Friday, February 20, 2009

George Washington was the Eighth President of the United States

JOHN HANSON

I’m a little late with my Presidents Day trivia, but here goes nothin’.

George Washington was elected president under the newly ratified Constitution in 1789. But America declared its independence in 1776. Ever wonder who was running the show between ’76 and ’89? I did and here’s what I learned. There was no president during the Revolutionary War. The first president under the Articles of Confederation was John Hanson, elected in 1781. He served a one year term. There were six presidents elected after Hanson and before Washington. They were Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorman, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin. George Washington was actually the eighth president of The United States.

Finally, do you remember a pop group called the Hansons, the Um Bop Hansons? As it turns out, the three brothers are direct descends of the first president. OK, no they’re not. But wouldn’t it be a nice wrap up for this little posting if they were?