The
origin of the U.S. Presidency can be traced back to the convening of the
American Colonial Congress on September 5, 1774 when the delegates elected
Peyton Randolph of Virginia as their President. Originally just called
Congress, the word Continental was added to the name on October 20, 1774 in the
Articles of Association primarily to distinguish this Congress from the many
Congresses being held throughout the Colonies at that time.
“We, his majesty's most loyal subjects, the delegates of the several colonies of
New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York,
New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex
on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, and South-Carolina, deputed to
represent them in a continental Congress, held in the city of
Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774” [i]
The
Articles of Association were an alliance between the Colonies, later States, and
not a Constitution per se. The Continental Congress would convene under this
agreement passing laws, enacting treaties and conducting a war.
Under
these Articles of Association the delegates of the Continental Congress began to
formulate a federal constitution under the presidencies of the well-known John
Hancock and Henry Laurens from 1775 until 1777. The first federal constitution,
known as the Articles of Confederation, was passed by the delegates in York-Town
(now York), Pennsylvania on November 15, 1777. [ii]
The constitution, however, required unanimous ratification by all thirteen
States. Maryland held out until February 28th, 1781. Consequently,
for four years the Continental Congress existed in an indeterminate state that
often required a creative melding of the Articles of Association with the
Articles of Confederation meeting the needs of the ever fluid central government
in its conduction of an ongoing war for independence.
On
March 1, 1781 the Articles of Confederation were ratified. The Continental
Congress ceased to exist and the United States of America in Congress Assembled
became the federal government of a “Perpetual
Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.”
[iii]
The
Articles of Confederation, although erratically enforced from 1777 to 1781, were
the true law of the land only for seven years, 1781-1788, with ten men holding
the office, President of the United States. By 1787, the founding fathers
agreed that the unicameral government formed by the Constitution of 1777 was
grossly inadequate. Former President of the Continental Congress John Jay wrote
the following as the U.S. Foreign Secretary:
“To
vest legislative, judicial, and executive powers in one and the same body of
men, and that, too, in a body daily changing its members, can never be wise. In
my opinion those three great departments of sovereignty should be forever
separated, and so distributed as to serve as checks on each other."
[iv]
President Arthur St. Clair and his 1787 Congress clearly understood the severity
of these inadequacies. On February 21, 1787 they enacted legislation to “… render the federal
Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government and the preservation of
the Union” [v]
Specifically, the United States, in Congress Assembled passed the following
resolution:
“Resolved that in the opinion of Congress it is expedient that on the second
Monday in May next a Convention of delegates who shall have been appointed by
the several States be held at Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of
revising the Articles of Confederation and reporting to Congress and the several
legislatures such alterations and provisions therein as shall when agreed to in
Congress and confirmed by the States render the federal Constitution adequate to
the exigencies of Government and the preservation of the Union.” [vi]
This
historic resolution produced the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. It resulted in
not a revision of the Constitution of 1777, but an innovative Plan of the New
Federal Government, known as the Constitution of 1787 that current governs
the United States of America.
[i]
Journal of the Continental Congress, Articles of Association, October 20,
1774.
[ii]
Journals of the Continental Congress, Articles of Confederation,
November 15, 1777
[iii]
Articles of Confederation, November 15, 1777, first paragraph.
[iv]
Pellew, George, John Jay, Houghton, Mifflin and Company Boston:1890, page
221
[v]
Journals of the United States in Congress Assembled, Resolution to “render
the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government and the
preservation of the Union”, February 21, 1787.
There were ten Presidents of the United States serving
before George Washington from 1781 to 1788 under the Constitution of 1777
commonly known as the Articles of Confederation.
There was only one branch of government, the United States, in Congress
Assembled. These men served as Presidents of the United States, in Congress
Assembled. Their predecessors, under the Articles of Association served as Presidents of the Continental
Congress.
Articles of
Confederation, the Constitution of 1777, engrossed and signed document
with Articles I and II passed November 15, 1777. This document
named the federal government
of the United States“United States, in
Congress Assembled.” Today the Constitution of 1787 federal government is
names ad the United States House, United States Senate, United States Supreme
Court, and United States President & Commander in Chief -- Courtesy of
The National Archives of the
United States, Articles of Confederation, November 15, 1777, Original
Manuscript.
