The first president of the United States under the current U.S. Constitution was George Washington. He served from 1789 to 1797 and was unanimously elected as the first president by the Electoral College in 1788 and again in 1792. Washington is widely recognized as the "Father of the Nation" for his leadership during the American Revolutionary War and his role in establishing the presidency and the new government
. However, before the current Constitution was adopted, the United States was governed under the Articles of Confederation. During that period, the presiding officer of the Continental Congress was sometimes referred to as "president," and figures such as Samuel Huntington and John Hanson served in that capacity. Samuel Huntington was president of the Continental Congress when the Articles were ratified in 1781, and John Hanson was the first to serve a full one-year term as "President of the United States in Congress Assembled" under the Articles. These roles were quite different from the presidency established by the Constitution, with much more limited powers and responsibilities
. In summary:
- George Washington : First president under the U.S. Constitution (1789–1797), first to hold the office as it is known today
- Samuel Huntington and John Hanson : Presidents of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation, sometimes called the first presidents in a historical context, but their role was not equivalent to the modern presidency
The widely accepted answer to "Who was the first president of the United States?" is George Washington.
