President of the Continental Congress
Encyclopedia
The President of the Continental Congress (Inclusive of the First
, Second
and Confederation Congresses.) was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress
, the convention of delegates that emerged as the first national government of the United States during the American Revolution
. The president was a member of Congress elected by the other delegates to serve as an impartial moderator during meetings of Congress.
George Washington referred to the office as "the most important seat in the United States".
The first President of Congress was Peyton Randolph
, who was elected on September 5, 1774. The last president, Cyrus Griffin
, resigned in November 1788. Because of the limited role of the office, the Presidents of Congress are among the lesser known leaders of the American Revolution
. The best-known President of Congress is John Hancock
, remembered for his large, bold signature on the Declaration of Independence
, which was adopted and signed during his presidency.
"President of the Congress" or "President of Congress". After the Articles of Confederation
were adopted on March 1, 1781, the Continental Congress, previously officially known as simply "The Congress", became officially known as "The United States in Congress Assembled." Thereafter, the president was referred to as the "President of the United States in Congress Assembled", although "President of (the) Congress" was used in some official documents.
The citizenry likewise viewed the office with considerable honor:
in the lower houses of the colonial assemblies. Unlike some colonial speakers, the President of Congress could not, for example, set the legislative agenda or make committee appointments. The president could not meet privately with foreign leaders; such meetings were held with committees or the entire Congress.
Historian Richard B. Morris noted:
The presidency was less powerful than it was ceremonial. The primary role of the office was to preside over meetings of Congress, which entailed serving as an impartial moderator during debates. When Congress would resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole
to discuss important matters, the president would relinquish his chair to the chairman of the Committee of the Whole. The president was also responsible for dealing with a large amount of official correspondence, but he could not answer any letter without being instructed to do so by Congress. Presidents also signed, but did not write, Congress's official documents. These limitations could be frustrating, because a delegate essentially declined in influence when he was elected president. Henry Laurens
, for example, resigned his presidency so that he could play a more active role in Congress.
were ratified on March 1, 1781, Presidents of Congress served terms of no specific duration; their tenure ended when they resigned or, lacking an official resignation, when Congress selected a successor. When John Hancock
was elected to preside over the Second Continental Congress
in May 1775, his position was somewhat ambiguous, because it was not clear if President Peyton Randolph
had permanently resigned or was on a leave of absence
. The situation became uncomfortable when Randolph returned to Congress in September 1775. Some delegates thought Hancock should have stepped down, but he did not; the matter was resolved only by Randolph's sudden death in October. Ambiguity also clouded the end of Hancock's term: he left in October 1777 for what he believed was an extended leave of absence, only to find upon his return that Congress had elected Henry Laurens
to replace him.
The only reference to the President of Congress in the Articles of Confederation is a brief mention of the term of office:
Previously a president could serve indefinitely—Hancock presided for more than two years—but now presidents would serve a one-year term. When the Articles went into effect, however, Congress did not hold an election for a new president. Instead, Samuel Huntington
continued to serve as President of Congress until he asked to be relieved due to ill health in July 1781. Samuel Johnston
was selected as Huntington's replacement, but he declined the office, and so Thomas McKean
was elected as the next presiding officer. President McKean resigned on October 23, 1781, after hearing news of the British surrender at Yorktown
, but Congress asked him to remain in office until November, when a new session of Congress was scheduled to begin. (The Articles of Confederation called for Congress to meet "on the first Monday in November, in every year....") On November 5, 1781, John Hanson
of Maryland became the first President of Congress to be elected to an annual term as specified under the Articles of Confederation.
. Increasingly, delegates elected to the Congress declined to serve, the leading men in each state preferred to serve in state government, and the Congress had difficulty establishing a quorum
. President Hanson wanted to resign, but his departure would have left Congress without a quorum to select a successor, and so he stayed on. President Thomas Mifflin
found it difficult to convince the states to send enough delegates to Congress to ratify the 1783 Treaty of Paris
. For six weeks in 1784, President Richard Henry Lee
did not come to Congress, but instead instructed secretary Charles Thomson
to forward any papers that needed his signature. John Hancock was elected to a second term in 1785, even though he was not then in Congress; he never took his seat, citing poor health, though he may have been uninterested in the position. When Nathaniel Gorham
resigned in November 1786, it was months before enough members were present in Congress to elect a new president. The ratification of the new United States Constitution
in June 1788 reduced the Confederation Congress to the status of a caretaker government
. Cyrus Griffin
, the final President of Congress, resigned in November 1788 after only two delegates showed up for the new session of Congress.
and was similar in terms of its name, social, and diplomatic precedence, but different in terms of its executive powers. Historian Edmund Burnett wrote:
Because John Hanson was the first president elected under the terms of the Articles of Confederation, his grandson promoted him as the "first President of the United States" and waged a successful campaign to have Hanson's statue placed in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, even though Hanson was not really one of Maryland's foremost leaders of the Revolutionary era.
