"'I CAN NOT TELL A LIE': I WAS NOT THE 1ST PRESIDENT"
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (JFK+50) On this Presidents Day 2026, Karissa Waddick of USA Today tells us that while George Washington was the first POTUS under the Constitution of the United States of America, there were eight presidents before him under the Articles of Confederation*.
Do John Hanson**, Elias Boudinot and Thomas Mifflin ring a bell?
Waddick says that these men were Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled duly "elected by the Continental Congress." The first of these, John Hanson, preceded George Washington's election by seven years.
The problem for Hanson, as well as the others who followed him, was he had "little power" and "was essentially a figurehead."
Those that followed the three previously mentioned included Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Nathaniel Gorham, Arthur St. Clair and Cyrus Griffin.
JFK+50 NOTE
Further research indicates that John Hanson may not have been the first to hold the office of President of the United States in Congress Assembled. Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean are names given online as having held the position before Hanson.
Hanson served only in the years 1781 & 1782 and because of ill health & other factors he was ready to quit after one week.
*Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) was the first constitution of the United States establishing a loose league of friendship among the 13 original colonies/states. Under the Articles, the central government proved weak and ineffective.
**John Hanson (1715-1783) was born in Charles County, Maryland & became a key figure in Maryland's independence movement. JH organized troops, was a delegate to the Continental Congress & signer of the Articles of Confederation.
SOURCE
"Washington's predecessors have mostly been forgotten," by Karissa Waddick, USA Today, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, February 16, 2026.
