On this day in 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a day of “thanksgiving” for the adoption of the Constitution that still rules our nation, although these days it is viewed through various prisms and feats of literary and legal prestidigitation that were not present back then. (Try reading the Constitution to find either “right of privacy” or “separation of church and state” mentioned anywhere in its text–there’s a good starting point.)
When I read that good ol’ George had proclaimed a day of thanksgiving for the Constitution, I began reflecting how doubly thankful he must have been as the so-called first president. Interestingly, American history has chosen to ignore the eight or ten presidents who preceded George, but read up on John Hanson, our first elected president, and you’ll see that he was a man and leader of some accomplishment. The Great Seal of the President that is used to this day was created by President Hanson. Curious that we no longer recognize him as ever having been our president but still use his seal as the official emblem of the presidency.
(For further intrigue, you can research Samuel Huntington, the first “non-elected” president of the country. If you count Huntington and his successor, there were ten presidents before George, eight if you count from Hanson.)
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