I’m standing in the kitchen elbow-deep in bubbles, washing dishes for the second time that day, when my husband asks, “Who was president before George Washington?” “What?” I replied, annoyed that he always asks the most ridiculous questions while I am doing a chore I don’t love. “Well, America declared its Independence on July 4th, 1776, but George Washington wasn’t president until April 30th, 1789. That’s 13 years later, so who led the country before then?” My mind was blown. Why have I never connected those dots before, and why do we know George Washington to be the first president? I threw some soap in the dishwasher, kicked up the lid with the back of my heel, and headed to my computer to dive into a rabbit hole of information on the internet.
My quick little fingers typed in, “was there presidents before george washington?” You see, my grammar is horrible when typing into the Google bar. Half the time, I don’t even know what I’m trying to ask; I just say some words and hope Google figures it out for me. Immediately, two different answers pop up. Of course, this couldn’t just be an easy yes or no, but now I have to figure out why there are two different responses. Some articles stated 14 presidents before George Washington, and others said 8.
As I scrolled through the articles, I realized that the two numbers weren’t so different after all. What are you talking about? 8 and 14 are definitely not the same number. Don’t worry; I’m not doing some short-of-Common Core math thing here. I’m saying 8 of these people are the same in both articles; one article just starts earlier in time, adding an extra 6 people.
Let’s start with the article stating that there were 14 presidents before George Washington. This article puts you in a time machine and launches you back to 1774, before the American Revolution. They talk about how the leaders of the American Revolution organized the Continental Congress. There was the First Continental Congress and then the Second Continental Congress. However, after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation (aka an early form of the constitution), the Continental Congress was replaced by the Confederation Congress. So many Congresses. This reminds me of when I worked at Walmart, and they would always “restructure.” Aka, change the name of your job title, but your job basically stayed the same. Anyways…
The leaders of these Congresses were called Presidents, but they didn’t have the same duties as later Presidents. They weren’t voted in by citizens. Other members of Congress elected them, and their main job was to be in charge of congressional meetings. They also wrote letters on behalf of Congress and welcomed new visitors. The timeline of the Articles of Confederation and the term “United States” led some to believe that various presidents of Congress were the first presidents, not George Washington.
These early presidents of the Continental Congress include Peyton Randolph, Henry Middleton, John Hancock, Henry Laurens, and John Jay.
Fun story about John Hancock: He is known for being the first one to sign the Declaration of Independence, and his signature is the largest. However, I didn’t realize this was a major act of rebellion on his part. Signing this document was considered a very dangerous and treasonous act, and one version of the story states Hancock wanted to ensure King George III was able to read his name. This reminds me of my younger, more rebellious days.
Now, let’s discuss the article that states there were eight presidents before George Washington. This is where the Confederation Congress, mentioned earlier, comes into play. A man named John Hanson was the first President of the Confederation Congress. However, the president was still lumped in with the legislature, and it wasn’t its own independent job. He was the first President to act under the laws of the Articles of Confederation (aka the early form of the Constitution). A fun fact about Handson is that Maryland was reluctant to part ways with Great Britain, then John Handson swooped in, persuading them to change their minds, making Maryland the last state to get on board with our independence from Great Britain.
Other presidents include Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathaniel Gorham, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin.
Cyrus Griffin was the last President of the Confederation Congress before the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation. Interestingly enough, he wasn’t a fan of America’s independence.
The ratification of the United States Constitution led to the creation of the federal government, and George Washington became the first president in 1789 under this new establishment.
So, we have the first President of the Continental Congress, Peyton Randolph, the first President of the Confederation Congress, John Hanson, and the first President after the ratification of the Constitution, George Washington.
So, I guess the answer to my husband's poorly timed question is a list of these 8-14 different people all serving an important role in shaping the country we know today. But I’m still left wondering how I never questioned this sooner or why we were never taught about these people in school.
What do you think? Was George Washington the first President, or have we given this title to the wrong guy?
Sources
Gary, H. (2023, March 28). THE 14 MEN WHO WERE PRESIDENT BEFORE GEORGE WASHINGTON. Grunge. https://www.grunge.com/1224116/the-14-men-who-were-president-before-george-washington/
(2023, June 25). The Forgotten Presidents: A Look at the 8 Leaders Before George Washington. The Politics Watcher. https://thepoliticswatcher.com/pages/articles/congress/2023/6/26/forgotten-presidents-8-leaders-george-washington