Why is john hanson the first president

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Volume 5, Issue 3 - 24 Hours access. This article is also available for rental through DeepDyve. View Metrics. Whether the white John Hanson should be considered the first president of the United States is open for debate, historians say.

Croatti suggests a number of men could reasonably be called the first president before Washington was elected in Michael, who is a descendent of the white John Hanson, noted that leaders in that era, including Washington himself, referred to Hanson as the first president. Yet neither Hanson nor any of the men who held the title of president before Washington were Black.

Americans of all races have embraced the John Hanson myth, Robinson of the Durkeeville Historical Society said, in part because American history narratives often overlooked the accomplishments of Black leaders.

The John Hanson who served as the first president of the Congress of the Confederation was white. The photograph purporting to be of the first Black president of the U. Reach him at bgordon gannett.

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. He led the flight to guarantee the statehood of the Western Territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains that had been controlled by some of the original thirteen colonies.

What's probably most interesting is that Hanson is also responsible for establishing Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November. It was no easy task to be the first person in this position as President of Congress. So it's incredible that Hanson was able to accomplish as much as he did. Plus, instead of the four year term that current Presidents serve, Presidents under the Articles of Confederation served only one year.

So, accomplishing anything during this short time was a great feat. Hanson played an important role in the development of United States Constitutional History, one often not stated, but true nonetheless. Often, Hanson is regarded as the "forgotten first President. Although one position was ceremonial, and the other was more official, there are statues of both men in the United States Capitol in Washington D. While hitherto practically unknown to our people, and this is true as to nearly all the generations that have lived since his day, his great handiwork, the nation which he helped to establish, remains as a fitting tribute to his memory.

It is doubtful if there has ever lived on this side of the Atlantic, a nobler character or shrewder statesman.