John Hanson - wikipedia John Hanson For other people named John Hanson, see John Hanson ( disambiguation ). John Hanson Portrait of Hanson attributed to John Hesselius, c. late 1760s 9th President of the Continental Congress In office November 5, 1781 -- November 3, 1782 Preceded by Thomas McKean Succeeded by Elias Boudinot Personal details ( 1721 - 10 - 06 ) October 6, 1721 near Port Tobacco, Province of Maryland November 15, 1783 ( 1783 - 11 - 15 ) ( aged 62 ) Oxon Hill, Prince George 's County, Maryland Spouse ( s ) Jane Contee Children 8, including Alexander Parents Samuel Hanson Elizabeth Pearl Occupation Merchant, politician Signature John Hanson ( April 14 ( O.S. April 3 ) 1721 -- November 15, 1783 ) was a merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. In 1779, Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress after serving in a variety of roles for the Patriot cause in Maryland. He signed the Articles of Confederation in 1781 after Maryland finally joined the other states in ratifying them. In November 1781, he was elected as President of the United States in Congress Assembled, and became the first president ( third overall ) to serve a one - year term under the provisions of the Articles of Confederation. While George Washington is recognized by historians as the first President of the United States, since he began serving when the current United States Constitution went into effect in 1789, some biographies of Hanson have made arguments that Hanson was actually the first holder of the office of president since he began serving following the first election for a full one - year presidential term once the Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781. Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 2.1 President of Congress 2.2 Later life 3 Personal life 3.1 Legacy 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 Further reading 7 External links Early life John Hanson was born in Port Tobacco Parish in Charles County in the Province of Maryland on April 14, 1721. Sources published prior to a 1940 genealogical study sometimes listed his birth date as April 13 or his year of birth as 1715. Hanson was born on a plantation called `` Mulberry Grove '' into a wealthy and prominent family. His parents were Samuel ( c. 1685 -- 1740 ) and Elizabeth ( Storey ) Hanson ( c. 1688 -- 1764 ). Samuel Hanson was a planter who owned more than 1,000 acres ( 4.0 km ), and held a variety of political offices, including serving two terms in the Maryland General Assembly. John Hanson was of English ancestry ; his grandfather, also named John, came to Charles County, Maryland, as an indentured servant around 1661. In 1876, a writer named George Hanson placed John Hanson in his family tree of Swedish - Americans descended from four Swedish brothers who emigrated to New Sweden in 1642. This story was often repeated over the next century, but scholarly research in the late 20th century showed that John Hanson was of English heritage and not related to those Swedish - American Hansons. Little is known about Hanson 's early life ; he was presumably privately tutored as was customary among the gentry of his time and place. He followed his father 's path as a planter, slave owner, and public official. He was often referred to as John Hanson, Jr., to distinguish him from an older man of the same name. Political career Hanson 's career in public service began in 1750, when he was appointed sheriff of Charles County. In 1757 he was elected to represent Charles County in the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, where he served over the next twelve years, sitting on many important committees. Maryland was a proprietary colony, and Hanson aligned himself with the `` popular '' or `` country '' party, which opposed any expansion of the power of the proprietary governors at the expense of the popularly elected lower house. He was a leading opponent of the 1765 Stamp Act, chairing the committee that drafted the instructions for Maryland 's delegates to the Stamp Act Congress. In protest of the Townshend Acts, in 1769 Hanson was one of the signers of a nonimportation resolution that boycotted British imports until the acts were repealed. Etching of Hanson based on a portrait by Charles Willson Peale that was painted from life in 1781 -- 1782 Hanson changed course in 1769, apparently to better pursue his business interests. He resigned from the General Assembly, sold his land in Charles County, and moved to Frederick County in western Maryland. There he held a variety of offices, including deputy surveyor, sheriff, and county treasurer. When relations between Great Britain and the colonies became a crisis in 1774, Hanson became one of Frederick