And there is the one person who signed all four of our founding documents: The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights - Roger Sherman of Connecticut. That would be a good topic to cover here.

“It is better to be alone than in bad company.” ― George Washington

I'd wondered when this episode would happen. The men who served as President before the Constitution are an often overlooked part of American history

I was taught this in a school of course but I'm not sure of how much I understood all of it. You boiled down 14 years of history into 14 minutes and succinctly presented it for all to understand.

“I paid for all the intros, I’m going to use all of the intros!” -The History Guy

The streets in downtown Madison, WI are named after the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mifflin, Carroll, Gorham, Pinckney, etc. Our capitol is also a miniature of the capitol in DC.

Well shiver me timbers. I have never given this any thought and had no idea that there was the title of president before George Washington. Thank you thank you thank you very much for this episode

It was so nice to see this. I had taught this to my History and Civics students for years and they were really surprised that we had 8 Presidents before Good old George! Thanks for that!

I thought York Pennsylvania might be mentioned seeing as that’s where the Articles of Confederation were approved. You should do a show on the 8 different Capitals the USA has had. Love your channel! Finding a more secure position 25 miles west of Lancaster behind the Susquehanna River, the Continental Congress convened inside the York County Court House on September 30, 1777. During the government’s nine-month stay in the central Pennsylvania hamlet, it approved the Articles of Confederation, which took effect after its 1781 ratification by the states, and signed an alliance treaty with France. After receiving word in June 1778 that the British had evacuated Philadelphia, the Continental Congress returned to the city and found Independence Hall left “in a most filthy and sordid situation” according to New Hampshire delegate Josiah Bartlett.

Wonderful to learn about the early administrative struggles of the country. Maybe an episode on the early Houses of Burgesses?

Interesting enough, I was just talking about the Articles of Confederation yesterday with a bunch of young people who unfortunately had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. It's pathetic that the history of our country is no longer taught in our schools.

THG ran down better in under in 15 minutes what it took a college government course a full term to cover. Sign me up for your next distance learning course THG!

I knew a little about this. Now, thanks to THG, I have a much better idea about how little..... Thank you THG.

Lol, I was telling my sons about this a couple of months back. They were like "what do you mean George Washington wasn't the first President?" Lol...vindication that Dad is ALWAYS right...lol

It's fascinating how conflicts and adversity play such a prominent role in shaping the institutions that come out of them. The 1791 US constitution attempted to balance the risks of centralized power (experienced under Britain) against the risks of massively-decentralized power (experienced under the Articles of Confederation). The Civil War & WWI-II had similarly-massive impacts in shifting our institutions.

I have had some fun with this debate. I argued that John Hancock was the first president because he was president when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. But we can all agree that George Washington was the first president under the Constitution, which created the current form of government.

It had to be an exciting time back then to see the birth of one of the greatest nations on earth. It wouldn't hurt to have their guidance again.

This was really fascinating. There was a huge chunk of time between 1776 and when Washington took office. Thank you for detailing this important period! One request? Can you do a fun little video explaining all the cool stuff you have in the background? I’d like that!

He certainly teaches me things I never knew about our past. Absolutely fascinating

American history is vital. So is civics education. I've seen a number of local governments suffering for lack of citizen participation.

I've often wondered about this very subject: the running and leadership of congress before Washington during the Revolutionary War. Thanks!

It's amazing with all of the technology and education we have today that our leaders back then were much wiser and smarter than our leaders are today!

With all the nonsense going today it almost brought a tear to my eye that these great men all fought and died for this country be remembered with honor and the important position they held. Thanks History Guy.

I have never been disappointed by any of THG"s presentations. Though it is a fast-paced list of names, with a bit of background for each, this episode is yret another thought-provoking and informative one. I don't recall that any of the US history courses I had in high school or college gave more than a passing reference to the early goverm=nment under the Confederation document. Hannson was mentuioned briefly, the Morthwest Ordinance was lauded--and that was it. Thanks much for this corrective lesson.

I need to take a moment to thank you for your efforts. I am just really getting into KZfaq over the past year as I finally decided to do something about my utter frustration with cable TV. Yours was one of the first channels I started watching. About 6 months ago I subscribed to your channel. I love your variety. I really appreciate an honest factual no agenda of some very interesting historical moments. Thanks from the Canadian frozen North. Stay safe & sane down there.

Thank your! Learned something today!!

I love history and have, throughout my life, been an avid student of all history. Thus, stumbling onto The History Guy, has been absolutely scintillating and fun. I marvel how he can boil down different aspects of an historical subject into a very succinct, short lecture. Thank you, History Guy!

