Very entertaining. Turns out that I had heard of or read most of these "lies" somewhere even though I am not American. I cannot remember where exactly.
One of the most interesting in my opinion is that there were in fact eight presidents of the United States before George Washington. I asked ChatGPT about this and it is correct. How come almost nobody knows about this?
Before the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1789, the United States operated under the Articles of Confederation. During this period (1781–1789), the Continental Congress and later the Confederation Congress appointed a President of the Continental Congress, a largely ceremonial role with limited power. These individuals were not "Presidents of the United States" as we think of the position today. Instead, they were presiding officers over Congress.
Here are the eight men often cited as "Presidents before Washington" under the Articles of Confederation and Continental Congress:
The way I see it is that these eight presidents were presidents under a different system than the current one, that's all. For example France has had five republics since the French Revolution, each time with different degrees of power attributed to the president. Under the Fifth Republic since Charles de Gaulle the president has more power than anytime before in French history, closer to an American president. But that does not mean that more ceremonial presidents before de Gaulle do not count as French presidents.
There are many countries today that have ceremonial presidents including Germany and Italy. If one of these countries were to change their political system and confer more power to their president, would it justify that people forget about previous presidents? That's essentially what the US did.
One of the most interesting in my opinion is that there were in fact eight presidents of the United States before George Washington. I asked ChatGPT about this and it is correct. How come almost nobody knows about this?
Before the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1789, the United States operated under the Articles of Confederation. During this period (1781–1789), the Continental Congress and later the Confederation Congress appointed a President of the Continental Congress, a largely ceremonial role with limited power. These individuals were not "Presidents of the United States" as we think of the position today. Instead, they were presiding officers over Congress.
Here are the eight men often cited as "Presidents before Washington" under the Articles of Confederation and Continental Congress:
- Peyton Randolph (1774, First Continental Congress)
- Henry Middleton (1774–1775, First Continental Congress)
- John Hancock (1775–1777, Second Continental Congress)
- Henry Laurens (1777–1778, Second Continental Congress)
- John Jay (1778–1779, Second Continental Congress)
- Samuel Huntington (1779–1781, Second Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation)
- Thomas McKean (1781, Articles of Confederation)
- John Hanson (1781–1782, first president under the fully ratified Articles of Confederation)
The way I see it is that these eight presidents were presidents under a different system than the current one, that's all. For example France has had five republics since the French Revolution, each time with different degrees of power attributed to the president. Under the Fifth Republic since Charles de Gaulle the president has more power than anytime before in French history, closer to an American president. But that does not mean that more ceremonial presidents before de Gaulle do not count as French presidents.
There are many countries today that have ceremonial presidents including Germany and Italy. If one of these countries were to change their political system and confer more power to their president, would it justify that people forget about previous presidents? That's essentially what the US did.
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