Thanksgiving: Some things you may not know

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. My holiday was special this year because I unearthed some information I didn’t know about the Thanksgiving. My findings made my holiday very satisfying.

Last week I was thinking to myself how Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching. I knew it’s celebrated every fourth Thursday and saw it was November 27th. So I wondered why is Thanksgiving celebrated every fourth Thursday of November.

After some researching not only did I find the answer to my question I found much more. First off, a man born in 1715 named John Hanson declared every fourth Thursday Thanksgiving shall be celebrated.

There’s more.

Hanson was the first President of the United States, not George Washington. Also, if Hanson were alive today he’d be considered an African American thereby making him the first African American President of the United States.

Some may wonder, ‘How can this be true if Africans were entrenched in American slavery during the 1700’s?’ Well, in an Act proposed in 1705 made Turks and Moors exempt from American slavery. Hanson was a Moor so he evaded the chains of slavery because of ancestry.

Yes, Hanson, was first President of the United States and the first African American President. But it was under the Articles of Confederation and not the Constitution.

Hanson was the leader during a vital part of the American Revolution.
On March 1, 1781 The Articles of Confederation were signed into law. After the signing took place Congress needed a President in place-someone to be charge. Through a unanimous vote the members of Congress, which included George Washington, elected Hanson to lead the country.

The role of President was loosely defined under the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles the President only served one-year terms not four which is currently in place under the Constitution.

Hanson officially took office right after the Revolutionary War where he faced an array of problems. His biggest problem was soldiers who fought in the war wanted to be paid. If they weren’t compensated they threatened to overthrown the government and put George Washington in charge as a monarch.

Fearing the revolt of the soldiers most members of Congress abandoned Hanson so he was left to fend for himself. He managed to restore order and get money to the troops.

During his year in office Hanson instituted many of the government departments which are still in use today.

*Hanson established the Great Seal of the United States, which all Presidents are required to use on all official documents while in office.

*Hanson also established the first Treasury Department, the first Secretary of War, and the first Foreign Affairs Department.

*Lastly, he declared the fourth Thursday of every November was to be Thanksgiving Day, which is still true today.

After Hanson’s term was finished there were six other Presidents who followed- Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788).

In 1789 the United States Constitution was proposed and adopted by all states in 1791. George Washington was elected the first President under the much stronger Constitution. Therefore, John Hanson was the first African American President under the Articles of Confederation and Barack Obama is the first African American President under the United States Constitution.

It’s a shame Hanson and the others have been omitted from history. For centuries we’ve been scientifically hypnotized to embrace Eurocentric mythology. Many of us have been conditioned embrace the man’s script. For instance, why do we still celebrate Christopher Columbus discovering America when we all now know he discovered nothing?

Once a piece of Eurocentric mythology is challenged it often solicits ridicule and resentment. In clutching to myth often the messenger is ridiculed and labeled as divisive or radical. This stratagem is utilized to eliminate the sting from the message being conveyed by the messenger.

Myths told over centuries have cemented themselves into American lore. Repetition of erroneous facts doesn't imply fact in my book. I don’t know about you, but considering how a large degree of American history has been distorted I give this information a high degree of credence.

Again, I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very interesting, Dex.

I wonder how presidents were put into office prior to the Constitution. Also, I wonder how Hanson got the title, despite being a man of color. (Did they give it to the best marksman? Best horseman? Guy with the biggest hat?)

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