12:40 "When Americans had to figure out how to administer a nation rather than just fight for one"

John Hanson is in my DNA ancestry so, I would say I'm a descendant. My earliest known ancestor was mixed Indigenous Indian and African who was captured during the Anglo-Indian War as a child. He was later a Indentured servant to the Gov William Stone bloodline of "Poynton Manor" Port Tobacco, Charles County, Mayland. My ancestor married a white Welsh woman who they had children. Those children had children with European Stone family bloodline. The Stone were related to the Hanson family of Charles County, Mayland.

Another superb program! While I never have considered myself a historian I have read much, and for a very long time. These programs not only entertain and inform me, they provide an object lesson as to how little I really know. This was a particularly informative piece. Most know of the continental congress and the article of the confederacy. I was taken when I first read the document that it said a confederation between rather than among the states. That reminded me of the problems attributed to the southern confederacy so many years later , of which it was said: it died of an idea. Of course there was no United States in reality until after the Civil War. Before the war, the phrase was the United States are where is after the war, the United States is became the norm. Those folks had walked the country and fought for it. Perhaps there should’ve been better foresight in establishment of the southern confederacy, looking back at the period when the country was governed by the articles of the confederacy, which was doomed to fail. As always, I look forward to the next exciting program.

Again. One of the greatest channels on KZfaq.

Loved it. Learned something new. Thanks

Around here, New Jersey, history buffs would claim Elias Boudinot as the first “President”. He was president of the Continental Congress when the Treaty of Paris was signed. The treaty officially granted independence from Great Britain. However, he was out of office by the time news of the treaty reached America.

Thank you for this video... it is outstanding... there is much, still, to be learned about history...

I knew that the Articles existed, but I never really know how they worked. Interesting, but not surprising, that there was a president in this land before Washington. Thank you for teaching us about these men! Glad they haven't been completely forgotten.

I love this episode and I hope future episodes might delve deeper into some of these characters

A series of videos on the more interesting forgotten presidents would be informative. Learned quite a bit from this video, thanks HG.

Thanks so much for this! It looks like a ton of work to gather all the images and edit them so smoothly. This is my favorite time period of American history and I hope you'll continue with more episodes like this.

Very interesting to see how the process happened and how things changed.

I cannot thank you enough for that which you do here, I have learned more about history from you channel than I ever did in school. I hope you keep doing this & I will for sure keep watching.

Great educational episode! I appreciate the hard work you put into researching these stories. Keep it up!

This has become my all-time favorite channel. I will become a patron for all the effort you put into these presentations. Thank you.

Another great history lesson, THG. And the changes to that short shelf (seemingly each video) don't go unnoticed! ;)

Watched a few of your clips so far. Well presented and informative. Thank you.

Great stuff as always. Thanks HG

Fascinating research THG 🇺🇸 Thank you for sharing 🇺🇸

Just because its the History Guy you know to automatically click on like👍

Thank you for your excellent efforts.

Thank you! I appreciate your content.

I want to thank you for this history lesson. I have always loved History.😊

Great episode. I knew of Adams, but not the others. It is not taught. However, this would be a great idea for the USPS as a reboot. The Forgotten Presidents series of postage stamps. I think its a good idea. Thanks again for the lesson in history. Would be great if you could do an entire series from the 18th century.

Great content as usual, thanks for the refresher course.

Outstanding content, sir. Thank you.

Thanks for the great information !!

a terrific presentation of history that we've not been adequately taught - Thanks THG!

Nice job, relevant comments and perspective and background. Thank you, Mr. History Guy

THANK YOU for doing this video! I first learned about this in high school on my own when I realized the time gap you mentioned on George Washington's presidency. Love your channel!

Once again another very interesting piece of U.S. history that all citizens should know. Thank you Sir.

Excellent!! Thankyou for such insight!

Great job, I have been wanting to see this done.

This is the KZfaq channel I share the most on my FB page. Thanks, HG. You're an island of calm and reason in an unnerving FB sea of conflict and bickering. I appreciate what you do.

Thank you for a great history lesson ! Take care , stay safe and healthy wherever your research takes you ! Doing well here in Kansas .

I was first exposed to this topic years ago when someone used it as "gotcha" trivia. It's interesting and understanding the struggles of the USA under the Articles of Confederation helps us understand how and why we ended up with the Constitution that we did. But it was clearly a different position. Trying to argue one of the pre-Washington presidents should be considered the first president is sort of like arguing the president of the senate today should be considered one of the Presidents of the United States.

Great stuff History Guy!

Very interesting. Thank you for what you do.

Best history show ever ! I think I've been a sub for at least a few years and I thank you for all your hard work !

So easily informative, thank you.

One of your best episodes! I would be eager to hear about these men individually.

I really love what you did here in this video and on the material you covered. I took two courses in American history in college and we never once covered this stuff....amazing!

I loved your ending perspective! Thank you!!!!

