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First U.S. President George Washington, Right? Wrong! ... John Hanson was. Contrary to popular belief, George Washington was not the first U.S. President. John Hanson was elected as President in 1781. George Washington was elected in 1789. So what happened? Well, it went something like this. The U.S. existed for 13 years prior to the U.S. Constitution as a sovereign nation. For eight of those years, the U.S. operated under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation were adopted by Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781. In 1781 the Congress met and elected John Hanson as "The President of the U.S. in Congress Assembled." Though he had limited power, as did the congress itself, he was in fact the First U.S. President. George Washington sent President Hanson a letter congratulating him on his "Appointment to fill the most important Seat in the United States." So why has President Hanson been swept under the proverbial rug? You'll have to ask the educators and editors of the school text books. For now, he'll simply remain the most forgotten President in U.S. History. Note: It is necessary to note here that John Hanson was not the First American President. The First Continental Congress elected Peyton Randolph. As quoted from the Journals Of The Continental Congress 1774-1789;
Why the discrepancy? Well, it's a matter of labels. American versus U.S. Presidents. The U.S. did not exist until 1781. On September 5th, 1774, the First Continental Congress convened and elected a President. Though the "American" label was in place for referring to the Colonists, The term "United States" was not adopted until 1781. See the "Time Line" at the Library Of Congress' Site Form your own opinion. Go to the source:
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