e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Murphy Martin Commentary
August 17, 2006

 "George Was Not First"

We ran across a bit of interesting information a couple of weeks ago. GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS NOT THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Does that surprise you? Surprised us too.

When you check our history books or dig very deep into your memory bank you will remember that --yes--we declared our independence in 1776--but--George Washington did not take office until April 30,1789! In fact, we had EIGHT presidents before George Washington.

America was actually formed on March 1,1781. That's when the articles of confederation were adopted. This document was actually proposed on June 11,1776 but was not agreed upon by Congress until November of 1777.

Once the signing was accomplished in 1781, a President was needed to run the country. Who would the first be? It was John Hansen and he was chosen unanimously by the Congress, which included George Washington. No other candidate chose to oppose Hansen because he was a major player in the revolution and was a very influential member of Congress.

John Hansen, as the first President, had big shoes to fill. The job was poorly defined and his decisions would set precedent for all future Presidents. He took office just as the Revolutionary War was ending. Troops demanded to be paid but there were no funds to meet those needs. The soldiers threatened to overthrow the government and put Washington on the throne as a monarch.

It was left to President Hansen to calm the troops down as he was the only guy left to run the country. Members of Congress had fled the scene. As President, Hansen ordered all foreign troops off American soil. and, the removal of all foreign flags. This was quite a feat since so many European countries had a stake in the United States since the days following Columbus.

It was President John Hansen who established the Great Seal of the United States which all Presidents have since been required to use on all official documents. Hansen also established the first Treasury Department,Secretary of War, Foreign Affairs Department and finally it was Hansen who declared the fourth Thursday in November of each year would be Thanksgiving Day which is still true today.

Those articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one year term during a three year period. With those limited rules John Hansen accomplishments were amazing for such a short period of time.

Seven other Presidents followed John Hansen before George Washington started chopping down his first cherry tree! They were:
Elias Boudinot (1782-1783)
Thomas Mifflin (1783-84)
Richard Henry Lee (1784-85)
John Hancock (1785-86)
Nathan Gorman (1786-87)
Arthur St. Clair (1787-88) and,
Cyrus Griffin (1788-89).

Why have we not heard as much about these men in our history books? Because the Articles of Confederation did not work well. The individual states had too much power and they used it. Used it until a new doctrine was written. Something we know as the Constitution

As we said in the beginning of this article (after spending a great deal of time on Google et al) George Washington was NOT the FIRST President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today.

The first eight Presidents of this country have been forgotten in history!
 

Murphy Martin

Your thoughts and comments forwarded to my website will be appreciated.

e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Previous commentaries: 
"Cowboy's Control Canton"
"Despite Unfinished Business, Congress Takes a Vacation"
"Reality Television Rolls on Sunday"
"The President Speaks His Mind"
"The World Around Us"
"Birthday Time Again"
"Presidents -- Past and Present"
"Expensive Babies"
"Change of Pace"
"Yesterday Katie Said Goodbye to Today"
"Musical Chairs Continue at ABC-TV"
"No Quick Support for Bush Plan"
"Moussaoui Meeting with Virgins Delayed"
"What the Hell Happened?"
"His Name is Still Magic"
"The Tallest Pine is Gone"
"Keeping America Free"
"Remembering"
"Christians vs Muslims"
"Bush Bucks Bashing"
"Early Look at 2008"
"Contrasting Memories"
"Reporter's Rough Roads"
"Another Cowboys Loss"
"People, Places and Things"
"Super Bowl Wasn't So Super"
"State of the Union"
"Is God Dead in Europe?"
"Remembering Dr. King"
"This Week in Review"
"New Year, New Challenges"
"The Party's Over"
"Democracy in the Middle East"
"Unfinished Business"
"Merry Christmas Rules"
"Bush Unveils Plans"
"Today is Special"
"Border Security Now!!!"
"Stupidity Loses Financing"
"Crisis Christians"
"They Led the Way"
"Sadistic Saddam Hussein"
"Bourbon Street Bashing"
"Hurricane Aftermath"
"Standing Tall"
"Never a Dull Moment"
"Another Hero Laid to Rest"
"Blame Game"
"Senior Thoughts For the Young"
"Role Model Challenge"
August 18 - "Network News Anchors"
August 11 - "Now All Three Are Gone"
August 4 - "Trust in the Media"
July 28 - "Television Then and Now"
July 21 -  "The Mick"
July 14 - "Forty Years and Counting"