County 's leading Patriots. He chaired a town meeting that passed a resolution opposing the Boston Port Act. In 1775, he was a delegate to the Maryland Convention, an extralegal body convened after the colonial assembly had been prorogued. With the other delegates, he signed the Association of Freemen on July 26, 1775, which expressed hope for reconciliation with Great Britain, but also called for military resistance to enforcement of the Coercive Acts. With hostilities underway, Hanson chaired the Frederick County Committee of Observation, part of the Patriot organization that assumed control of local governance. Responsible for recruiting and arming soldiers, Hanson proved to be an excellent organizer, and Frederick County sent the first southern troops to join George Washington 's army. Because funds were scarce, Hanson frequently paid soldiers and others with his own money. In June 1776, Hanson chaired the Frederick County meeting that urged provincial leaders in Annapolis to instruct Maryland 's delegates in the Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain. While Congress worked on the Declaration of Independence, Hanson was in Frederick County `` making gunlocks, storing powder, guarding prisoners, raising money and troops, dealing with Tories, and doing the myriad other tasks which went with being chairman of the committee of observation ''. Hanson was elected to the newly reformed Maryland House of Delegates in 1777, the first of five annual terms. In December 1779, the House of Delegates named Hanson as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress ; he began serving in Congress in Philadelphia in June 1780. `` Hanson came to Philadelphia with the reputation of having been the leading financier of the revolution in western Maryland, and soon he was a member of several committees dealing with finance. '' When Hanson was elected to Congress, Maryland was holding up the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. The state, which did not have any claims on western land, refused to ratify the Articles until the other states had ceded their western land claims. When the other states finally did so, the Maryland legislature decided in January 1781 to ratify the Articles. When Congress received notice of this, Hanson joined Daniel Carroll in signing the Articles of Confederation on behalf of Maryland on March 1, 1781. With Maryland 's endorsement, the Articles officially went into effect. Many years later, some Hanson biographers claimed that Hanson had been instrumental in arranging the compromise and thus securing ratification of the Articles, but, according to historian Ralph Levering, there is no documentary evidence of Hanson 's opinions or actions in resolving the controversy. President of Congress On November 5, 1781, Congress elected Hanson as president of the Continental Congress ( or `` president of the Congress of the Confederacy '' or `` president of Congress '' ). Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States had no executive branch ; the president of Congress was a mostly ceremonial position, but the office did require Hanson to handle a good deal of correspondence and sign official documents. Hanson found the work tedious and considered resigning after just one week, citing his poor health and family responsibilities. Colleagues urged him to remain because Congress at the moment lacked a quorum to choose a successor. Out of a sense of duty, Hanson remained in office, although his term as a delegate to Congress was nearly expired. The Maryland Assembly reelected him as a delegate on November 28, 1781, and so Hanson continued to serve as president until November 4, 1782. The Articles of Confederation stipulated that presidents of Congress serve one - year terms, and Hanson became the first president to do so. Contrary to the claims of some of his later advocates, however, he was not the first president to serve under the Articles, nor the first to be elected under the Articles. When the Articles went into effect in March 1781, Congress did not bother to elect a new president ; instead, Samuel Huntington continued serving a term that had already exceeded a year. On July 9, 1781, Samuel Johnston became the first man to be elected as president of Congress after the ratification of the Articles. He declined the office, however, perhaps to make himself available for North Carolina 's gubernatorial election. After Johnston turned down the office, Thomas McKean was elected. McKean served just a few months, resigning in October 1781 after hearing news of the British surrender at Yorktown. Congress asked him to remain in office until November, when a new session of Congress was scheduled to begin. It was in that session