Music Banter - The American Presidents

And here we go...

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS- PART ONE

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But first...

THE TECHNICALLY FIRST EIGHT PRESIDENTS

One of the great myths of American history is that George Washington was the first President. Alas, we have been lied to. He is actually the ninth President.

For, you see, there was something in between the end of the Revolutionary War and the Constitution, something called the Articles of Confederation. This was a document that gave more power to the states and gave more authority to the congress. Indeed, there wasn’t much of an executive, nor judicial branch at all. In a sense, it was an early American version of the United Nations as we know it today.

Nevertheless, they needed a President, who, despite having no authority whatsoever, had to preside over the Congress itself. The people, of course, had no say in this; it was all controlled by the delegates. The President would be chosen by the delegates and would preside for one year, after which, a new President would be chosen. This lasted eight years, and as such, we had eight Presidents.

And with that…

John Hanson (Maryland)

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And the first President of the United States was actually John Hanson. I had to mention him because, besides a disgraced Vice President that we’ll cover much later in this project, it’s the only time my home state will be mentioned. He was charged with more or less wrapping up the Revolutionary War as well as approve the Great Seal of the United States. Other than that, all I know about him was that they named part of US 50 in Annapolis after him.

Elias Boudinot (New Jersey)

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Boudinot is perhaps remembered for signing the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War. He might be remembered more for being the first Anti-American to hold power. Why do I say this? Well, he vehemently opposed slavery and supported the rights of Native Americans. I mean this guy was a Communist before the term even existed. It’s amazing the guy wasn’t hanged for treason.

Thomas Mifflin (Pennsylvania)

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A military man by nature, he fought with George Washington during the Revolutionary War, then tried to have the guy deposed. Fortunately, he didn’t have a problem with slavery however, so he passed the Joseph McCarthy Commie test. As far as his year as President goes, he isn’t remembered for doing very much. Pennsylvania named a town after him.

Richard Henry Lee (Virginia)

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This guy is mainly famous for being a buddy of Patrick Henry. You might remember him as the Give me Liberty or give me death guy. Of course, he’s now dead.

As for our Richard Henry, he would go on to be a strong supporter of the Constitution after they included the Bill of Rights. He’s remembered mainly as a fierce defender of liberty and is probably one of the better eggs of this bunch.

John Hancock (Massachusetts)

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Perhaps the most famous of these eight Presidents. Hancock is notable for his ego sized signature on the Declaration of Independence and the namesake of an insurance company. Of course, he was also one of those Boston rebels and was at one time wanted by the British. He was ill during much of his tenure and his duties were performed by David Ramsay and his successor, Nathaniel Gorham. But again, his exploits during the Revolutionary War are something of legend.

Nathaniel Gorham (Massachusetts)

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Gorham was something of a financial whiz which explains why he went bankrupt during a questionable transaction between New York and Massachusetts a decade later. Anyhow, his term was relatively short (just a few months) and not much else is remembered about him.

Arthur St. Clair (Pennsylvania)

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Another military mind, though probably not as competent as, say, George Washington. He abandoned Fort Ticonderoga and would ultimately be cleared in a court martial. He later became Governor of the Northwest Territory but would be removed because he couldn’t beat a bunch of Indians.

Cyrus Griffin (Virginia)

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And they saved the best for last, well, sort of. For he wasn’t really a politician in the classic sense. No, he was more of the judicial variety and would be instrumental in the court system that America enjoys today. I guess he was more or less a caretaker with the Continental Congress as they were about to adopt a new Constitution that would give the Government more central powers.

And because of this new fangled document known as the United States Constitution (I think you can see a ripped up copy of it in Philadelphia if you’re ever in town), it changed the way we elected our Presidents, who would now yield more power than before (Though the Congress and that pesky Supreme Court would keep him in check a bit) and now his decisions would determine the direction the US would take, sometimes for good, sometimes not as much. Guess it all depends on your political ideology, really.

Anyway, stay tuned as we start off with the slightly overrated first President.

Much of information taken from: https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us...ts-who-served/