To the extended family and friends of Peter and Vicki Michael
Today in this special posting, Pete is sharing interesting news of national importance that will come as a surprise to you.
Nearly forgotten is the fact that the United States has had two governments. We are now governed under the Constitution by the second government famously begun with the inauguration of George Washington in 1789.
But before this from 1781 to 1788, the United States operated under its first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and its presidents who served one-year terms. The first of these was John Hanson (1715-1783) who served the 1781-82 term.
Thus, the United States has had two first presidents, John Hanson of the original government, George Washington of the second. And this just how Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, presidents into the 20th century, the Library of Congress recently, and all Hanson's biographers have recognized it.
Because of the restrictions imposed on it by the Articles of Confederation, the first government was weak, which is why it convened the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to launch today's improved form of government. In doing so, the first government, to its credit, deliberately put itself out of existence to create a stronger government for the country. Now, the first government and its presidents have been all but forgotten.
John Hanson is probably the only president ever to make history after his passing. Until this year, it was possible to visit every grave but one of the past presidents of either government. Hanson suffered the fate of being buried three times causing his nation to lose track of him. The first president, who twice nearly single-handedly held the colonies, then the states, together as they struggled to form a nation, became the only lost president. How the location of Hanson's grave became unknown and was later found is because he was reinterred twice. His first reburial in 1878 was private and not publicized, causing his disappearance. His second in 2017 was how he was found early this year.
In 2012, Pete's Remembering John Hanson: A Biography of the First President of the Original United States Government was published. The book ended with Hanson's disappearance and speculations on what might have happened to him. As you may know, the book went on to win two national book prizes in 2013 and today is recognized as the definitive John Hanson biography. When the John Hanson National Memorial was dedicated in Frederick, Maryland, Hanson's hometown, in 2012, its plaque told of the president's disappearance.
There matters rested until 2023 when Pete received an email from John Hanson researcher Mark Kennedy inquiring if Hanson had ever been found. This led to an exchange of research materials between Pete and Kennedy that, when combined, permitted the two to at long last identify John Hanson's resting place. He was found in the ancient graveyard (1694) of the St. John's Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Maryland. As of January 10, 2024, the nation no longer had a missing president.
Realizing that the major news of finding a lost president is the federal government's to announce, the John Hanson Reintroduction Project was assembled to move the introduction forward. Two senior elected officials—one from the Senate, one from the House of Representatives—have been approached to take the lead in bringing about the official announcement. A steering committee of former Maryland cabinet secretaries and state senators, a few Hanson descendants, and a John Hanson researcher is in place. The timetable foresees a 2025 federal announcement.
Some wonder if the first government was actually a government and the early presidents actually presidents.
In 1776, the Second Continental Congress, the consultative body among the 13 independent states, specifically set out to create the first national government, then in 1781 dissolved itself to launch the government. The first government, called the Confederation Congress, had a head of state, president's cabinet, federal departments, fixed annual sessions, authority to legislate and adjudicate for the nation, nationalized army and navy, and exclusive authority to make foreign treaties and declare war.
The American public recognized the Confederation Congress as its government as did foreign nations officially with exchanges of ambassadors. A cursory reading of the Articles of Confederation leaves no doubt that it was a national charter and that what it created was a government.
A nation requires a government and a head of state to qualify as a nation. Though the early presidents had fewer powers than did presidents of the second government under the Constitution, they fulfilled all of the qualifications of presidency. The early presidents were recognized at home and abroad as America's heads of state.
The Confederation Congress legislated the title of the new American head of state as "President of the United States of America" and that "The President takes precedent of all and every person in the United States."
After the 2024 election and the John Hanson Reintroduction Project can get further underway, it will engage the press but in the meantime let us encourage you let your friends and family know about the first government and the remarkable story of the first president being lost, then found. Thank you for helping to reawaken the nation to this important overlooked time in American history.
For more on John Hanson, the reintroduction project, and how Hanson was found this year, visit http://johnhansonmemorial.org.
For hardcover, paperback and e-book versions of the updated biography on Amazon, go to https://tinyurl.com/2024RJH .
I had thought the grave site had been lost forever when PG County's National Harbor was built. How can we best support the Senator and Congressional Representative efforts to have the site positively identified and recognized?