Dear Mr. Hizer: Hi. I am Jane Steele and a member of this discussion
list. This answer could not have come at a better time! I am a history
educator and this question comes up once in a while. President Hanson is
buried in Oxon Hill,Maryland and I have family on both sides living in the
state. Since school starts soon I am saving this in my files and will
explore this further for myself. What do you do at the Library of
Virginia? Jane Steele,MA.
> [Original Message]
> From: Trenton Hizer <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 8/4/2006 9:22:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Off Topic - lost Presidents
>
> My apologies, klutzy fingers sent an unfinished version of this email
> before I meant to.
>
> I don't know if this answer will satisfy, but I remember reading or
> hearing it explained it thusly. Congress ran the country under the
> Articles of Confederation. While Hanson was elected president of
> Congress by Congress, he was not elected President of the U.S. by
> Congress. He led Congress while Congress ran the country under the
> Articles.
>
> It's been a while since I've read/heard this. Others probably can
> explain it more fully and better.
>
> Trenton Hizer
> Library of Virginia
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lonny J. Watro
> Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 6:56 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Off Topic - lost Presidents
>
> The uneducated mathematician wants to know if this is true.... Please
> respond off list, unless of course you think others need an education,
> too. <wink>
>
> See article below...
>
> Thanks,
> Lonny
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> LOST HISTORICAL TID-BITS
>
> Who was the 1st President? I'm sure that George Washington was your
> first and 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 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!!
>
> NOTE: It took 8 years for us to establish a successful government.
> 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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