Someone on the forum brought this subject up earlier in the year but I would like to expand on it.
It was customary in olden times to congratulate a general on his battle victory by someone in power sending him a written letter by special messenger. Today, it would probably be a telephone or radio call to the battlefield.
When General George Washington whipped the British at Yorktown in 1781, he received a written congratulatory letter from the President of the United States, John Hanson. I have seen a photograph of this letter but cannot recall the book it was in. The letter is in the Library of Congress.
Washington would later become the eighth president but the first under the present constitution. Hansen, and six others, was president under the confederate constitution known as the Articles of Confederation. Their formal title was President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
These seven presidents were members of Congress there being no Executive Branch. At the time the first constitution was written, no one wanted a strong central authority because of King George's abuse. These presidents of the United States were elected from within Congress by other Congressmen and served for one year. They dealt with foreign diplomats, signed treaties, etc. This is sort of like a city council voting a mayor to represent the city as need be for ceremonial purposes, etc.
It did not take long to find out the country was better off with a strong executive, King George or not, and the present federal constitution was drafted.
Presidents succeeding John Hanson were Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorman, Arthur St. Clair and Cyrus Griffin, who took office in 1788 the year before George Washington was elected.
A strong Executive is good. An Executive that believes itself to be all-powerful is not.
That said, thanks for the history!
;)
Quite interesting, I don't remember ever hearing that before. Thanks