The Constitution of 1777
Presidents all presided in the government known as the United States in Congress
Assembled which unicamerally conducted the judicial,
legislative and executive business of the United States of America.
Legislative: The Presidents served in
the legislative process much like the current Speaker of the House. Unlike
today, there was only one legislative U.S. body and the Presidents had one vote
in a federal government where each of the 13 States had only one vote. In
the capacity of presiding over their respective Congresses, the Presidents
vote represented 1/7th (7 State Quorum Minimum) to 1/13th of
the votes necessary to enact federal legislation. The Presidents called for the government’s assembly and
adjournment. They
received, read, answered the official state and foreign correspondence to the
United States of America. At their own discretion the Presidents held or
disseminated the official correspondence to the Congress and set the legislative
agendas.
Executive:The Presidents also acted
as the Head of State receiving both U.S. and foreign dignitaries at their
perspective Capitols extending the nation’s official welcome and hospitality.
The Presidents issued military orders, signed military commissions, and executed
federal laws, treaties, proclamations, and resolutions.
Judicial:
The Presidents also served in a role analogues to the current
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. When federal hearings were in session.
Cases that they presided over ranged from settling State borders to
deciding the fate of mutinous troops. Decisions were made, once again, one
state one vote in quorums numbering 7 to 13.
The United States in
Congress Assembled was the government of the United States of America from 1781
to 1789. The United States House of Representatives, The United States
Senate, The Unites States Supreme Court and the The United States President
under today's Constitution of 1787 is now the government of the United
States of America since 1789.
Forgotten
Founders Corporation is a
Florida nonprofit corporation, formed solely for
general charitable purposes pursuant to the Florida Not for Profit
Corporation Act set forth in Part I of Chapter 617 of the Florida Statutes.
The specific and primary purposes for which this corporation is formed are:
1. To secure national and
international U.S. Presidential recognition for the ten men who served as
Presidents under the Constitution of 1777, the Articles of Confederation.
2. To secure national and
international founding recognition for the six men who served as Presidents of
the United Colonies and States of America.
3. To secure lasting
national and international founding recognition for the Founding Delegates,
Commissioners, Judges, Ministers, Boards, Military officers and other
government officials serving the United Colonies and States from 1774 to 1788.
4. To operate for the
advancement of U.S. Founding education and research and for other charitable
purposes.
5. To Establish a
Presidential Library honoring the fourteen Presidents and to aid in the
establishment of individual presidential libraries for each of the forgotten
founder Presidents.
The Forgotten Founders Corporation, in conjunction with Stanley L. Klos,
has issued ten Medallions
to honor the Presidents whose office exercised much influence on United States
public affairs and legislation during the founding period.
Medallions
of the United States Founding
$129.00 for a Full Set of
Ten Different
Presidents and Capitols Medallions
During this founding period the Capitol
of the United States and Colonies conducted the new nations business in eight
different capitol cities/towns. To this author's knowledge the painting depicted
below is the first time all eleven of the Continental Congress and United States
in Congress Assembled buildings are rendered, with historic accuracy, in one publication.
Ten different buildings are also
included on the reverse of the medallions. It is hard to believe that from 1774 to 1788 the founders
moved the entire government of the United States and Colonies twelve times to twelve
different structures in 14 years. Of special note, the starting point of the
Presidency and the Continental Congress was in City Tavern at Philadelphia
bringing the count of structures to the magic number 13. This author often
grins when recalling the FACT that the Presidency of the
Continental Congress (and the entity itself) was birthed in a Philadelphia
Tavern while the Presidency of the United States, in Congress Assembled
faded out in a New York City's Fraunces Tavern 15 years later. This is a fascinating
period in United States history. A time when greatness was
the rule and not the exception.
The Medallions of the U.S.
Founding came about an alteration to a plan to construct ten models of the
Forgotten United States and Conlonies Capitols
for the Forgotten Founders’ CivicFest Exhibit.
The model
designs were incorporated into the reverse of 50 cent size, 30mm, Medallions after Secretary
Paulson refused to include the ten U.S. Presidents under the Constitution of
1777 into Presidential $1.00 Coin minting. The 2005 Coin Act specifically
states that "…the Secretary of the Treasury to mint
Medallions in commemoration of each of the Nation’s past Presidents…"
Forgotten Founders vs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
Presidential $1 Coin Controversy Click Here
to view the case and Federal Court
Orders:
The
Medallions of the Constitution of 1777 Presidents and their Forgotten Capitols.