Excellent presentation!

I found this very interesting. I had no idea these other men we’ve heard so little about also worked to make us a nation. Thank you!

Hi, Lance, The History Guy. I have commented on some of your episodes before, and I am so glad you are doing this. You appear the quintessential professor, bow tie and glasses, and all the mannerisms one might expect, only adding delight. While most people have a knowledge of the large historical events, few know about the minor ones, the "snippets" as you call them. It is these snippets that bring the human story to light. H-uman-i-Story. My high school teacher of Ancient History, Mr John Rodabaugh, was similar to you in that he filled his one year class with multiple snippets rather than the big events, as "any old idiot would know the major events" he would say. I attended High School long ago in a place called Webster Groves, Missouri, and graduated in 1969. My mother graduated there in 1940. My uncle (mom's brother) graduated there in 1933. (My father was from Springfield, Illinois, so he was not an alumnus of Webster Groves High School). There is a plaque of Webster Groves "boys" who went to war (World War II) on the brick wall of City Hall, and my uncle's name is there.I He was a Naval Aviator in the Pacific, Lt. Wilbert A. Menke. (My father was in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a quartermaster in Europe, Brevet Lt. Col. John H. MacAleney, and he is not listed on the plaque as he was not a boy from Webster Groves). I was curious about the flower shop murder of Dean O'Banion; I never had heard of him until your snippet. In your brief bio of him, underscoring his rough upbringing as a boy of the streets of Chicago, I recognized a photo of 3 boys, smoking cigarettes, but that was taken in Saint Louis in 1910. I do know my history, but not every snippet. Have a great day. I do a lot of family history, and it's fun. Oh, BTW, I have close family in Edwardsville, Troy, and Saint Jacob. I visit the family (Ottwein) farm in Troy quite often. I am a great-great-grandson of Karl Ottwein (1828-1907) - Dr Dave Menke, Tucson.

Great as usual!

Some other KZfaqr who dabbles in history from time to time, did a video on this topic a few months ago. Now with thanks to you, I really understand who these presidents were and what they were all about and in context. Your explanation nails it.

Once again the History Guy brings little known, but important history to light. Thanks H.G.

Thanks for another great, and classic, History Guy "History that Deserves to be Remembered" bit! BTW...I love the intros! ;)

Wonderful , thank you.

Thanks, Lance. The early history of the United States has too long been ignored. Understanding this period is paramount to understanding the Constitution of the United States.

@TheHistoryGuy, I consider myself a lover of history and your brief glimpses into the depths of forgotten history are incredible. Is there any chance you would go further in depth, on any particular topic, or create a list of the five most fascinating people in history, in your opinion. Thank you for all you do and the content you provide, I love your channel, thank you sir.

I loved history in school. Never knew about this though. This seems very timely.

Fantastic! We'll done HG!

I remember one of my history teachers in high school talking about this. The book with the answer was stolen by someone in a prior year's class.

I lived in Belleville, Illinois for a year. My father is from there. Very cool to think that I lived near where The History Guy lives!

Interesting piece. Great.

Thank u for the knowledge sir

Greetings from Clay County! As a philatelist, I love the use of stamps in many of your videos. Thanks again! 735 thumbs up!

Much better intro! Love your channel!

Goodness, currently reading Chernow’s “Alexander Hamilton”. Amazed at how it dovetails with today's episode. Prepping especially how the early government did not function well under the “Articles of Confederation”, but how states liked it. AARRGGHHH, to have paid attention while school all those years ago. At least I am learning now. Thank you Mr. The History Guy.👍👍👍

A great feature of THG segments is the capacity to repeat them until more of it sinks in! Thanks for a great service done well.

President is Latin for “the one who sits in front”, or the pre-sitter. More like a chairman than anything. It’s a shame they didn’t leave it that way.

The last video you made discussing this topic, was the first time in my life I had heard about it. I'm 60!!! Keep teaching sir! I thought I loved history, but there's so much more to learn.

Interesting. I did not know this. Thank you HG.

Man I love this channel.

Among other reasons I love your channel for the most noble tagline, "History deserves, to be remembered."

Automatic like and comment whenever I see a THG post. Just about to start watching from downunder. Thanks in advance THG. Cheers.

That was interesting, love this channel as it serves up US history I never knew about as I'm English. I did have history lessons about the War of Independence but never to this depth. Thank you for enlightening me.

All the Presidents of the Continental Congress yelling "First" at the same time makes it even more difficult to determine who actually was.

Nice touch in your back ground withe the sword and picture on Washington on his horse...Thanks on such a fine video and all...Well said sir...!

Aside from the flashy intros and the enthusiasm for the material, there's something else worth noting. Citations! THG cites his sources, which I have to appreciate.