DaBownca
07-10-2008, 08:06 PM
A "Black" Man, A Moor, John Hanson 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.
> (Offline)
> IP: 12.109.26.38
>
=
> 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.
> (Offline)
> IP: 12.109.26.38
>
=