To the best
of this author's knowledge no United States Medallions or Currency has been issued
honoring the founding Constitution of 1777 Presidents and the ten Capitol buildings of the United
States of America.
Medallion
Obverse:Samuel Huntington of Connecticut was elected President of the
Continental Congress on September 28, 1779 and by virtue of the ratification of
the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781 he became President of the United
States, in Congress Assembled serving until July 6, 1781.
He was born on July 16, 1731 at
Scotland, Connecticut, the son of a Puritan farmer. The date of July 16th
differs from the official Congressional Biography as during the restoration of
the Huntington tomb a 207 year old plaque was discovered with the bodies
stating: "His Excellency Samuel Huntington Esq. Governor of the State of
Connecticut was born July 16th AD 1731and died January 5th AD 1796 aged 64
years." During Huntington's Presidency the United States experience
the military losses of Savanna, Charleston, numerous troop mutinies, Benedict
Arnold's betrayal, the burning of Richmond and former Continental Congress
President, Henry Middleton taking the King's oath of allegiance in South
Carolina.
President Huntington,
through painstaking diplomacy, encouragement and a firm commitment to
independence, successfully persuaded the States to meet their necessary quotas
of men, dollars and provisions that allowed Washington and his generals to carry
on the war. Samuel Huntington then re-focused on Maryland; the last
State to ratify the Constitution of 1777 as France was threatening to
withdraw its troops and Navy believing the union was falling apart. This
failure to ratify the constitution was a slippery slope that had undermined the
Revolutionary War effort for almost four years. Huntington prevailed, the
Constitution of 1777 was ratified and seven months later French and American
troops would trap General Cornwallis in Yorktown Virginia effectively ending the
War. For more information visit
www.samuelhuntington.org.
Medallion Reverse:The
Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia was
Capitol Building from
May 10, 1775 to
December 12, 1776 and March 12, 1777 to
September 18, 1777
and
then again July 2,
1778 to June 21, 1783. The Medallion's reverse celebrates the ratification of
the Constitution of 1777 with the words "Perpetual
Union Ratified - 1781.
By virtue of this
ratification, the ever fluid Continental Congress ceased to exist. On March 2nd,
1781
"The United States, in
Congress Assembled"
was placed at the head of each page of the Official Congressional Journal.. The
United States of America, which was conceived on July 2, 1776, proclaimed on the
4th and re-constituted on November 15, 1777 was finally
ratified into perpetuity on March 1, 1781 under the Congress of President
Samuel Huntington. The elated Minister of France was the first to address Samuel
Huntington as “His Excellency the President of the United States, in Congress
Assembled”. For more information visit
www.articlesofconfederation.com.
Medallion Obverse:
Engraving of Thomas McKean of Delaware was elected President of the United
States, in Congress Assembled July 10, 1781 serving until November 4, 1781.
This signer of the Articles of Association, the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution of 1777 and the Constitution of 1787 was born in
New London, Chester County, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1734 and died in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1817. During his term of the U.S.
Presidency the Battle of Yorktown was won.
As the troops paraded
passed Congress and the President in Philadelphia the soldiers saluted the Flag
as it passed. President McKean chose not to salute instead placing his open hand
on his chest as each of the many flags passed his venue. This gesture is
still used today by U.S. civilians when pledging allegiance to the flag. This signor of both Federal Constitutions
and the Declaration of Independence referred to the importance of his Presidency
when turning down his party’s request to run as Thomas Jefferson’s Vice
President under the new 12th Amendment to the second U.S.
Constitution. Governor McKean wrote on October 16, 1803 to Pennsylvania
Republican Party Founder Alexander J. Dallas: ... President of the United States in Congress Assembled in the
year of 1781 (a proud year for Americans) equaled any merit or pretensions of
mine and cannot now be increased by the office of Vice President. Upon Pennsylvania ratifying the 12th
Amendment to the Constitution of 1787, creating for the first time a
Presidential/Vice Presidential ticket, Governor McKean transmitted the state
ratification on January 8, 1804 to President Jefferson with a letter stating:
Several Gentleman of the
Republican Party have wished to use my name as a Candidate for Vice President,
but I have absolutely declined it on public and personal considerations, and my
reasons seem to have given satisfaction.