that Hanson began to serve his one - year term. A highlight of Hanson 's term was when George Washington presented Cornwallis 's sword to Congress. Later life Hanson retired from public office after his one - year term as president of Congress. In poor health, he died on November 15, 1783, while visiting Oxon Hill Manor in Prince George 's County, Maryland, the plantation of his nephew Thomas Hawkins Hanson. He was buried there. Hanson owned at least 223 acres of land and 11 slaves at the time of his death. Personal life About 1744, he married Jane Contee ( 1728 -- 1812 ), daughter of Alexander Contee ( 1692 -- 1740 ). Together, John and Jane had eight children, including : Jane Contee Hanson ( 1747 -- 1781 ), who married Philip Thomas ( 1747 -- 1815 ) Peter Contee Hanson ( 1748 -- 1776 ), who died in the battle of Fort Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Alexander Contee Hanson, Sr. ( 1749 -- 1806 ), who was a notable essayist. Alexander Hanson is sometimes confused with his son, Alexander Contee Hanson, Jr. ( 1786 -- 1819 ), who became a newspaper editor and US Senator. Legacy The bronze statue of Hanson in the National Statuary Hall Collection In 1898, Douglas H. Thomas, a descendant of Hanson, wrote a biography promoting Hanson as the first true President of the United States. Thomas became the `` driving force '' behind the selection of Hanson as one of the two people who would represent Maryland in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C. Hanson was not initially on the shortlist for consideration, but he was chosen after lobbying by the Maryland Historical Society. In 1903, bronze statues of Hanson and Charles Carroll by sculptor Richard E. Brooks were added to Statuary Hall ; Hanson 's is currently located on the 2nd floor of the Senate connecting corridor. Small versions of these two statues ( maquettes ) sit on the president 's desk in the Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House. Some historians have questioned the appropriateness of Hanson 's selection for the honor of representing Maryland in Statuary Hall. According to historian Gregory Stiverson, Hanson was not one of Maryland 's foremost leaders of the Revolutionary era. In 1975, historian Ralph Levering said that `` Hanson should n't have been one of the two Marylanders '' chosen, but he wrote that Hanson `` probably contributed as much as any other Marylander to the success of the American Revolution ''. In the 21st century, Maryland lawmakers have considered replacing Hanson 's statue in Statuary Hall with one of Harriet Tubman. John Hanson memorial statue at Frederick, Maryland courthouse The idea that Hanson was the forgotten first President of the United States was further promoted in a 1932 biography of Hanson by journalist Seymour Wemyss Smith. Smith 's book asserted that the American Revolution had two primary leaders : George Washington on the battlefield, and John Hanson in politics. Smith 's book, like Douglas H. Thomas 's 1898 book, was one of a number of biographies written seeking to promote Hanson as the `` first President of the United States ''. Regarding the opinion, historian Ralph Levering stated : `` They 're not biographies by professional historians ; they are n't based on research into primary sources. '' According to historian Richard B. Morris, if a president of Congress were to be called the first President of the United States, `` a stronger case could be made for Peyton Randolph of Virginia, the first President of the first and second Continental Congresses, or for John Hancock, the President of Congress when that body declared its independence. '' The claim that Hanson was a forgotten President of the United States was revived on the Internet, sometimes with a new assertion that he was actually a black man ; an anachronistic photograph of Senator John Hanson of Liberia has been used to support this claim. In 1972, Hanson was depicted on a 6 - cent US postal card, which featured his name and portrait next to the word `` Patriot ''. Historian Irving Brant criticized the selection of Hanson for the card, arguing that it was a result of the `` old hoax '' promoting Hanson as the first president of the United States. In 1981, Hanson was featured on a 20 - cent US postage stamp. U.S. Route 50 between Washington D.C. and Annapolis is named the John Hanson Highway in his honor. There are also middle schools located in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and Waldorf, Maryland, named after him. A former savings bank named for him was merged in the 1990s with Industrial Bank of Washington, D.C. In the 1970s, a descendant of Hanson, John Hanson Briscoe, served as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, which