Was there a President before George Washington?
Yes, there were actually 14 men who held the title President of the United States before George. They were heads of the Continental Congress or under the Articles of Confederation. Although heads of the governments, they were not considered heads of State, and therefore were mostly ceremonial. Some of them were elected but never even served because there wasn’t anything to do. George was the first President under the Constitution, which is when most people define the current US as being created. He was the first with true executive power.
Kind of. Right after the American Revolution our government operated under the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, there were a series of leaders, I’m not sure if they were called Presidents and I can’t tell you off the top of my head who they were but a search would probably reveal the details, who were the heads of the United States. The Articles of Confederation did not adequately govern the country so we developed the Constitution. Once passed by nine of the thirteen colonies, it took affect and elections were held with Washington being unaniomously elected the first President under the Constitution.
Hmm… I am wondering why people think this is an illegitimate question. Obviously, George Washington was the first President of the US. But during the American Revolution, there was a de facto political organization to lead the country. It was called the Continetal Congress. The president of the First Continetal Congress was Peyton Randolph and later Henry Middleton. The president of the Second Continental Congress was Peyton Randolph and later John Hancock.
