What did john hanson do in 1777?

Answer 1

In 1777, John Hanson was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. That is, he became a member of the colony's legislature. He had already served on a committee that helped run the colony.

In 1780, he became one of Maryland's delegates to the Continental Congress, and in 1781, he became the President of Congress- a ceremonial, largely powerless position that was in charge of making sure that debates followed the rules correctly. He served his one year term (despite disliking it, and considering quitting), and retired. He died in 1783, just after the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, which officially made the US an independent country.

Contrary to what the internet tells you, John Hanson was not black, nor was he the first President of the United States. President of Congress was unrelated to the President of the US, just like President of the Senate (which is still a real position in the US government) is not the same as the President of the United States. John Hanson was not even the first President of Congress- Payton Randolph was, 6 years before Hanson, and John Hancock was President of Congress in 1776 when he famously signed the Declaration of Independence so large (and that's probably the real reason why he signed so large- not the nonsense about making it so the King could read it). Nor was John Hanson the first President after independence- he was simply the first to be elected using the rules that were set by the Articles of Confederation.

The picture that is above this question, of an older black man wearing glasses, is of another, unrelated man also named John Hanson who was a Senator in the African country of Liberia.