Editing John Hanson (section)

===President of Congress===
[[File:John Hanson by Charles Willson Peale, circa 1781.jpg|left|thumb|John Hanson, portrait from life painted by [[Charles Wilson Peale]] in 1781–1782]]
On November 5, 1781, Congress elected Hanson as its president. Under the Articles of Confederation, both legislative and executive government were vested in the Congress (as it was and still is in Britain); the presidency of Congress was a mostly ceremonial position, but the office did require Hanson to serve as neutral [[discussion moderator]], handle official correspondence, and sign documents.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=76–80}} Hanson found the work tedious and considered resigning after just one week, citing his poor health and family responsibilities.{{sfn|Papenfuse|1979}} Colleagues urged him to remain because Congress at that moment lacked a [[quorum]] to choose a successor.{{sfn|Papenfuse|1979}} Out of a sense of duty, Hanson remained in office,{{sfn|Stiverson|2000}}{{sfn|Levering|1976|p=130}} although his term as a delegate to Congress was nearly expired. The Maryland Assembly re-elected him as a delegate on November 28, 1781, and so Hanson continued to serve as president until November 4, 1782.{{sfn|Papenfuse|1979}}

The Articles of Confederation stipulated that presidents of Congress serve one-year terms, and Hanson became the first to do so.{{sfn|Stiverson|2000}}{{sfn|Burnett|1941|p=524}}{{sfn|Sanders|1930|p=24}} Contrary to the claims of some of his later advocates, however, he was not the first president to serve under the Articles nor the first to be elected under the Articles.{{sfn|Morris|1987|p=677}} When the Articles went into effect in March 1781, Congress did not bother to elect a new president; instead, [[Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician)|Samuel Huntington]] continued serving a term that had already exceeded a year.{{sfn|Burnett|1941|p=503}} On July 9, 1781, [[Samuel Johnston]] became the first man to be elected as president of Congress after the ratification of the Articles.{{sfn|Sanders|1930|p=21 n73}} He declined the office, however, perhaps to make himself available for North Carolina's gubernatorial election.{{sfn|Sanders|1930|p=21}} After Johnston turned down the office, [[Thomas McKean]] was elected.{{sfn|Sanders|1930|p=20}}{{sfn|Burnett|1941|p=503}} McKean served just a few months, resigning in October 1781 after hearing news of the British [[Siege of Yorktown (1781)|surrender at Yorktown]]. Congress asked him to remain in office until November, when a new session of Congress was scheduled to begin.{{sfn|Burnett|1941|p=524}} It was in that session that Hanson began to serve his one-year term. A highlight of Hanson's term was when [[George Washington]] presented [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Cornwallis's]] sword to Congress.{{sfn|Levering|1976|pp=128–29}}