John Hanson was unanimously chosen as the first President of the United States when it officially became a country in 1781. He had his plate full as soon as he took office. Hanson had to avert a potential revolution by the soldiers in the Revolutionary War, who were displeased by the fact that they had not been paid and that the new government had no money. He got rid of all foreign troops on American soil. He declared that the fourth Thursday of each November would be Thanksgiving. He formed the Treasury Department, War Department, and State Department (called then the "Foreign Affairs Department"). He established the Great Seal of the United States. And he did all of this in one year.
That George Washington dude? He actually was the eighth President, serving after Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorman, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin. Yeah, sure, Washington may have been the first President elected under the Constitution while his seven predecessors took office while the country was operating under the Articles of Confederation, but the fact remains that he was still merely the eighth President of the United States.
Yes! Credit where credit is due. However, from a literal standpoint, Hanson was actually the third. Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean preceded him, serving briefly between the enactment of the articles and the first convening of Congress. Effectively, however, I would agree, that Hanson was the first to execute the office as we know it. In addition to what you've stated, he also created the post office, a national bank, worked on a first census and developed a uniform coinage system. Hail President Hanson!
ReplyDeleteTo muddy the waters further, Huntington and McKean were actually the seventh and eighth "Presidents of Congress," an office which arose in 1774. Unlike the "President of the United States," the office primarily consisted of presiding parliamentarian officer types of duties (i.e. maintaining order during deliberations of the Continental Congress) rather than being able to make executive decisions. Hanson was the first presidential guy who had a specific elected term and who used his power to do stuff. I did not know about the other cool things you enumerated that he accomplished.
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