The Patriots of Charles County – President of the U.S. in Congress Assembled

Well Disposed to Give Battle – The Patriots of Charles County

I. Rising in Importance:  Thomas Stone, part 1

II. Distinction & Despair:  Thomas Stone, part 2

III. An Unusual voice for Independence:  Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer

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President of the United States in Congress Assembled:  John Hanson

   Another man with a distinguished career in politics was John Hanson.  Born in Charles County in 1715, Hanson received a little formal education, but read broadly in both Greek and Latin.  He started as a planter and was very successful, eventually owning thousands of acres.

   His first political appointment sent him to represent Charles County in the Colonial Assembly in 1757.  He stayed in this position for most of the next dozen years.  In 1774, Hanson became a county representative at the Annapolis Convention, which replaced the Colonial Assembly.  Finally in 1779, Hanson was chosen as a Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress.  He held this position for the remainder of the war.  While serving in the Congress, Hanson was in a position to accept what was then the highest political role in the land, President of Congress, as set down within the Articles of Confederation.

   The Articles of Confederation were proposed in 1776, and ratified by Congress in 1777.  However, it took four long years for the Articles to gain the approval of each state, necessary for them to go into effect.  

   The reasons for the delay were numerous, but the main reason was Hanson’s home state, Maryland.  Maryland was angered by Ohio River valley land claims, primarily held by Virginia and New York, and believing that under the new government these extra lands gave those states too much power at considerable disadvantage to the smaller states.  Maryland argued instead for an equitable dispersal of power to all thirteen states.  Until Virginia and New York released their western land claims, Maryland adamantly refused to ratify the Articles.  By late 1780, all western land claims had been relinquished and on March 1, 1781, Maryland ratified the Articles, the last of the 13 states to do so.  John Hanson, with Daniel Carroll, endorsed them for Maryland.

   With the Articles in place, all the Continental Congress needed someone in charge.  Hanson was instrumental in persuading the Maryland Legislature to ratify the Articles of Confederation.  The