It’s pop quiz time! Quick: tell me who was the first president.
Did you say George Washington? Not so fast. Some historians say John Hanson.
John who? That’s what I said! This makes absolutely no sense. All those textbooks and history teachers couldn’t have been wrong, right?
According to a recent article in USA Today, those historians say we should demote George Washington from Numero Uno to merely President # 9. Ever since 8th grade, when my American History teacher Edward Carter encouraged us to memorize all the presidents, I have been reciting them to anyone who would listen. It always kicks off with Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. (Mr. Carter told us it was easier to go with last names). Trust me, I don’t think I have the mental bandwidth to start over with “Hanson, Boudinot, and Mifflin,” followed by five more new guys. Well, actually the alleged 5th president, John Hancock, is a familiar name. Plus, he had a flair for penmanship.
As you may have learned in school, or more recently in the Ken Burns PBS series “The American Revolution,” it was actually 1781 when our War for Independence against Great Britain ended. Eight years later, our Constitution was ratified, and George Washington was elected president. That has always been good enough for me, along with the authors of most history books and textbooks.
But between 1781 and 1789, eight other gentlemen (in order, John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Nathaniel Gorham, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin) each served a year as “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.” They were selected by the Continental Congress under our nation’s first governing document, the Articles of Confederation. We had thirteen colonies, and representatives of each colony voted to elect a new leader annually.
So, you might ask one of these picky historians, if these guys were so important, why don’t we have a Hanson Monument, or dozens of towns and counties named for Thomas Mifflin? During the Presidents’ Day sales, why don’t we see Elias Boudinot’s smiling face on those mattress ads? It’s a natural: “Get big savings on a Boudinot bed for your boudoir!”
The historians tell us that during those “prequel” years leading up to the original George W, members of the Continental Congress intentionally designed a weak central government. They believed giving a president too much power could be a bad thing, and someone probably said out loud, “Let’s take care of this now, so it will never come up again.”
But seriously folks, it’s not like the first eight “presidents” just sat around dipping their quill pens into inkwells and holding marathon press conferences. John Hanson actually created the fledgling nation’s first central bank and proclaimed the last Thursday of November 1782 as our first Thanksgiving. So when you’re watching those back-to-back-to-back NFL games while loosening your belt this year, you can thank him for that.
Still, over the entire eight-year reign of revolving door presidents, most were considered merely figureheads, and the government was largely considered a failure. At least they didn’t have to put up with cable network outrage hosts.
Fifth “president” John Hancock was among those who created the Constitution, beefing up the federal government, and installing the once-solid system of checks and balances of the three branches (executive, legislative and judicial), in an effort to instill unity and order. In fact, his influence in Massachusetts (then considered a swing vote) resulted in the inclusion of the Bill of Rights, which has served us well.
You might ask if George Washington was such a big deal, why wasn’t he in the starting lineup of eight pre-Constitution presidents? At first, he was still Commander of the Continental Army. His commission had ended by 1789, and he was chosen by presidential electors from each state. Yes, the electoral college, which is still how presidents are chosen today.
History has shown that historians rarely agree on many issues, and some will always say that we should show some love to the Forgotten Eight. As for me, my presidential list will always begin with the Top 3: Washington, Adams, and Jefferson.
