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The President of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress. He was elected by the delegates to the congress. After the Articles of Confederation were adopted on March 1, 1781, the office was known as the President of the United States in Congress Assembled.

The office of President of the Continental Congress is probably most analogous to the modern-day Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Like the Speaker, the President of the Continental Congress was expected to refrain from participating in debate, and was expected to vote last and only if his vote would be decisive. However, unlike the Speaker, the President of the Continental Congress had no power to assign delegates to committees.

The most famous President of the Continental Congress may be John Hancock, who presided over the Continental Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed. His large and bold signature on the declaration has led to his name becoming a slang term for a signature.^[1]

Contents 1 “President of the United States” 2 List of Presidents 3 Footnotes 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

The formal title of “President of the United States, in Congress Assembled” was sometimes shortened to simply “President of the United States”. Prior to the Lee Resolution of independence, the position was simply the President of Congress for the United Colonies of America.

While the office of President of the Continental Congress had had little relationship to the modern office of President of the United States beyond the name, John Hancock did assume the position of Head of State when independence was declared. A key difference is that the President of the United States—under the Constitution—is the head of the executive branch of government, while the President of the Continental Congress was the chair of a body that most resembled a legislature, although it possessed legislative, executive, and judicial powers. While today's President can be seen as the most powerful single person in the country, the word president itself harkens back to this legacy of being merely one who presides over an assembly for a fixed time - the antithesis of a King.

Prior to the convening of the First Continental Congress, two others took place. Their presidents were:

• James DeLancey of New York; Albany Congress of 1754.
• Timothy Ruggles of Massachusetts; Stamp Act Congress of 1765.

The following men served as the President of the First Continental Congress:

• Peyton Randolph (September 5, 1774 – October 21, 1774) and
• Henry Middleton (October 22, 1774 – October 26, 1774)

The following men served as the President of the Second Continental Congress:

• Peyton Randolph (May 10, 1775 – May 23, 1775)
• John Hancock (May 24, 1775 – October 31, 1777)
• Henry Laurens (November 1, 1777 – December 9, 1778)
• John Jay (December 10, 1778 – September 27, 1779)
• Samuel Huntington (September 28, 1779 – March 1, 1781)^[2]

The following men served as President of the United States in Congress Assembled:

• Samuel Huntington (March 1, 1781^[3] – July 9, 1781)
• Thomas McKean (July 10, 1781 – November 4, 1781)^[4]
• John Hanson (November 5, 1781 – November 3, 1782)
• Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783)
• Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 – October 31, 1784)
• Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 – November 6, 1785)
• John Hancock (November 23, 1785 – June 5, 1786) Due to Hancock's failing health the following two people acted as president in his stead:[1]
  • David Ramsay (November 23, 1785 – May 12, 1786)
  • Nathaniel Gorham (May 15, 1786 – June 5, 1786)
• Nathaniel Gorham (June 6, 1786 – November 5, 1786)
• Arthur St. Clair (February 2, 1787 – November 4, 1787)
• Cyrus Griffin (January 22, 1788 – March 2nd, 1789)

Web

• Mikkelson, Barbara and David P. (2001). Urban Legends Reference Pages: Business (First in Piece). snopes.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2005.

• Continental Congress
• Articles of Confederation
• United States Constitution
• Constitutional Convention
• Annapolis Convention (1786)
• President of the United States

• The Presidents of the USA Before Washington - (BBC's h2g2 encyclopedia entry)
• So Who Was Our First President?

v • d • e President of the Continental Congress
President of First Continental Congress	Peyton Randolph  · Henry Middleton
President of Second Continental Congress	Peyton Randolph  · John Hancock  · Henry Laurens  · John Jay  · Samuel Huntington
President of the United States in Congress Assembled	Samuel Huntington  · Thomas McKean  · John Hanson  · Elias Boudinot  · Thomas Mifflin  · Richard Henry Lee  · John Hancock  · David Ramsay (for John Hancock)  · Nathaniel Gorham (for John Hancock)  · Nathaniel Gorham  · Arthur St. Clair  · Cyrus Griffin