Myth: George Washington was the First President of the United States.

Fact: While George Washington was our first president elected under the current Constitution, he was not the first president of the United States.

In 1781, the last of the thirteen original colonies ratified the Articles of Confederation.  Not long after, the Congress unanimously elected John Hanson of Maryland as President with the title “President of the United States in Congress Assembled”.  Even George Washington himself referred to Hanson as “the president” at the time.  Six more presidents were elected by Congress before the current Constitution was ratified making Washington actually the 8th president.