Do You Really Know Your Presidents?

Here’s something to think about:  there have been several ‘black’ US Presidents elected by the popular vote since John Hanson!   Most people think that Barack Obama is the first undisputed black President of the United States. Well technically, that is wrong when you apply the heritage factor derived from an individuals father or mother.   So who was this John Hanson? Purchase the book here: The strange story of John Hanson, first president of the United States.

John Hanson was a black man. He was a very successful merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. In 1779 Hanson was elected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. He also signed the Articles of Confederation in 1781.  In November 1781, he was the first person to be elected as the presiding officer of the Continental Congress; leading some historians to claim he was the first President of the United States; keep in mind that George Washington was not inaugurated as President until 1789.    It should be noted that Hanson was considered little more than first, among equals in Congress, and he had no executive power. His duties were in fact largely ceremonial, and his proper title was ‘President of the Continental Congress’.

John Hanson, as I stated above, is considered by many historians to be the 1st President of the United States, he served from 1781 – 1782 and he was black. The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation. This document was  proposed on June 11, 1776, but not agreed upon by The Continental Congress until November 15, 1777. Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by the Continental Congress (which included George Washington). In fact, all the other potential candidates refused to run against him, as he was a major player in the revolution and an extremely influential member of Congress.

Even though he was unamiously elected to office, one huge variable that was obviously never thought through, was that 'America was not going to accept a Black President during the middle of the enslavement period' ... Enter George Washington.

Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of the United States and he had recent black heritage. His mother was a half-breed Indian and his father,who was a prominent citizen of the Virginia Colony, was 50% white and 50% black.

Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States and he was at the very least part black. His mother was a white woman from Ireland who had Andrew Jackson with a black man. His father’s other children (Andrew Jackson’s stepbrother) was sold into slavery.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and he can be considered a member of the black race. His mother was said to be a decedent from an Ethiopian Tribe and his genetic father was said to be an African American. It is told that his father was Thomas Lincoln but he was sterile as a result of childhood mumps and was later castrated, making it impossible for him to have been his father. Lincoln’s nickname wasn’t just “honest Abe” it was also “Abraham Africa-nus the First” among several others.

Warren Harding was the 28th President of the United States and he was believed to be of black heritage. Harding never denied his ancestry. When Republican leaders called on Harding to deny his “Negro” history, he said, “How should I know whether or not one of my ancestors might have jumped the fence?”

Calvin Coolidge was the 29th President of the United States and he was thought to be black.  He proudly admitted that his mother was dark but claimed it was because of a mixed Indian ancestry.   The allegation of mixed ancestry derives from the fact that his mother’s maiden name was “Moor.”  In Europe the name “Moor” was given to all black people much like in America the name “Negro” is often used to describe black folks.

Dwight E. Eisenhower (believed by many to be a ‘white’ American poster boy), was the 33rd President of the United States and is  known to have had black ‘heritage’.   His mother, Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower, was an anti-war advocate, and was in fact half black.

So far at least, America has survived and thrived through our first seven or eight ‘black Presidents’ (depending on whether Hanson is counted or not counted as first) and we will survive Barack Obama to be sure.  After all, his mother was white and his father was black so I guess he fits in nicely with most of our past ‘African American’ Presidents.  Perhaps the biggest difference beyond skin color that exists between President Obama and past ‘black’ Presidents is that he (Obama) has made no attempt to conceal his heritage.

The first seven (7) Presidents (beginning with Washington) and the ninth (9) President were technically British citizens since they were born while America was still  British Colonies.  All of the other Presidents were born as U S citizens.

Although Thomas Jefferson (often called 'red fox'), Andrew Jackson and Calvin Coolidge were of black decent, each were believed to have had red hair.  Rutherford B Hayes who was inaugurated in 1877 is thought to have had red hair and President John F Kennedy’s hair was a reddish brown.

Only one former President (Calvin Coolidge) was born on the 4^th of July but John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe each have the distinction of dying on our nation’s birthday.

Richard Nixon is the only President to have resigned from the #1 job in the country; most historians believe he did so because he feared the likelihood of a unfavorable impeachment result.

Andrew Johnson (Lincoln’s successor) and Bill Clinton are the only two Presidents to have survived the Congressional Impeachment process; Johnson, survived by only one vote by the way, Clinton faired a lot better in the vote  although he was charged on two counts: perjury and obstruction of justice.

When compared to other CEO type positions I often wonder why a presidential candidate spends so much money to get elected in the first place.  The answer probably lies in power and influence a President gains instead of Dollars received. After all the salary was only 25,000 Dollars a year up until Ulysses Grant, who’s salary was doubled after he took office.  The first President to earn 100,000 Dollars per year was Harry Truman; Nixon was first to earn 200,000 and George W. Bush was the first to be paid $400,000.00 a year for his leadership and direction. Another answer to the "why run anyway" question could be that it is seldom the candidates' money that is spent to gain the necessary votes to be elected in the first place, but in all likelihood it’s probably a combination of all three (salary, power & donations to the campaign).

Happy 4^th of July!

Click here to buy the biography of John Hanson at Amazon Books:

The strange story of John Hanson, first president of the United States 

Sources: …

http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/johnhanson.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_color_is_Andrew_Jackson's_hair

“Schott’s Original Miscellany”; First U S Edition 2003, by Ben Schott

http://fookembug.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/the-seven-black-presidents-before-barack-obama/  … http://www.africaresource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=666:the-black-presidents-of-united-states-of-america&catid=141:politics&Itemid=350 …

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_color_was_Calvin_Coolidge's_hair ...

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Miscellaneous-Information.aspx ...