Editing John Hanson (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Hansonnshc.jpg|thumb|The [[Statue of John Hanson|bronze statue of Hanson]] in the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]]]]
In 1898, Douglas H. Thomas, a descendant of Hanson, wrote a biography promoting Hanson as the first true President of the United States. Thomas became the "driving force"{{sfn|Emory|1975}} behind the selection of Hanson as one of the two people who would represent Maryland in the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]] in Washington, D.C.{{sfn|Emory|1975}}{{sfn|Stiverson|2000}} Hanson was not initially on the shortlist for consideration, but he was chosen after lobbying by the [[Maryland Center for History and Culture|Maryland Historical Society]].{{sfn|Du Lac|2011}} In 1903, [[Statue of John Hanson|bronze statues of Hanson]] and [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton|Charles Carroll]] by sculptor [[Richard E. Brooks]] were added to Statuary Hall; Hanson's is currently located on the 2nd floor of the Senate connecting corridor.{{sfn|Statuary Hall|2013}} Small versions of these two statues ([[maquette]]s) sit on the president's desk in the Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House.{{sfn|State House|2007}}

Some historians have questioned the appropriateness of Hanson's selection for the honor of representing Maryland in Statuary Hall. According to historian Gregory Stiverson, Hanson was not one of Maryland's foremost leaders of the Revolutionary era.{{sfn|Stiverson|2000}} In 1975, historian Ralph Levering said that "Hanson shouldn't have been one of the two Marylanders" chosen,{{sfn|Emory|1975}} but he wrote that Hanson "probably contributed as much as any other Marylander to the success of the American Revolution".{{sfn|Levering|1976|p=117}} In the 21st century, Maryland lawmakers have considered replacing Hanson's statue in Statuary Hall with one of [[Harriet Tubman]].{{sfn|Du Lac|2011}}{{sfn|Bykowicz|2011}}
[[File:John hanson memorial 2.JPG|thumb|left|John Hanson National Memorial, located in front of the Frederick County Courthouse in Frederick, Maryland]]
The idea that Hanson was the forgotten first president of the United States was further promoted in a 1932 biography of Hanson by journalist Seymour Wemyss Smith.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742964-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307090447/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742964-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 7, 2008|title=Obituary for Seymour Wemyss Smith|magazine=Time|date=January 18, 1932}}</ref> Smith's book asserts that the American Revolution had two primary leaders: George Washington on the battlefield and John Hanson in politics.<ref>Smith, ''John Hanson, Our First President'', 57.</ref> Smith's book, like Douglas H. Thomas's 1898 book, was one of a number of biographies written seeking to promote Hanson as the "first President of the United States".{{sfn|Levering|1976|p=127 n53}} Regarding the opinion, historian Ralph Levering stated: "They're not biographies by professional historians; they aren't based on research into primary sources."{{sfn|Emory|1975}} According to historian [[Richard B. Morris]], if a president of Congress were to be called the ''first'' president of the United States, "a stronger case could be made for [[Peyton Randolph]] of Virginia, the first president of the first and second Continental Congresses, or for [[John Hancock]], the president of Congress when that body declared its independence."{{sfn|Morris|1987|p=677}} The claim that Hanson was a forgotten president of the United States was revived on the Internet, sometimes with a new assertion that he was actually a black man; an anachronistic photograph of Senator [[John Hanson (Liberian politician)|John Hanson of Liberia]] has been used to support this claim.{{sfn|Peterson|2009}}

In 1972, Hanson was depicted on a 6-cent U.S. [[postal card]], which featured his name and portrait next to the word "Patriot".{{sfn|Lidman|1972}} Historian [[Irving Brant]] criticized the selection of Hanson for the card, arguing that it was a result of the "old hoax" promoting Hanson as the first president of the United States.{{sfn|Brant|1972}} In 1981, Hanson was featured on a 20-cent [[List of people on the postage stamps of the United States|U.S. postage stamp]].{{sfn|Arago|2013}} U.S. Route 50 between Washington, D.C., and Annapolis is named the [[U.S. Route 50 in Maryland|John Hanson Highway]] in his honor. There are also middle schools located in [[Oxon Hill, Maryland]], and [[Waldorf, Maryland]], named after him. A former savings bank named for him was merged in the 1990s with Industrial Bank of Washington, D.C.

In the 1970s, a descendant of Hanson, John Hanson Briscoe, served as [[List of speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates|Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates]], which passed "a measure establishing April 14 as John Hanson Day."{{sfn|Bykowicz |2011}} In 2009, the John Hanson Memorial Association was incorporated in Frederick, Maryland, to create the John Hanson National Memorial and to educate Americans about Hanson as well as to educate people about the many myths written about him.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-hanson-briscoe-former-speaker-of-the-maryland-house-and-circuit-court-judge-dies/2014/01/06/1c119214-76f3-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html |title=John Hanson Briscoe, former speaker of the Maryland House and circuit court judge, dies |last=McDonough |first=Megan |date=2014-01-06 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2018-01-15 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>