Table data compiled from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989. There are some date discrepancies based on differing interpretations of when a president's term effectively ended.
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
, Second
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
and Confederation Congresses.) was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, the convention of delegates that emerged as the first national government of the United States during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. The president was a member of Congress elected by the other delegates to serve as an impartial moderator during meetings of Congress.
George Washington referred to the office as "the most important seat in the United States".
The first President of Congress was Peyton Randolph
Peyton Randolph
Peyton Randolph was a planter and public official from the Colony of Virginia. He served as speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, chairman of the Virginia Conventions, and the first President of the Continental Congress.-Early life:Randolph was born in Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia...
, who was elected on September 5, 1774. The last president, Cyrus Griffin
Cyrus Griffin
Cyrus Griffin was a lawyer and judge who served as the last President of the Continental Congress, holding office from January 22, 1788, to November 2, 1788. He resigned after the ratification of the United States Constitution rendered the old Congress obsolete, and was later a United States...
, resigned in November 1788. Because of the limited role of the office, the Presidents of Congress are among the lesser known leaders of the American Revolution
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
. The best-known President of Congress is John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
, remembered for his large, bold signature on the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, which was adopted and signed during his presidency.
Title
The presiding officer of the Continental Congress was usually styledStyle (manner of address)
A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal...
"President of the Congress" or "President of Congress". After the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
were adopted on March 1, 1781, the Continental Congress, previously officially known as simply "The Congress", became officially known as "The United States in Congress Assembled." Thereafter, the president was referred to as the "President of the United States in Congress Assembled", although "President of (the) Congress" was used in some official documents.
Honor
Based on the type of men who held the position of President of Congress, the title carried great weight:
“Among the fourteen men who held the chair of Congress, were some of the first characters in America, and of the seven who occupied it during the period, 1774-81, five must be regarded as belonging to a small group of the foremost leaders of the day. These were Peyton Randolph, John Hancock, Henry Laurens, John Jay, and Thomas Mckean. Henry Middleton and Samuel Huntington, the other two, were less prominent, but were possessed of substantial reputations.”
The citizenry likewise viewed the office with considerable honor:
“’Your name [President Randolph], till late, known comparatively to but few out of your own Provence, now holds rank with other Chieftans in the American cause, and is of course, in the mouth of every…man, woman, and child, throughout the extended Continent of English America.’”
Role
The President of Congress was, by design, a position with little authority. The Continental Congress, fearful of concentrating political power in an individual, gave their presiding officer even less responsibility than the speakersSpeaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
in the lower houses of the colonial assemblies. Unlike some colonial speakers, the President of Congress could not, for example, set the legislative agenda or make committee appointments. The president could not meet privately with foreign leaders; such meetings were held with committees or the entire Congress.
Historian Richard B. Morris noted:
"The president was not only a presiding officer. As a delegate, he had power to vote and to serve on committees...He was in effect the administrative head of state...As Congress's social functionary, the president was its undisputed first member...the ceremonial head of state, and, indeed, foreshadowed the high tone set by President Washington under the federal Constitution."
"Lacking specific authorization or clear guidelines, the presidents of Congress could with some discretion influence events, formulate the agenda of Congress, and prod Congress to move in directions they considered proper. Much depended on the incumbents themselves and their readiness to exploit the peculiar opportunities their office provided."
The presidency was less powerful than it was ceremonial. The primary role of the office was to preside over meetings of Congress, which entailed serving as an impartial moderator during debates. When Congress would resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole
Committee of the Whole
A Committee of the Whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee...
to discuss important matters, the president would relinquish his chair to the chairman of the Committee of the Whole. The president was also responsible for dealing with a large amount of official correspondence, but he could not answer any letter without being instructed to do so by Congress. Presidents also signed, but did not write, Congress's official documents. These limitations could be frustrating, because a delegate essentially declined in influence when he was elected president. Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
, for example, resigned his presidency so that he could play a more active role in Congress.
Term of office
Before the Articles of ConfederationArticles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
were ratified on March 1, 1781, Presidents of Congress served terms of no specific duration; their tenure ended when they resigned or, lacking an official resignation, when Congress selected a successor. When John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
was elected to preside over the Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
in May 1775, his position was somewhat ambiguous, because it was not clear if President Peyton Randolph
Peyton Randolph
Peyton Randolph was a planter and public official from the Colony of Virginia. He served as speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, chairman of the Virginia Conventions, and the first President of the Continental Congress.-Early life:Randolph was born in Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia...
had permanently resigned or was on a leave of absence
Leave of absence
Leave of absence is a term used to describe a period of time that one is to be away from his/her primary job, while maintaining the status of employee...
