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sameer
11-26-2007, 02:26 PM



Was the First President of the United States! 1781-1782 A.D.???
George Washington was really the 8th President of the United States!

George Washington was not the first President of the United States. In fact, the first President of the United States was one John Hanson. 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. In fact, Hanson sent 800 pounds of sterling siliver by his brother Samuel Hanson to George Washington to provide the troops with shoes.

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.

Six other presidents were elected after him - Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788) - all prior to Washington taking office.

So what happened?

Why don't we ever hear about the first seven Presidents of the United States?

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 seven Presidents are forgotten in history.

http://www.dickgregory.com/index_hanson.html

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Dunno if that article is true but it makes for interesting reading and while a lot of websites denies John Hansen as being the first president I got this piece from Encyclopedia Britannica's website :

John Hanson:
American Revolutionary leader and president under the U.S. Articles of Confederation.

A member of the Maryland Assembly (1757–79), he represented Maryland in the Continental Congress (1780–82). On Nov. 5, 1781, he was elected by the Continental Congress “President of the United States in Congress Assembled,” an office he held for one year.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article...79/John-Hanson
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Jayda
11-26-2007, 02:49 PM
hola,

this is interesting... i have not heard of it before, but it is not possible that the person shown in the photgraph lived in the 18th century. collodion process photographs did not exist until the mid 19th century. he would have to have been born around the same time he was 'president' in order to pose for the picture we are looking at.

que Dios te bendiga
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wilberhum
11-26-2007, 06:37 PM
I think one really needs to think about this statement.
Don't go checking the encyclopedia
Sounds like another "Conspiracy Theory".
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wilberhum
11-26-2007, 06:51 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson
John Hanson (April 3, 1715 – November 22, 1783) was a delegate to the United States in Congress Assembled from Maryland. Because he was the first man to serve a full one-year term, November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782, as President of the United States in Congress Assembled under the Articles of Confederation, he has been mistakenly called the first President of the United States. Samuel Huntington was the first President of the United States under the Articles serving March 1, 1781 to July 6, 1781 while Thomas McKean served under the Articles from July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781. [1]

Hanson is one of the most enigmatic figures in US history. He is frequently mentioned in connection with the claim that he was the first President, but fewer facts are clear about his life and accomplishments than is the case with most of his contemporaries. One of the difficulties this caused was that several writers in the 19th century filled in the blanks with fiction. This article presents only those aspects of the man and his character that are either clearly documented or almost universally agreed upon. For various reasons, Hanson has been the subject of a large number of misconceptions or misrepresentations.


A portrait of John Hanson by John Hesselius, late 1760s.

Hum, do you think this is the same guy? :hiding:

I found another picture.



I think I have come to a conclusion about dickgregory.com :thumbs_do
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Cognescenti
11-26-2007, 07:17 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jayda
hola,

this is interesting... i have not heard of it before, but it is not possible that the person shown in the photgraph lived in the 18th century. collodion process photographs did not exist until the mid 19th century. he would have to have been born around the same time he was 'president' in order to pose for the picture we are looking at.

que Dios te bendiga
That is an excellent point. One might be moved to ask why there are no photographs of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. :D

THE thorniest issue in the Constitutional Convention was the issue of slavery. It was so impossible to reach a consensus, the delegates simply agreed to put the issue off for the future (for about 70 years until the nation was convulsed in a massive bloodletting). Does anyone really believe that even a ceremonial position like President of the Convention would have been granted without dissent to a black man?

There is a reason you haven't heard of it before.
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Keltoi
11-26-2007, 11:38 PM
Strange article....especially the photograph attached to it.
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wilberhum
11-26-2007, 11:50 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi
Strange article....especially the photograph attached to it.
And the poster missed the title of the article.
A "Black" Man, A Moor, John Hanson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson
John (Hanson) was the third generation of his family to live in Maryland. Named after his grandfather John, who came from England, he was born near Port Tobacco in Charles County, Maryland. John's parents were Samuel (1684-1740) and Elizabeth Story Hanson (1689-1764) who owned a farm there. John had no extended formal education while growing up in Maryland, but he read broadly in both English and Latin. He followed the family tradition as a planter, extending and improving his holdings.
Kind of strange heritage for a "Moor". :offended:
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