The Fourteen Men Before George Washington

About this episode

The episode explores the fourteen men who held the title of President before George Washington and their overlooked historical significance.

Everyone knows George Washington was the first President of the United States. Technically true. But it's also a sleight of hand, because fourteen men held the title of President before him, and almost no American today can name a single one. Tonight on Disturbing History, we walk through all fourteen, the men who chaired the Continental Congress and the Confederation Congress during the years the country was being fought into existence. This is not the marble version. This is slave traders and Tower of London prisoners. This is the general who walked an American army into the worst slaughter the United States ever suffered at the hands of Native warriors. This is the plot to throw George Washington out of command in the middle of the Revolution. This is the merchant who tried to invite a Prussian prince across the ocean to come be king. This is a major general accepting Washington's resignation after once helping scheme against him, then dying so broke the state had to bury him. These are the men the textbooks left out, and the reasons they got left out say almost as much about America as the founding itself. Have a forgotten historical mystery, disturbing event, unsolved crime…

People in this episode

Host: Disturbing History

Topics covered

• American history
• Presidency
• Continental Congress
• historical figures
• hidden history
• true crime

Keywords

• George Washington
• Continental Congress
• historical figures
• American history
• hidden history
• true crime
• Presidency

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Continental Congress, Confederation Congress

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