Every U.S. Voter is a Winner!

How egalitarian is the 'right to vote' as it is relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities? Under our U.S. Constitutional law, it guarantees the people their voice in how the government operates. Every U.S. voter lives in a free society that recognizes their legal rights under law as well as their natural, universal inalienable rights that are inseparable from the individual. It's like winning the Super Lotto!

To boost voter turnout, a large municipal authority, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission has proposed an idea to lure more voters to the polls. With a miniscule 23% of registered voter turnout for the 2012 Mayoral election, down from 37% in 2001, and a dismal 15% turnout for 2013 district elections, L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson said, "Voter turnout was abysmal, and it's embarrassing." So, in a bid to raise voter turnout, the commission has voted to send to the City Council a proposal for a ballot measure to be sent to voters that changes the city charter to allow 'cash prize lotteries' to entice voter turnout in only municipal elections without any Federal offices or measures.

It's a sad commentary when voters have to be enticed to get out to vote with a promise of winning a lotto! Worse, who are they going to vote for when they get to the polls? The guy that brought them to the party, the 'voter van' or the 'voter taxi' rides sponsored by a political candidate or party? Don't dispair though, maybe you have to know a little more about Pre-American history...

Here is a tale from 1758, before the United States of America was born in 1776, the 'colonial times', and it seems voters haven't really change a bit in 256 years!

George Washington, the father of country won his first election in 1758. Washington biographer Dennis Pogue, vice president of preservation at Washington's home of Mount Vernon said about elections, "Voting day was a reason to binge in Colonial times, and the candidate who served up the most hooch often won."

Dennis Pogue reveals that the father of the nation lost his first campaign in 1755 to the House of Burgesses largely because he didn't put on an alcohol-laden circus at the polls. That year, Washington got 40 votes. The winner, who plied voters with beer, whiskey, rum punch, and wine, got 271 votes. 

A quick learner, Washington won three years later with the help of alcohol. "What do you know, he was successful and got 331 votes," says Pogue, author of the new book "Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry." Washington's 1758 election to the House of Burgesses cost him 39 pounds, 6 shillings, a sum, which bought him 'a hogshead and a barrel of punch, thirty-five gallons of wine, forty-three gallons of strong beer, cider, and dinner for his friends.

Who was George Washington? - A Hard History Question.

Who was our 1st President? 

I suspect George Washington was your first guess. After all, who else comes to mind?

But think back to your history books - The United States declared its independence in 1776, yet George Washington did not take Office until April 30, 1789.

So who was running the country during these initial years of our young country?--It was the first of actually eight U. S. Presidents before George Washington. 

In fact, the first President of the United States was one John Hanson. I can hear you now - John who? John Hanson was the first President of the United States. 

John Hanson, first President of the United States. Check Google for more detailed information. There was also a U.S. stamp made in his honor.

The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation. This document was actually proposed on June 11, 1776, but not agreed upon by Congress until November 15, 1777. Maryland refused to sign this document until Virginia and New York ceded their western lands (Maryland was afraid that these states would gain too much power in the new government from such large amounts of land).

Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Washington). In fact, all the other potential candidates refused to run against him, as he was a major player in the revolution and an extremely influential member of Congress.

As the first President, Hanson had quite the shoes to fill. No one had ever been President and the role was poorly defined. His actions in office would set precedent for all future Presidents. He took office just as the Revolutionary War ended. Almost immediately, the troops demanded to be paid. As would be expected after any long war, there were no funds to meet the salaries. As a result, the soldiers threatened to overthrow the new government and put Washington on the throne as a monarch.

All the members of Congress ran for their lives, leaving Hanson as the only guy left running the government. He somehow managed to calm the troops down and hold the country together. If he had failed, the government would have fallen almost immediately and everyone would have been bowing to King Washington.

Hanson, as President, ordered all foreign troops off American soil, as well as the removal of all foreign flags. This was quite the feat, considering the fact that so many European countries had a stake in the United States since the days following Columbus.

Hanson established the Great Seal of the United States, which all Presidents have since been required to use on all official documents. President Hanson also established the first Treasury Department, the first Secretary of War, and the first Foreign Affairs Department. Lastly, he declared that the fourth Thursday of every November was to be Thanksgiving Day, which is still true today.

The Articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one year term during any three year period, so Hanson actually accomplished quite a bit in such little time. Seven other presidents were elected after him:

1. John Hanson (1781-82),
2. Elias Boudinot (1782-83),
3. Thomas Mifflin (1783-84),
4. Richard Henry Lee (1784-85),
5. John Hancock (1785-86),
6. Nathan Gorman (1786-87),
7. Arthur St. Clair (1787-88),
8. Cyrus Griffin (1788-89),

....all prior to George Washington taking office.

So what happened? Why don't we hear about the first eight presidents?

It's quite simple - The Articles of Confederation didn't work well. The individual states had too much power and nothing could be agreed upon. A new doctrine needed to be written - something we know as the United States Constitution.

And that leads us to the end of our story. George Washington definitely was not the first President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today.

And the first eight Presidents have been forgotten in history.

YOU HAVE TO BE A LOVER OF HISTORY TO APPRECIATE THIS!!

There you are - another lesson in U.S. History and you may have learned something new today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson