John Hanson


THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				John Hanson was one of the central figures of the Revolutionary War and early United States nationhood, and served as the first president of the United States In Congress Assembled, the nation's original government. Hanson's friend and neighbor George Washington reported to President Hanson and, of course, later served as the first president of the nation's second form of government under the Constitution. Both men were thus first presidents but with Hansonπs administration preceding Washingtonπs thus making John Hanson the nation's true first president, a historical fact which deserves better illumination today. Until a few generations ago, Maryland's John Hanson still shone brightly in the nation's memory. Now, two new John Hanson organizations, the Maryland legislature, Hanson family descendants and a growing number of organizations and individuals are reawakening the public's memory of this major but nearly forgotten figure among the nation's founders.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

Life and Politics
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				Born in 1715 at his family's ancestral home in Charles County, Maryland, John Hanson occupied elective positions of increasing importance there and in the colonial capital at Annapolis before moving his family in 1773 to Frederick County, Maryland, at the time the western frontier, to benefit from its greener political pastures. Hanson and Frederick County resonated politically and each propelled the other into the forefront of building a nation. John Hanson was the nation's single most pivotal figure in enacting the Articles of Confederation in 1781 which launched the nation and its first government, the United States In Congress Assembled. A grateful Congress, as its initial act on November 5, 1781, elected John Hanson as the nation's first president. President Hanson served out his prescribed one-year term with great praise from his colleagues and countrymen, launching many of the institutions and trappings of United States government still used today. He died in 1783, his burial place unknown today. Click on the topics to the left to learn more of this indispensable but nearly forgotten national hero.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

Timeline of John Hanson's Record
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				Click here to view or download a chronology of John Hanson's personal and political life including the accomplishments of his presidency. The timeline also includes what the United States Congress, various organizations, authors and individuals have done to honor John Hanson since his death in 1783.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

Images of John Hanson
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				Several important images of John Hanson remain from his era including his presidential portrait which hangs in the Independence Hall Portrait Collection in Philadelphia and a statue of him which resides in National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol. Each state is authorized to have statues of two of its native sons or daughters in Statuary Hall. The other honored by Maryland in National Statuary Hall is Daniel Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The John Hanson bust shown below resided at Philadelphia's Old Swedes Church until 2008 when it was moved to Mulberry Grove, John Hanson's first home at Port Tobacco, Maryland.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations



President John Hanson's Presidential Portrait by Charles Willson Peale in Independence Hall					Portrait of John Hanson in Midlife by John Hesselius

President John Hanson's Statue in National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol					Bust of President John Hanson at Mulberry Grove, his ancestral home

The John Hanson presidential medal commemorating his signing of the Articles of Confederation					The courtyard of the Frederick County, Maryland, courthouse next to where John Hanson's Frederick home stood, future site of the new John Hanson National Memorial

Two United States Governments
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				Today's government of the United States under the Constitution is the nation's second form of government. The first was the United States in Congress Assembled which existed from November 5, 1781, until March 4, 1789, when it created the nation's second government under the Constitution, putting itself out of business, and the government under the Constitution came into being. The United States In Congress Assembled was established by a predecessor body, the Second Continental Congress, which was not a government but a consultative body among the thirteen states. The Second Continental Congress authored the Articles of Confederation which in 1781 created the United States In Congress Assembled, the nation's first government. In turn, the United States In Congress Assembled convened the Constitutional Convention in 1786 which authored the Constitution and effected a transition from the nation's first government to the second in 1789. Click here to read more about the two governments.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

The Articles of Confederation
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL N				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				The Articles of Confederation, the nation's "first Constitution", were drafted by the Second Continental Congress, a consultative body of the thirteen states, to create the nation's first government, the United States In Congress Assembled. Click here to read or download the Articles of Confederation in full. Please note that what you will read contains the spellings and English usages of the era in which the Articles were written.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

The John Hanson Memorial Association
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				The John Hanson Memorial Association was incorporated in 2009 for the purposes of creating the John Hanson National Memorial and reawakening the nation's memory of John Hanson. The Memorial will consist of a monument-scale statue of President Hanson and an interpretive setting in Frederick, Maryland, Hanson's adopted home town from 1773 on. The John Hanson Memorial Association is a Maryland nonprofit corporation with Internal Revenue Service tax-exemption enabling individuals and organizations to make tax-deductible donations to the Association for the construction of the John Hanson National Memorial or other purposes. Click here to contact the Association or here to make a donation.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

The John Hanson Institute and Historic Port Tobacco Trail
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				The John Hanson Institute is being formed in Port Tobacco, Maryland, where President Hanson's first home, Mulberry Grove, is located. The institute will occupy a beautiful site on the banks of the Port Tobacco River adjacent to Mulberry Grove, and include a conference center, lodging, dining facilities and formal gardens, all done in colonial architectural style. In partnership with Charles County, founders of the John Hanson Institute are also establishing the Historic Port Tobacco Trail which will run from the Thomas Stone National Historic Site through the village of Port Tobacco, the John Hanson Institute and Mulberry Grove, and end at St. Ignatius Church, a walk of about six miles. The Thomas Stone site features Haberdeventure, home of Thomas Stone, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and relative of the Hanson family. St. Ignatius Church, founded in 1641, is the oldest Catholic parish still operating in the United States.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

Remembering John Hanson
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				An author is completing a biography and annotated record of John Hanson's life, key roles in forming the nation, and accomplishments of his presidency. This book corrects the Hanson record and puts to rest several modern inaccuracies and myths about John Hanson. Click here to be notified when the biography becomes available through books stores and online. The author is available for lectures and presentations on President John Hanson. To inquire about an appearance, click here. Click here to view a slide presentation on President John Hanson.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

How to Contact Us
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				The John Hanson Memorial Association mail@JohnHansonMemorial.org Press Contact Please use the email address above.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations

Making a Donation
THE JOHN HANSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION and THE JOHN HANSON NATIONAL MEMORIAL				John Hanson First President of the United States In Congress Assembled, the Original United States Government
home	contact	press	*donate*

John Hanson				We need your support. Donations to the John Hanson Memorial Association are fully tax-deductible and are used to support the creation of the John Hanson National Memorial and to operate the Association's permanent national John Hanson public education campaign. You may make a credit card donation by mailing your check to the John Hanson Memorial Association, 2455 Ballenger Creek Pike, Adamstown, Maryland, 21710. Thank you.
> Life and Politics
> Timeline of John Hanson's Record
> Statues and Portraits of John Hanson
The John Hanson Era
> Two United States Governments
> The Articles of Confederation
John Hanson Today
> The John Hanson Memorial Association
> The John Hanson Institute and Trail
> Slide Show and Live Presentations