john hanson
about him
Born april 14,1721
Near port tabacco,province of maryland
Died november 15,1783 (age 62)
Died in prince george's county,maryland
John Hanson, American Patriot and Former President of the Continental Congress
What his role is
Hanson played an important role in the development of United States Constitutional History, one often not stated, but true nonetheless. Often, Hanson is regarded as the "forgotten first President." In Seymour Weyss Smith's biography of him, John Hanson, Our First President, he says that the American Revolution had two primary leaders: George Washington in the military sphere, and John Hanson in politics. Although one position was ceremonial, and the other was more official, there are statues of both men in the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.
slaves
In 1781, during Hanson's presidency, Ned Barnes, one of Hanson's slaves, ran away. Hanson published an advertisement in the Maryland Gazette, offering a $30 reward for Barnes' recapture. Barnes was recaptured, but he stole a horse and ran off again to be with his wife, Hanson gave up on getting Barnes back and instead sold him to the plantation to which he had escaped.
He owned 11 slaves at his death
Myth about john hanson
How he felt about work
What he did
While there, he served from November 5, 1781 until November 3, 1782, he was able to remove all foreign troops from American lands, as well as their flags. He also introduced the Treasury Department, the first Secretary of War, and the first Foreign Affairs Department. He led the flight to guarantee the statehood of the Western Territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains that had been controlled by some of the original thirteen colonies.
What's probably most interesting is that Hanson is also responsible for establishing Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November.