passed `` a measure establishing April 14 as John Hanson Day. '' In 2009 the John Hanson Memorial Association was incorporated in Frederick, Maryland, to create the John Hanson National Memorial and to educate Americans about Hanson as well as to educate people about the many myths written about him. The Memorial includes a statue of President John Hanson and an interpretive setting in Frederick, Maryland, where Hanson lived between 1769 and his death in 1783. The Memorial is in the Frederick County Courthouse 's courtyard at the corner of Court and West Patrick Streets. Leaders of the Memorial include President Peter Hanson Michael, Vice President Robert Hanson, and Director John C. Hanson. John Hanson Briscoe was also a Director until his death in 2014. References ^ Jump up to : Stiverson 2000. Jump up ^ Newman 1970. ^ Jump up to : Mereness 1932. Jump up ^ Hanson 1876, p. 125. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 113. ^ Jump up to : Papenfuse 1979. ^ Jump up to : Winquist & Rousselow - Winquist 2006, pp. 24 -- 25. Jump up ^ Hanson 1876, p. 127. Jump up ^ Russel 1988. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 114. Jump up ^ Fanelli & Diethorn 2001, p. 158. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 121. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 122. ^ Jump up to : Levering 1976, p. 124. ^ Jump up to : Levering 1976, p. 127. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, pp. 126 -- 27. Jump up ^ Wilson 1994, pp. 76 -- 80. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 130. ^ Jump up to : Burnett 1941, p. 524. Jump up ^ Sanders 1930, p. 24. ^ Jump up to : Morris 1987, p. 677. ^ Jump up to : Burnett 1941, p. 503. Jump up ^ Sanders 1930, p. 21 n73. Jump up ^ Sanders 1930, p. 21. Jump up ^ Sanders 1930, p. 20. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, pp. 128 -- 29. Jump up ^ Chaney 2000. ^ Jump up to : Emory 1975. ^ Jump up to : Du Lac 2011. Jump up ^ Statuary Hall 2013. Jump up ^ State House 2007. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 117. ^ Jump up to : Bykowicz 2011. Jump up ^ `` Obituary for Seymour Wemyss Smith ''. Time. January 18, 1932. Jump up ^ Smith, John Hanson, Our First President, 57. Jump up ^ Levering 1976, p. 127 n53. Jump up ^ Peterson 2009. Jump up ^ Lidman 1972. Jump up ^ Brant 1972. Jump up ^ Arago 2013. Jump up ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-hanson-briscoe-former-speaker-of-the-maryland-house-and-circuit-court-judge-dies/2014/01/06/1c119214-76f3-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html Bibliography Books, journals, and encyclopedias Burnett, Edward Cody ( 1941 ). The Continental Congress. New York : Norton. Chaney, Kevin R. ( 2000 ). `` Hanson, Alexander Contee ''. American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. ( subscription required ) Fanelli, Doris Devine ; Diethorn, Karie ( 2001 ). History of the Portrait Collection, Independence National Historical Park. Philadelphia : American Philosophical Society. Hanson, George A. ( 1876 ). Old Kent : The Eastern Shore of Maryland. Baltimore : Forges. Lee, Jean B. ( 1994 ). The Price of Nationhood : The American Revolution in Charles County. New York : W.W. Norton. Levering, Ralph B. ( 1976 ). `` John Hanson, Public Servant ''. Maryland Historical Magazine. 71 ( Summer ) : 113 -- 33. Mereness, Newton D. ( 1932 ). `` Hanson, John '' ( PDF ). Dictionary of American Biography. VIII. New York : Scribner. pp. 231 -- 32. Morris, Richard B. ( 1987 ). `` The Origins of the Presidency ''. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 17 ( 4 ( Fall ) ) : 673 -- 87. Newman, Harry Wright ( 1970 ) ( First published 1940 ). Charles County Gentry : A Genealogical History of Six Emigrants... Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing. Papenfuse, Edward C. ; Day, Alan F. ; Jordan, David W. ; Stiverson, Gregory A. ( 1979 ). `` Hanson, John, Jr. '' ( PDF ). A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635 -- 1789. 1. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 405 -- 06. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 1995 - 4. Retrieved January 14, 2013. Russel, George Ely ( October 1988 ). `` John Hanson of Maryland : A Swedish Heritage Disproved ''. The American Genealogist. 