Congress Man Speech

    John Hanson was born on April 3, 1715. He was the third generation in his family. John was named after his grandfather whose name was also John. Coming from England, he was born in Charles Country, Maryland near the Port Tobacco. Samuel and Elizabeth Story Hanson were the parents of John who owned a farm. While growing up, he didn’t have a good education in Maryland, but he read great in English and Latin. In 1744, he got married to a woman named Jane Contee who was born in 1728 in Annapolis. When married, the couple lived in Dover, New Hampshire. They planned to stay together until they died. In the year 1775, he was chosen in Maryland as the Provincial Legislature. Hanson was chosen with everyone’s agreement by Congress including George Washington in November 5, 1781 to be the first full term president because they needed a person to run the country. After the Revolutionary War, he took office. He was considered to be the first president of the United States. Presidents that were before him under the Articles were Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean. Since the articles only gave a President a one year term, they elected Elias Boudinot on November 4, 1782 to replace John. So, he wasn’t the president and gained that chance back later on. When he did become president, the role of it wasn’t stated clearly. So, he was the man to make rules for other presidents later on. After the Revolutionary War, the troops wanted to get paid right away! There wasn’t any money to pay them though! The soldiers then threatened to remove the new government and place George Washington as the supreme ruler. The Congress members were afraid and ran, which led Hanson to rule the government. John in some way had achieved to calm the soldiers down. If it wasn’t for him, the government would’ve just given up and make George Washington their ruler! He demanded all the soldiers of another country to get out of America and to take all of the other country’s flags with them! Articles of Confederation were proved as a mistake in document and he wasn’t actually the first U.S. president. In 1787, before the Constitution was adopted, the states performed in the command of the Continental Congress. There wasn’t even an executive branch after adopting the Articles of Confederation. So, President of the Continental Congress had the most power. John was the first person to be officially charged of the Congress, which he used the title “President of the United States in Congress Assembled,” when dealing with treaties, diplomats, or the foreign government. Unlike McKean and Boudinot, Hanson always had a habit of signing many of his letters and other kinds of documents with his name a long with the title as President of the United States in Congress Assembled. But, the government section that was responsible for decisions that were made wasn’t that, it was the President of the United States. The Congress didn’t have much power so it caused weakness in influence and the Constitution in 1787. As President of Congress, he had many accomplishments. They are delivering the official Thanks of Congress to George Washington for the victory at Yorktown, thanked General Lafayette and France for the general’s helpful action, kept on reminding the states to keep their promises to sending delegates to the Congress, passed the legislation for the first central bank, called the Bank of North America, made the Great Seal of the United States, started the first Treasure Department, made the first Secretary War, established the first Foreign Affairs Department, placed a Secretary of the United States to help in writing messages and keep records, gave General Washington the right to much power to try to discuss the agreement of prisoners exchanges with Britain, created the United States Mint, established the agency called State Department that held jobs for people who had a job before someone else, officially made the first national holiday Thanksgiving, made the ranking of the Chairman of Congress, making an agreement to a peace treaty with Britain, solved a disagreement between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and lastly he called for the first national census. Sadly, John Hanson died at the home of his nephew on November 22, 1783 at Oxen Hills, Prince Georges County, Maryland.