote though,
"History is not what you thought; it is what you can remember."
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That's how we do see it isn't it? We only remember the 'sexy' bits of history and not the boring details that link them.
 
It is not academic, but very British Di. Described as 'all the history you can remember....40 years later.'

Printed first in 1930
 
OMG a bit's happened since then. I'd trawl for a copy but I've got boxes of books to read 'later' already and it's getting embarrassing that I haven't made a dent in them lately.
 
Warrigal said:
There is a book entitled 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England that begins with the premise "History is not what you thought; it is what you can remember." From that point of view, Washington was definitely the first President of the United States of America.

Anyone familiar with this work written by W.C. Sellar ?
Click to expand...

No, I Canute remember him. :cool:
 
Canute had two sons, Halfacanute and Partacanute, and two other offspring, Rathacanute and Hardlicanute, whom, however, he would never acknowledge, denying to the last he was their Fathacanute.
 
SifuPhil said:
Easy one, right?

Good ol' Georgie-Boy Washington!

View attachment 4391


John Hanson was the very first President.
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I know the thread is 7 years old, found it by researching.

The OP is incorrect. John Hanson was the "1st to serve the full year term under the AOC". Others served before him, just not the full year.

There were also President's before the AOC, meaning the "Continental Congress", (does John Hancock ring a bell) after adoption of the AOC, it was known as the "Congress of the Confederation".

Also although they could be considered as the Head of government, they were not the Head of State. After the AOC, they were referred to as "President of the United States in Congress assembled". The roles of pre-constitution and post constitution President's were totally different. There was a man in Ohio who had a museum and the (at the time) 51 U.S. President's. I did not agree with him but he was a brilliant Historian.

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9785
 
SifuPhil said:
Easy one, right?

Good ol' Georgie-Boy Washington!

View attachment 4391

But if you said that, you'd be wrong. In fact, George didn't take office until April 30, 1789, while the United States declared its independence in 1776.
Click to expand...
Not to be nit-picky (since I may be wrong - (smile).

You are, of course, correct. But, these men were president under the Articles of Confederation,and I don't think the colonies were called "The United States" at that time.

George Washington was the first president under the US Constitution.
 
It surprised me, following the impeachment of President Nixon, that long after America kicked The Brits out, the country still held Magna Carta in great esteem. The Magna Carta (“Great Charter”) is a document guaranteeing English political liberties that was drafted at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames, and signed by King John on June 15th 1215 under pressure from his rebellious barons.

Magna Carta exercised a strong influence both on the United States Constitution and on the constitutions of the various states. The United States also adopted the Bill of Rights, in part, due to this political conviction. In the Library of Congress, scrawled in Medieval Latin on yellowing parchment, an original copy of the Magna Carta is now on view. The historic charter turned 800 in 2015.

Nobody is above the law, as many a US President has found to his cost. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/magna-carta-muse-and-mentor/executive-power.html
 
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