. The situation became uncomfortable when Randolph returned to Congress in September 1775. Some delegates thought Hancock should have stepped down, but he did not; the matter was resolved only by Randolph's sudden death in October. Ambiguity also clouded the end of Hancock's term: he left in October 1777 for what he believed was an extended leave of absence, only to find upon his return that Congress had elected Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
to replace him.
The only reference to the President of Congress in the Articles of Confederation is a brief mention of the term of office:
Previously a president could serve indefinitely—Hancock presided for more than two years—but now presidents would serve a one-year term. When the Articles went into effect, however, Congress did not hold an election for a new president. Instead, Samuel Huntington
Samuel Huntington (statesman)
Samuel Huntington was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation...
continued to serve as President of Congress until he asked to be relieved due to ill health in July 1781. Samuel Johnston
Samuel Johnston
Samuel Johnston was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman from Chowan County, North Carolina. He represented North Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the United States Senate, and was the sixth Governor of North Carolina.-Early Life and Revolutionary Politics:Johnston was born in...
was selected as Huntington's replacement, but he declined the office, and so Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of...
was elected as the next presiding officer. President McKean resigned on October 23, 1781, after hearing news of the British surrender at Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
, but Congress asked him to remain in office until November, when a new session of Congress was scheduled to begin. (The Articles of Confederation called for Congress to meet "on the first Monday in November, in every year....") On November 5, 1781, John Hanson
John Hanson
John Hanson was a merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. After serving in a variety of roles for the Patriot cause in Maryland, in 1779 Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress...
of Maryland became the first President of Congress to be elected to an annual term as specified under the Articles of Confederation.
Decline
Congress, and its presidency, declined in importance with the end of the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Increasingly, delegates elected to the Congress declined to serve, the leading men in each state preferred to serve in state government, and the Congress had difficulty establishing a quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
. President Hanson wanted to resign, but his departure would have left Congress without a quorum to select a successor, and so he stayed on. President Thomas Mifflin
Thomas Mifflin
Thomas Mifflin was an American merchant and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania, President of the Continental...
found it difficult to convince the states to send enough delegates to Congress to ratify the 1783 Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
. For six weeks in 1784, President Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and his famous resolution of June 1776 led to the United States...
did not come to Congress, but instead instructed secretary Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
to forward any papers that needed his signature. John Hancock was elected to a second term in 1785, even though he was not then in Congress; he never took his seat, citing poor health, though he may have been uninterested in the position. When Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation...
resigned in November 1786, it was months before enough members were present in Congress to elect a new president. The ratification of the new United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
in June 1788 reduced the Confederation Congress to the status of a caretaker government
Caretaker government
Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...
. Cyrus Griffin
Cyrus Griffin
Cyrus Griffin was a lawyer and judge who served as the last President of the Continental Congress, holding office from January 22, 1788, to November 2, 1788. He resigned after the ratification of the United States Constitution rendered the old Congress obsolete, and was later a United States...
, the final President of Congress, resigned in November 1788 after only two delegates showed up for the new session of Congress.
Relationship to the US Presidency
The office of President of Congress foreshadowed the current office of President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and was similar in terms of its name, social, and diplomatic precedence, but different in terms of its executive powers. Historian Edmund Burnett wrote:
[T]he President of the United States is scarcely in any sense the successor of the presidents of the old Congress. The presidents of Congress were almost solely presiding officers, possessing scarcely a shred of executive or administrative functions; whereas the President of the United States is almost solely an executiveExecutive (government)Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
officer, with no presiding duties at all. Barring a likeness in social and diplomatic precedence, the two offices are identical only in the possession of the same title.
Because John Hanson was the first president elected under the terms of the Articles of Confederation, his grandson promoted him as the "first President of the United States" and waged a successful campaign to have Hanson's statue placed in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, even though Hanson was not really one of Maryland's foremost leaders of the Revolutionary era.
List of presidents
"Hardly youthful revolutionaries, their average age at the time of election to the presidency was forty-seven."