Former President McKean, although respectful of President Jefferson’s office,
saw the Vice Presidency as a post vastly substandard of the office he held in
the crucial months of 1781.
Medallion Reverse:
Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia was the first Capitol building of the United
Colonies utilizes by the First Continental Congress from September 5, 1774 to
October 24, 1774. The Medallion's reverse also celebrates
the passage of the Articles of Association on October 20, 1774 that "Medallioned" the
term Continental Congress. It was proposed on September 4, 1774, in
Philadelphia's City Tavern, that the First Continental Congress convene at
the Pennsylvania State House. Key Colonial Delegates, however, thought it best
not to gather in an official Government structure and agreed to convene the
next day at Carpenters Hall. At the City Tavern there was also much discussion
on who would be chosen as the President (Presiding Officer) of the new
Congress. Peyton Randolph was unofficially elected with the support
Delaware Delegate Thomas McKean. In Carpenters Hall, Delegate McKean voted
formally for Randolph and heavily supported Joseph Galloway’s Plan to
restore the Colonies to a permanent Union with Great Britain but the measure
failed failed six colonies to five in 1774 vote. Conservative Thomas
McKean would finally acquiesce and sign the Articles of Association that
included radical measures he so earnestly sought to avoid since his involvement
with colonial politics dating back to the Stamp Act of 1765.
Medallion Obverse:
John Hanson of Maryland was elected President of the United
States, in Congress Assembled November 5, 1781
serving until November 3, 1782. Hanson
was born in Charles County, Maryland in 1715 and died in Oxen Hills, Prince
George County, Maryland on November 22, 1783.
On November 5, 1781 the first Delegates, who were elected by their respective
States, assembled under the Constitution of 1777 in Philadelphia.
Delegate Hanson,
earlier that year, was instrumental in persuading the Maryland Legislature to
ratify the Articles of Confederation. President Hanson served
one year as U.S. President under the Constitution of 1777 and is often claimed
to be the First President of the United States. In addition to the confusion
surrounding the existence of a 1777 Federal Constitution there is a large
contingent of historians and federal officials who, although agree the Articles
of Confederation were a legal constitution, maintain they did not go into effect
until November 5, 1781. Officials from Maryland especially support this view as
their Delegate John Hanson was elected to the Presidency on that same date. In
hundreds of bills and laws the State of Maryland maintains that John Hanson was
the first President of the United States. This error is pervasive even finding
support in some of our most venerable educational institutions including the
Library of Congress and the Smithsonian. This Hanson Legend is incorrectly
perpetuated by books, articles, the Library of Congress, the State of Maryland,
the Smithsonian Institute in various exhibits and the U.S. Post Office. These
claims are without merit as Hanson as the third President actually wrote Thomas
McKean a Presidential letter of “official thanks” for serving as the Second
President of the United States, in Congress Assembled. - for more information
visit www.johnhanson.net.
Medallion Reverse:
TheYork-Town Court House
served as the Capitol Building of the Continental Congress from September 30,
1777 to June 27, 1778. The Continental Congress had
fled to York in 1777 due to British troops occupying Philadelphia. The
Medallion's
reverse celebrates the passage of the Articles of Confederation on November 15,
1777 at the York-Town Courthouse. Hanson was neither a Delegate nor President
of the Continental Congress in 1777. Hanson was, however, instrumental
in persuading the Maryland Legislature to ratify the Articles of Confederation
in 1781. He would go on to
serve as a President under the ratified Constitution of 1777 in November of 1781
establishing the first consular service, a post office
department, a national bank, a uniform system of Medallionage, the Great Seal of the
United States as well as signing crucial loans and a treaty with Holland.
Medallion Obverse:
Elias Boudinot of New Jersey was elected President of the United States, in
Congress Assembled on
November 4, 1782 serving until
November 2, 1783. Boudinot was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 2nd
1740 and died in Burlington, New Jersey October 24th, 1821. As President, Boudinot
and Congress expended a great deal of time and consideration to ending the war
favorably with Great Britain. Former President and now Peace Commissioner John
Jay took the lead in Paris by persuading Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to
ignore the United States, in Congress Assembled’s resolution instructing France
to be included in the peace treaty negotiations. Delegate James Madison, who had
voted for the instruction to include France, upon learning of Jay’s strategy,
wrote: "In this
business Jay has taken the lead, and proceeded to a length of which you can form
little idea. Adams has followed with cordiality. Franklin has been dragged into
it."
