Schools in the United States teach children from an early age that
the first president of the United States was George Washington. But
teachers often forget to mention a small, kind of important detail-
George Washington was the first U.S. president under the current United
States Constitution, but he wasn’t the country’s first president.
Before the U.S. Constitution came into being, the Articles of Confederation served as the glue which held all thirteen states together as a single country. (See: The Articles of Confederation: The Constitution Before the Constitution) The Articles went into effect in 1781, and they established a loose alliance among the states. The Articles also defined the role of Congress to oversee the national needs, as well as the office of the president.
Due to the fear of giving too much power to one person, the office of president was extremely limited in power and scope, and was not even a paid position. Rather, the primary roles of the president at this time were simply to preside over meetings and handle various state correspondence. The president was also the one who signed official congressional documents.
So who were these individuals who served such a lackluster position as the office of president?
The
first president of the United States under the Articles of
Confederation was John Hanson from Maryland. His term began in 1781 and
ended in 1782. He at first attempted to resign directly after being
elected (with so little power given to the office and no pay to boot,
few wanted the position over political offices in their home states).
However, ultimately a quorum could not be reached to name a successor,
so he decided to stay on as president. Being the country’s first
full-term president under the Articles of Confederation meant that he
oversaw programs that helped to establish daily life in the new country.
For instance, Hanson held the position of president when the government
started on the road to creating what would become the U.S. Post Office
and the National Bank. The government also established a single, uniform
currency throughout the states under his mostly powerless watch.
Elias
Boudinot of New Jersey became the second president, serving from 1782
until 1783. His presidency coincided with the official end to the
American Revolutionary War. Boudinot presided over the country when the
Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783. However, the
Treaty of Paris did more than simply end the war; it required that the
United States be recognized as an independent country and no longer a
part of the British Empire. Besides being president, Boudinot was also
noteworthy for his era for advocating for the rights of both Native
Americans and black people, as well as directly sponsoring various youth
among these groups so that they could receive an education.
Thomas
Mifflin became the president for the term of 1783 until 1784. He
oversaw the ratification of the Treaty of Paris during his presidency.
Originally from Pennsylvania, he served under General George Washington
during the Revolutionary War. That former position, and Washington’s
later significance as the first president under the U.S. Constitution,
made it somewhat ironic that president Mifflin accepted George
Washington’s resignation as Commander in Chief.
Richard
Henry Lee of Virginia served as the country’s fourth president from
1784 until 1785. His presidency might have been pretty uneventful, but
his political career afterwards was not. He became a vocal opponent of
the now current U.S. Constitution out of the fear that it would create a
centralized government too similar to the government that the colonies
lived under as British citizens. He also hesitated because the document
lacked a Bill of Rights, though many of his later suggestions were
incorporated into the United States Bill of Rights.
John
Hancock, most famous for his large signature on the Declaration of
Independence, held the position of the president from 1785 to 1786. His
life in politics began long before the presidency, and he even helped to
fund the American effort during the Revolutionary War. His life in
politics continued after his tenure as president under the Articles of
Confederation. He was reelected as Governor of Massachusetts—a position
he resigned due to health before becoming president—and even ran against
George Washington in the first U.S. presidential election under the
Constitution. He did not expect to win, but had hoped to finish second
so that he could become vice president. Ultimately that post went to
John Adams.
Nathaniel
Gorham, also from Massachusetts, served as the president under the
Articles of Confederation from 1786 until 1787. Like many other
presidents during the time, his presidency was simply another item on
his long list of political accomplishments. He began his career as a
public notary who quickly won election to the colonial legislature
during the Revolutionary War. He served as a member of the legislature,
became a judge even though he lacked legal training, and even attended
the Constitutional Convention where he supported the new U.S.
Constitution. As for Gorham’s family, his sister was the wife of John
Leighton, an ancestor of the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Edith
Kermit Carow Roosevelt.
The
seventh president of the United States was a man from Ohio named Arthur
St. Clair. He held the position between 1787 and 1788. He left Congress
after finishing his term. He then received the appointment to governor
of the Northwest Territory, a position where he often faced off with the
Native Americans who claimed they, in fact, owned the land. Despite
once being enormously wealthy, St. Clair ultimately died poor, with much
of his wealth used to support the American Revolution and young
government. Late in life, he gave away the little money that remained of
his once vast fortune.
Cyrus
Griffin of Virginia had a background in law before he became the eighth
and final president of the United States under the Articles of
Confederation. He helped to put the country’s new judicial system on the
path to becoming what we know today as the modern American court system
during his work at the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture. He
continued to contribute to the new country’s court system after his
presidency when he went on to become a judge with the District Court of
Virginia.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
Before the U.S. Constitution came into being, the Articles of Confederation served as the glue which held all thirteen states together as a single country. (See: The Articles of Confederation: The Constitution Before the Constitution) The Articles went into effect in 1781, and they established a loose alliance among the states. The Articles also defined the role of Congress to oversee the national needs, as well as the office of the president.
Due to the fear of giving too much power to one person, the office of president was extremely limited in power and scope, and was not even a paid position. Rather, the primary roles of the president at this time were simply to preside over meetings and handle various state correspondence. The president was also the one who signed official congressional documents.
So who were these individuals who served such a lackluster position as the office of president?
The
first president of the United States under the Articles of
Confederation was John Hanson from Maryland. His term began in 1781 and
ended in 1782. He at first attempted to resign directly after being
elected (with so little power given to the office and no pay to boot,
few wanted the position over political offices in their home states).
