Samuel Huntington - our first President

As the election draws even closer many people, including myself, think back through the history of the United States and consider who might be the greatest President. Is it Lincoln during the Civil War? JFK with his inspiration? Could it be Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan? Or is it our first President?

You notice I didn't say Washington after our first President. That's because he wasn't the first President of the United States. Let us consider when the United States came into existence. Was it July 4, 1776? If that is the case, then the first President of the United States would be John Hancock and Washington would be the 14th President.

Or did the United States begin at the end of the American Revolution? In that case, the first President would have been after the Peace Treaty ending the revolution in 1783 and the President would be Elias Boudinot, a name nearly lost to history.

I believe that the United States became an official country with a federal government on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of the Articles of Confederation. Up until this point, there was not central government and really there was no Country. With this in mind, I present to you the first President of the United States of America - Samuel Huntington.

Samuel Huntington was a revolutionary leader from Connecticut that served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Connecticut, and President of the United States under the Articles of Confederation. Huntington served as President of the Continental Congress starting on September 28, 1779 and remained in the office of President after the Articles of Confederation were ratified on March 1, 1781 until July 9, 1781 when ill health forced him to resign.

Huntington was not known for his extensive learning or brilliant speech. He was known for his hard work and dedication that kept the Congress moving forward and the country together during his time in office. So why he may not be the most famous, let us not forget all the patriots that helped to make this country what it is, including Samuel Huntington, the first President of the United States of America.