Jay’s violation of these instructions displeased a large majority of the United
States, in Congress Assembled but President Boudinot, once realizing the
outcome, sided with John Jay. On
a sizzling June Sunday afternoon several hundred soldiers mutinied and marched
from Lancaster to Philadelphia. These men were determined to compel Congress
and the Supreme Council of Pennsylvania to meet their demands of back pay, food
and desperately needed supplies. Recruits from the barracks in Philadelphia
reinforced the mutineers; as they surrounded the Independence Hall. Major
General St. Clair and Alexander Hamilton, by order of Congress, met with the
mutinous soldiers. They were able to reason with the men enabling President
Boudinot and the Congressional members to pass through the files of the jeering
and threatening mutineers without being molested. The Emergency Committee
chaired by Alexander Hamilton sought the State Executive Council to insure the
Government of the United States military protection so Congress could convene
the following day. Elias Boudinot, however, received no pledge of protection by
the Pennsylvania militia and ordered an adjournment of the United States in
Congress Assembled on June 24th to Princeton, New Jersey. This was the last
time the Confederation Congress would convene in Pennsylvania. Troubles ensued
with money and the military throughout the rest of President Boudinot’s term. On
the day preceding the President and Congress dismissing the army, General
Washington issued his farewell orders, in the most endearing language. With a
great strain on the federal government's treasury Congress managed four months
wages towards, on average, four years of back pay due the army. Congressional
payment to the troops, though a trifling 10% of the monies due, enabled these
brave veterans to peacefully disburse into all 13 states. The term of President
Boudinot came to an end a month later after he addressed a rash of postal thefts
and executing a final resolution calling on he States to improve their Delegate
attendance.
Medallion Reverse:
Nassau Hall in Princeton was the United States of America Capitol
from June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783.
The federal government convened in Princeton as the President and
Delegates were forced to flee Philadelphia in the summer of 1783 due to a mutiny
of Continental Army troops. The back of the Medallion honors the Treaty of Paris.
On
March 12th Elias Boudinot finally received the Preliminary Treaty of Peace which
was agreed upon by the commissioners on November 30th, 1782. The Preliminary
Articles of Peace between Great Britain and the United States placed the United
States in a strong position to exert their independence. The United States
negotiated national boundaries which included the fertile and extensive counties
on both sides of the Ohio River stretching to the east side of the Mississippi.
The boundaries were actually more extensive than the States had claimed when
they were colonies. Franklin's positioning in the initial negotiations to
include all of Canada won the interior land as a compromise as it had little or
no use to Great Britain. This land had upwards of twenty nations of Native
Americans. Additionally, the five most eastern nations had long been the friends
and allies the colonies. An unlimited right of fishery on the banks of
Newfoundland were also won but an expensive price was to be exacted by the
British Parliament. Great Britain believed that everything ceded to the United
States required an equivalent. These equivalent demands, if accepted, would
require the repayment of public and private debt owed by Americans to Britain
and the loyalists. The demands Britain exacted out of the Commissioners included
the large sums of money owed to British Merchants. The United States and their
people were obliged to make land and monetary restitution under the terms of the
Treaty. In conformity to the letter and spirit of the preliminary treaty,
Congress urged in strong terms the propriety of making restitution to the
merchants and British loyalists. Imposing the necessary taxes to fund the
repayment of debt to Great Britain was, however, beyond the power of United
States, in Congress Assembled. The little foreign money the United States could
borrow to satisfy British claims in non-American specie placed a great strain on
the National Treasury and the only true means of ever repaying the debt was the
public sale of lands bequeathed in the treaty in what would be known as the
Northwest Territory.
Forgotten Founders Historic Documents and Coins of Freedom - By Stanley
L. Klos - Last Exhbit at the 2008 GOP Convention:
http://www.pinellasrepublican.org/
Forgotten Founders Historic Documents and Coins of Freedom - By Stanley
L. Klos
Entombment of President Samuel Huntington
and First Lady Martha
1st President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
The United Colonies 1st
government began in a Philadelphia Tavern
and the United States 1st federal government ended in a
NYC Tavern!
The Founders convened the government in 11 different capitol buildings and
experienced 15 years of challenges that
included war,
hyper-inflation, a failed
constitution, judicial corruption, armed citizen and U.S. Army rebellions.
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