|
  A
Believing In America!
Series
created by Jeannie Lovell Senior Editor The
First President of the United States
Who
was the first
President of the United States? No doubt your answer was George
Washington. But think back to your history books – and
you will remember that George Washington
is revered as the Father of our country.
He was not, however, our first president. To be precise, George
Washington was actually the first president who was elected under the
Constitution.
The United States had already existed as a nation for several years before the Constitution was enacted, held together by the Articles of Confederation. The United States declared it’s independence in 1776. George Washington did not take office until April 30, 1789. So that leaves the big question … who was running the country during the initial years of this young country? Who Was the First President of the United States? The
United States
of America was actually formed on March 1, 1781, eight years prior to
George Washington taking office. The forming of the United States
of
America
was formed in conjunction with the adoption of The Articles of
Confederation by
Maryland whose delegates delayed its ratification over a western border
dispute
with Virginia and New York. Upon the
March 1 ratification the President of the Continental Congress
officially
became President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
John Hanson was actually the first President of the United States to serve the full one-year term (1781-1782), under the ratified Articles of Confederation. I might add here that 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 and was followed by Thomas McKearn (July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781), and John Hanson (the first President to serve the full term of one year – November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782). See the following for proper progression: Presidents of the Continental Congress as The United Colonies of America Peyton Randolph September 5, 1774 to October 22, 1774 and May 20 to May 24, 1775 Henry Middleton October 22, 1774 to October 26, 1774 John Hancock October 27, 1775 to July 1, 1776 Presidents of the Continental Congress United States of America John Hancock July 2, 1776 to October 29, 1777 Henry Laurens November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778 John Jay December 10, 1778 to September 28, 1779 Samuel Huntington September 28, 1779 to February 28, 1781 The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of “The Articles of Confederation”. Presidents of the United States In Congress Assembled Samuel Huntington 1st President of the United States in Congress Assembled March 1, 1781 to July 6, 1781 By
May of 1781,
President Huntington's health began to fail. Huntington, despite
the pleadings of the delegates tendered his resignation as President on
July 6,
1781. The United States in Congress Assembled Journals reported: "The
President having informed the United States in Congress assembled, that
his ill
state of health" ... not permit him to continue longer in the exercise
of
the duties of that office".
Thomas McKean 2nd President of the United States in Congress Assembled July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781 Congress
held off
electing a new President
until July 10th in the hope that Huntington would recover and
reconsider. On
July 10th Delegate Thomas McKean was
elected as the second President of the United States in Congress
Assembled and
was first to be elected under the Articles of Confederation as
President Huntington assumed the
position as the former President of the Continental Congress.
Thomas
McKean was
president of
congress in 1781, and in that capacity received Washington's dispatches
announcing the surrender of Cornwallis.
So
revered was
this office by Thomas McKean (Signer of the Declaration
of Independence) that the Presidency was used to turn down his party's
1804
nomination for Vice President under Thomas Jefferson saying: "...
President of the United States in
Congress Assembled in the year of 1781 (a proud year for Americans)
equaled any
merit or pretensions of mine and cannot now be increased by the office
of Vice
President.”
John Hanson (1st. President to serve a full one year term) 3rd President of the United States in Congress Assembled November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782 Elias Boudinot 4th President of the United States in Congress Assembled November 4, 1782 to November 3, 1783 Thomas Mifflin 5th President of the United States in Congress Assembled November 3, 1783 to June 3, 1784 Richard Henry Lee 6th President of the United States in Congress Assembled November 30, 1784 to November 23, 1785 John Hancock 7th President of the United States in Congress Assembled November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786 Nathaniel Gorham 8th President of the United States in Congress Assembled June 1786 - November 13, 1786 Arthur St. Clair 9th President of the United States in Congress Assembled February 2, 1787 to October 29, 1787 Cyrus Griffin 10th President of the United States in Congress Assembled January 22, 1788 to March 4, 1789 First President of the United States United States Constitution George Washington April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797 Coming soon: “The Articles of Confederation” and “All About Peyton Randolph” Comments or Suggestions   |
 Wow! I didn't know this stuff, nor paid any attention to finding out about it. Good set up. I wonder if there is any dirty hidden agendas, etc. with these ole guys, or were they just good guys? I doubt that. That would be a good read. We all know men are power hungry. S Hey girl, great job, informative and interesting. Richard I have always taught this. John Hanson of Maryland was the first president, AFTER THE REVOLUTION. Good work. K. Haybron Adams Professor of Library Science, Emeritus Brigham Young University Provo, Utah Congratulations on your first article. I've printed it, and will pass it around! We should all know the fabulous history of our country! Your writing skills are wonderful and I just wish you would have written more! I look forward to more articles from you, and I've emailed everyone I know (Rep & Dec, or whatever) and I've told them to subscribe! Congratulations again, Jeannie! Dominique Excellent, informative! Keep going! Linda |
Copyright © 2008, Jace Carlton