However, ultimately a quorum could not be reached to name a successor,
so he decided to stay on as president. Being the country’s first
full-term president under the Articles of Confederation meant that he
oversaw programs that helped to establish daily life in the new country.
For instance, Hanson held the position of president when the government
started on the road to creating what would become the U.S. Post Office
and the National Bank. The government also established a single, uniform
currency throughout the states under his mostly powerless watch.
Elias
Boudinot of New Jersey became the second president, serving from 1782
until 1783. His presidency coincided with the official end to the
American Revolutionary War. Boudinot presided over the country when the
Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783. However, the
Treaty of Paris did more than simply end the war; it required that the
United States be recognized as an independent country and no longer a
part of the British Empire. Besides being president, Boudinot was also
noteworthy for his era for advocating for the rights of both Native
Americans and black people, as well as directly sponsoring various youth
among these groups so that they could receive an education.
Thomas
Mifflin became the president for the term of 1783 until 1784. He
oversaw the ratification of the Treaty of Paris during his presidency.
Originally from Pennsylvania, he served under General George Washington
during the Revolutionary War. That former position, and Washington’s
later significance as the first president under the U.S. Constitution,
made it somewhat ironic that president Mifflin accepted George
Washington’s resignation as Commander in Chief.
Richard
Henry Lee of Virginia served as the country’s fourth president from
1784 until 1785. His presidency might have been pretty uneventful, but
his political career afterwards was not. He became a vocal opponent of
the now current U.S. Constitution out of the fear that it would create a
centralized government too similar to the government that the colonies
lived under as British citizens. He also hesitated because the document
lacked a Bill of Rights, though many of his later suggestions were
incorporated into the United States Bill of Rights.
John
Hancock, most famous for his large signature on the Declaration of
Independence, held the position of the president from 1785 to 1786. His
life in politics began long before the presidency, and he even helped to
fund the American effort during the Revolutionary War. His life in
politics continued after his tenure as president under the Articles of
Confederation. He was reelected as Governor of Massachusetts—a position
he resigned due to health before becoming president—and even ran against
George Washington in the first U.S. presidential election under the
Constitution. He did not expect to win, but had hoped to finish second
so that he could become vice president. Ultimately that post went to
John Adams.
Nathaniel
Gorham, also from Massachusetts, served as the president under the
Articles of Confederation from 1786 until 1787. Like many other
presidents during the time, his presidency was simply another item on
his long list of political accomplishments. He began his career as a
public notary who quickly won election to the colonial legislature
during the Revolutionary War. He served as a member of the legislature,
became a judge even though he lacked legal training, and even attended
the Constitutional Convention where he supported the new U.S.
Constitution. As for Gorham’s family, his sister was the wife of John
Leighton, an ancestor of the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Edith
Kermit Carow Roosevelt.
The
seventh president of the United States was a man from Ohio named Arthur
St. Clair. He held the position between 1787 and 1788. He left Congress
after finishing his term. He then received the appointment to governor
of the Northwest Territory, a position where he often faced off with the
Native Americans who claimed they, in fact, owned the land. Despite
once being enormously wealthy, St. Clair ultimately died poor, with much
of his wealth used to support the American Revolution and young
government. Late in life, he gave away the little money that remained of
his once vast fortune.
Cyrus
Griffin of Virginia had a background in law before he became the eighth
and final president of the United States under the Articles of
Confederation. He helped to put the country’s new judicial system on the
path to becoming what we know today as the modern American court system
during his work at the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture. He
continued to contribute to the new country’s court system after his
presidency when he went on to become a judge with the District Court of
Virginia.If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
Bonus Facts:
- There were also presidents before the presidents under the ratified Articles of Confederation. These were Peyton Randolph, who served from 1774-1775 before taking a leave due to poor health; Henry Middleton, who served in Randolph’s absence; John Hancock, who served for two years at this point (and would later serve again, as noted above); Henry Laurens who ultimately resigned over a controversy concerning diplomat Silas Deane; John Jay, who also served as Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court at the same time he held the office of president; Samuel Huntington, who ultimately resigned due to health problems (including smallpox), but has the distinction of being the president when the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified; Samuel Johnston, who refused the office of the president when elected; and Thomas McKean, who ultimately resigned after the British surrender at Yorktown. McKean is notable as being the first president elected after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, but is generally not considered the first president due to failing to serve a full year term as specified under the Articles of Confederation. (McKean only served for three months.) A few weeks after his resignation, in November of 1781, Congress met as specified in the Articles of Confederation (“the first Monday in November”), with John Hanson being elected president.
- John Hanson’s grandfather paid his way to America from England by becoming an indentured servant in the mid-17th century. By Hanson’s time, the family had rose significantly in wealth, allowing Hanson to help fund the revolution both via general fundraising and often paying soldiers out of his own pocket.
- The three branches of the American government that we know today—the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Branches—came about with the Constitution. Under the Articles of Confederation, only the legislative branch existed.
- Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress couldn’t tax the states. It needed to ask them for money to run the government. Needless to say, the government under the Articles was more than a little cash-strapped. See: A Brief History of Taxes in the United States and Why They’re Due on April 15th
- The Articles allowed members of Congress to have freedom of speech and guaranteed they would not be arrested if they committed certain petty crimes.
- Confederate General Robert E. Lee was a descendent of the fourth president, Richard Henry Lee.
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