63 ( 4 ), cited in Elisabeth Thorsell ( December 30, 2002 ). `` Was the First President of the United States a Swede ? ''. The Federation of Swedish Genealogical Societies. Retrieved October 10, 2007. Sanders, Jennings B. ( 1930 ). The Presidency of the Continental Congress, 1774 -- 89. Chicago. Stiverson, Gregory A. ( 2000 ). `` Hanson, John, Jr. ''. American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. ( subscription required ) Wilson, Rick K. ( 1994 ). Congressional Dynamics : Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774 -- 1789. Stanford University Press. Winquist, Alan H. ; Rousselow - Winquist, Jessica ( 2006 ). Touring Swedish America. Minnesota Historical Society. Newspapers and online sources Brant, Irving ( December 9, 1972 ). `` President Whatsizname ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2013. ( subscription required ) Bykowicz, Julie ( February 22, 2011 ). `` A historical battle over Maryland statues ''. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 15, 2013. Du Lac, J. Freedom ( March 16, 2011 ). `` Harriet Tubman vs. John Hanson : Statuary Hall smackdown ''. Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2013. Emory, Thomas J., Jr. ( December 31, 1975 ). `` Hanson Claim Disputed ; He Is Given War Credit ''. The Evening Sun ( Baltimore ). p. B1 ; interview with Professor Ralph Levering Lidman, David ( July 30, 1972 ). `` John Hanson, Patriot and President ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2013. ( subscription required ) Peterson, Audrey ( March 6, 2009 ). `` Black History Urban Legends ''. American Legacy. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. `` Arago : John Hanson Issue ''. National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved January 16, 2013. `` John Hanson ''. The National Statuary Hall Collection. Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved January 15, 2013. `` The New Senate Chamber ''. The Maryland State House. Maryland State Archives. 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2013. Further reading Kremer, J. Bruce. John Hanson of Mulberry Grove. New York : A. & C. Boni, 1938. Nelson, Jacob A. John Hanson and the inseparable union : an authentic biography of a revolutionary leader, patriot and statesman. Boston : Meador Publishing Company, 1939. Smith, Seymour Wemyss. John Hanson, our first president. New York : Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1932. Thomas, Douglas H. John Hanson, President of the United States in Congress Assembled, 1781 -- 1782. 1898. According to the American National Biography, the biographies of Hanson are not `` adequate '', though this is one, written by Hanson 's grandson, is `` perhaps the most satisfactory '' of the lot. External links Biography portal Government of the United States portal Maryland portal Politics portal United States Congress. `` John Hanson ( id : H000177 ) ''. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. John Hanson at the Maryland State Archives John Hanson at Snopes.com John Hanson at Find a Grave Political offices Preceded by Thomas McKean President of the Continental Congress November 5, 1781 -- November 3, 1782 Succeeded by Elias Boudinot Signers of the Articles of Confederation A. Adams S. Adams T. Adams Banister Bartlett Carroll Clingan Collins Dana Dickinson Drayton Duane Duer Ellery Gerry Hancock Hanson Harnett Harvie Heyward Holten Hosmer Huntington Hutson Langworthy Laurens F. Lee R. Lee Lewis Lovell Marchant Mathews McKean G. Morris R. Morris Penn Reed Roberdeau Scudder Sherman Smith Telfair Van Dyke Walton Wentworth Williams Witherspoon Wolcott Presidents of the Continental Congress First Continental Congress Peyton Randolph Henry Middleton Second Continental Congress Peyton Randolph John Hancock Henry Laurens John Jay Samuel Huntington Confederation Congress Samuel Huntington Thomas McKean John Hanson Elias Boudinot Thomas Mifflin Richard Henry Lee John Hancock * ( David Ramsay Nathaniel Gorham ) Nathaniel Gorham Arthur St. Clair Cyrus Griffin * Hancock did not attend during his 2nd term ; Ramsay and Gorham served as chairmen in his absence VIAF : 21260182 LCCN : n88654480 US Congress : H000177 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Hanson&oldid=801256316 '' Categories : 1721 births 1783 deaths American people of English descent American slave owners Colonial politicians from Maryland Continental Congressmen from Maryland 18th - century American politicians Members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Charles County, Maryland People of Maryland in the American Revolution Signers of the Articles of Confederation People from Port Tobacco Village, Maryland People of colonial Maryland 18th - century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Maryland American merchants American planters Maryland sheriffs Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from June 2013 Pages containing links to subscription - only content Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français 日本 語 Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 16 : 45. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the first official president of the united states
Answer: George Washington