Barack Obama - The SECOND Black President??

Today’s post is written by T. Freeman author of The Organization.  His second book, Sons of Sin, has just been released.

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You won’t find this in your history books or in Wikipedia but the first black president of the United States was John Hanson and he was elected November 5, 1781 eight years before George Washington took office. I know what you’re thinking…I was thinking it too. George Washington wasn’t black and everybody knows he was the first President of the United States, right?

Well yes and no.

George Washington was America’s first official president but under America’s first government, The Articles of Confederation, there were 8 heads of Congress, which was the highest government position available. In a sense this made the president of Congress as powerful as the modern day Commander in Chief. The Articles of Confederation was drafted in 1777 with final approval coming on March 1, 1781 making John Hanson, a black man, America’s first official head of Government.

How did a Black Man become President in a racist America?

John Hanson was a Moor. Moor’s where some of the only respected Black people on earth at the time. In fact it was illegal to take a Moor as a slave.

John Hanson was unanimously elected head of Congress and even received a vote from George Washington. He took office just as the Revolutionary War ended. Almost immediately, the troops demanded to be paid. As would be expected after any long war, there were no funds to meet the salaries. As a result, the soldiers threatened to overthrow the new government and put Washington on the throne as a monarch.

All the members of Congress ran for their lives, leaving Hanson as the only guy left running the government. He somehow managed to calm the troops down and hold the country together. If he had failed, the government would have fallen almost immediately and everyone would have been bowing to King Washington. In fact, Hanson sent 800 pounds of sterling silver by his brother Samuel Hanson to George Washington to provide the troops with shoes.

Hanson, as President, ordered all foreign troops off American soil, as well as the removal of all foreign flags. This was quite the feat, considering the fact that so many European countries had a stake in the United States since the days following Columbus.

Hanson established the Great Seal of the United States, which all Presidents have since been required to use on all official documents. President Hanson also established the first Treasury Department, the first Secretary of War, and the first Foreign Affairs Department. Lastly, he declared that the fourth Thursday of every November was to be Thanksgiving Day, which is still true today. The Articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one year term during any three year period, so Hanson actually accomplished quite a bit in such little time. So what happened?

Why don’t we ever hear about the first seven Presidents of the United States?
It’s quite simple - The Articles of Confederation didn’t work well. The individual states had too much power and nothing could be agreed upon. A new doctrine needed to be written - something we know as the Constitution. And that leads us to the end of our story. George Washington was definitely not the first President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today. And the first seven Presidents are forgotten in history.

• John Hanson (November 5, 1781 – November 3, 1782)
• Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783)
• Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 – October 31, 1784)
• Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 – November 6, 1785)
• John Hancock (November 23, 1785 – June 5, 1786) Due to Hancock’s failing health, he did not report to Congress, and the following two chairmen acted as president in his stead:
• David Ramsay (November 23, 1785 – May 12, 1786)
• Nathaniel Gorham (May 15, 1786 – June 5, 1786)
• Nathaniel Gorham (June 6, 1786 – November 5, 1786)
• Arthur St. Clair (February 2, 1787 – November 4, 1787)
• Cyrus Griffin (January 22, 1788 – March 4, 1789)

It should be noted that some historians say John Hanson was white….this is just one side of the story.  But it’s certainly worth your time and effort to research the story of John Hanson for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

–T. Freeman

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