| # | Name | State/colony | Age | Term start | Term end | Months | Previous Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph was a planter and public official from the Colony of Virginia. He served as speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, chairman of the Virginia Conventions, and the first President of the Continental Congress.-Early life:Randolph was born in Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia... |
Virginia | 53 | September 5, 1774 | October 22, 1774 | 2 | Speaker, Va. House of Burgesses |
| 2 | Henry Middleton Henry Middleton Henry Middleton was a plantation owner and public official from South Carolina. He was the second President of the Continental Congress from October 22, 1774, until Peyton Randolph was able to resume his duties briefly beginning on May 10, 1775.-Early life:Henry Middleton was born in 1717 near... |
South Carolina | 57 | October 22, 1774 | October 26, 1774 | <1 | Speaker, S.C. Commons House of Assembly |
| 3 | Peyton Randolph | Virginia | 54 | May 10, 1775 | May 24, 1775 | <1 | Speaker, Va. House of Burgesses |
| 4 | John Hancock John Hancock John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts... |
Massachusetts | 38 | May 24, 1775 | October 29, 1777 | 29 | President, Mass. Provincial Congress |
| 5 | Henry Laurens Henry Laurens Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress... |
South Carolina | 53 | November 1, 1777 | December 9, 1778 | 13 | President, S.C. Provincial Congress, Vice President, S.C. |
| 6 | John Jay John Jay John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States .... |
New York | 32 | December 10, 1778 | September 28, 1779 | 10 | Chief Justice, N.Y. Supreme Court |
| 7 | Samuel Huntington Samuel Huntington (statesman) Samuel Huntington was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation... |
Connecticut | 48 | September 28, 1779 | July 10, 1781 | 21 | Associate Judge, Conn. Superior Court |
| 8 | Thomas McKean Thomas McKean Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of... |
Delaware | 47 | July 10, 1781 | November 5, 1781 | 4 | Chief Justice, Pa. Supreme Court |
| 9 | John Hanson John Hanson John Hanson was a merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. After serving in a variety of roles for the Patriot cause in Maryland, in 1779 Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress... |
Maryland | 66 | November 5, 1781 | November 4, 1782 | 12 | Member, Md. Senate |
| 10 | Elias Boudinot Elias Boudinot Elias Boudinot was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey... |
New Jersey | 42 | November 4, 1782 | November 3, 1783 | 12 | Commissary of Prisoners, Continental Army |
| 11 | Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin was an American merchant and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania, President of the Continental... |
Pennsylvania | 39 | November 3, 1783 | June 3, 1784 | 7 | Quartermaster General, Continental Army Member, Board of War |
| 12 | Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and his famous resolution of June 1776 led to the United States... |
Virginia | 52 | November 30, 1784 | November 4, 1785 | 11 | Member, Va. House of Burgesses |
| 13 | John Hancock | Massachusetts | 48 | November 23, 1785 | June 5, 1786 | 6 | Governor, Mass. |
| 14 | Nathaniel Gorham Nathaniel Gorham Nathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation... |
Massachusetts | 48 | June 6, 1786 | November 3, 1786 | 5 | Member, Board of War |
| 15 | Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office... |
Pennsylvania | 52 | February 2, 1787 | November 4, 1787 | 10 | Major General, Continental Army |
| 16 | Cyrus Griffin Cyrus Griffin Cyrus Griffin was a lawyer and judge who served as the last President of the Continental Congress, holding office from January 22, 1788, to November 2, 1788. He resigned after the ratification of the United States Constitution rendered the old Congress obsolete, and was later a United States... |
Virginia | 39 | January 22, 1788 | November 15, 1788 | 10 | Judge, Va. Court of Appeals |
Table data compiled from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989. There are some date discrepancies based on differing interpretations of when a president's term effectively ended.
-
- Table notes
- Start of the First Continental CongressFirst Continental CongressThe First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
- Middleton only served as president for the last few days of the First Continental Congress (Jillson and Wilson, Congressional Dynamics, 51, 77), though his entry in the Dictionary of American BiographyDictionary of American BiographyThe Dictionary of American Biography was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. The first edition was published in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936. These 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies...
says that his term lasted until May 10, 1775, counting the months that Congress was not in sesssion as part of his term. - Start of the Second Continental CongressSecond Continental CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
- Secretary Charles ThomsonCharles ThomsonCharles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
fulfilled presidential duties from October 29, 1777, to November 1, 1777. - Articles of ConfederationArticles of ConfederationThe Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
were ratified during term - First president elected under the Articles of Confederation
- Daniel CarrollDaniel CarrollDaniel Carroll was a politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a prominent member of one of the United States' great colonial Catholic families, whose members included his younger brother Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States and...
acted as chairman from November 3, 1783, to December 13, 1783. - Hancock did not report to Congress for his second term, so David RamsayDavid Ramsay (congressman)David Ramsay was an American physician and historian from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress in 1782–1783 and again in 1785–1786. He was one of the first major historians of the American Revolution.The son of an Irish...
(November 23, 1785 – May 12, 1786) and Nathaniel GorhamNathaniel GorhamNathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation...
(May 15, 1786 – June 5, 1786) acted as chairmen. - After Griffin's resignation, the presidency was vacant.
External links
- "First in Piece", article on snopes.com that discounts the myth that John Hanson was the first President of the United States. Presidents of Congress have been forgotten, the authors say, because "the office wasn't one of much importance."