Who Was The First President Of The United States?

Suppose you send a child through the American school system for twelve years and then ask them, “Who was the first president of the United States?” They may give you a peculiar look as most Americans would instantly tell you it was American Founding Father, George Washington. While this has always been the basic idea we have lived off of, it is nothing but a myth. The actual first president of the United States was John Hanson from Maryland as he was elected by a group of men including George Washington to be the first president of Congress. While many still consider Washington to be the first, evidence shows that the legitimacy of Hanson’s time as the president of congress would be strong enough to consider as the first president of the United States of America. Most Americans would tell you that George Washington was the first president, however those people do not know the name of John Hanson.
Prior to his time as president, John Hanson was apart of the Continental Congress.
He eventually signed the Articles of Confederation in 1781 which brought all the states together. This is what is considered as his reign of presidency prior to George Washington. Open up your typical U.S. History textbook and it will tell you American declared independence as a country in 1776. If you flip a decade ahead you will eventually discover Washington took presidency in 1789 which leads to a belief that George Washington was not the first President of the United States. As the documents of Confederation were being signed in the early 1780s, it led to the need of a president to run the country immediately beginning in 1781. Washington, whom was apart of Congress was one of many that also agreed to giving John Hanson the title of president of Continental Congress in 1781. When the title came up, many of the fellow congressmen refused to run against Hanson and he was given the position due to his impact during the American
Revolution. For the next eight years, multiple different men went through time as the president of Continental Congress. While in office, Hanson was unable to pay the troops so they threatened to fight against him and put Washington on the throne as monarch. Also during his time as president, Hanson created the Great Seal of the United States which is still used today on official documents. He also had made a great impact on parts of the government and he is also the one who declared that the fourth Thursday of every November would be Thanksgiving Day. Clearly, many of the actions of Hanson are still effective today showing he made a great impact on this country. Many presidents have come and gone with no lasting impact, however Hanson has made his case to why he should be declared as the first president of the United States in such a short time period as president.

After Hanson’s time as president, many other men followed up on his presidency due to the fact that the Articles of Confederation say that a president can only reign for a single year. The reason Hanson and the other men are often pushed away from the idea of presidency is because of Washington signing the constitution that voided many parts of the Articles. George Washington was the first president under the Constitution we stand under today, however John Hanson has displayed a case for him to be declared the first president of the United States under any document. While you may continue to believe what your high school textbook told you about George Washington being the first president, it is key to acknowledge the myth versus the facts. Understanding what each document said and the events during their reigns, allows a person to clearly see the definition of a president and what makes John Hanson the first president of the United States. You can continue to believe what you were taught growing up, however evidence shows that John Hanson’s impact on America has made a lasting influence even on life today. If the United State declared independence in 1776, and Washington did not take office until 1789, there was a 13 year gap of multiple presidents coming in and out on yearly bases that were clearly shoved away from our history lessons. Even if you Google “1st President”, it is all info on Washington and not a mere article on Hanson.