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The president of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates that emerged as the first national government of the United States during the American Revolution. The president was a member of Congress elected by the other delegates to serve as an impartial moderator during meetings of Congress. Designed to be a largely ceremonial position without much influence, the office was unrelated to the later office of President of the United States.〔Ellis, 1.〕 Fourteen men served as president of Congress. The first was Peyton Randolph, who was elected on September 5, 1774. The last president, Cyrus Griffin, resigned in November 1788. President John Hancock is remembered for his large, bold signature on the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted and signed during his presidency. ==History== The first President of Congress was Peyton Randolph of Virginia, who was elected on September 5, 1774, to preside over the First Continental Congress. Poor health prevented him from attending the last few days of the session, and so Henry Middleton of South Carolina was elected to replace him.〔Sanders, 11.〕 When the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, Randolph was again chosen as president, but he returned to Virginia two weeks later to preside over the House of Burgesses.〔Sanders, 11–12.〕 Middleton declined to serve in the office again, and so John Hancock, the president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, was elected to the post. Hancock presided over Congress for more than two years before returning to Massachusetts. After Robert Morris rejected suggestions that he should succeed Hancock, Henry Laurens of South Carolina was elected in November 1777.〔Sanders, 15.〕 During Laurens's presidency, Congress became embroiled in a bitter dispute over the activities of diplomat Silas Deane. Laurens, a critic of Deane, resigned in protest during the affair. Laurens hoped that Congress would reelect him and vindicate his actions,〔Sanders, 17.〕 but in an election held in December 1778, only four states voted for him. Eight states voted for John Jay, who became the next president. (There were only twelve votes because one state did not have any delegates in attendance at the time.) During his presidency, Jay also served as Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court.〔Sanders, 19.〕 When Jay left the presidency to serve as minister to Spain, Samuel Huntington of Connecticut was elected on September 28, 1779.〔Sanders, 20.〕 Huntington had health problems, including contracting smallpox in 1780, and so he asked to be replaced in July 1781.〔〔 By this time, the Articles of Confederation had been ratified. On July 9, 1781, Samuel Johnston became the first man to be elected as president of Congress after the ratification of the Articles.〔Sanders, 21, note 73.〕 He declined the office, however, citing pressing family matters. He may also have wanted to return to North Carolina to make himself available in the gubernatorial election of 1782.〔Sanders, 21.〕 After Johnston turned down the office, Thomas McKean was elected on July 10, 1781.〔〔 Although McKean was a delegate from Delaware, he was also serving at the time as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. His dual role as president of Congress and Chief Justice of Pennsylvania provoked some criticism that McKean had become too powerful. According to historian Jennings Sanders, McKean's critics were ignorant of the powerlessness of the office of president of Congress.〔Sanders, 21–22.〕 President McKean resigned on October 23, 1781, after hearing news of the British surrender at Yorktown, but Congress asked him to remain in office until November, when a new session of Congress was scheduled to begin.〔Burnett, 524.〕 (The Articles of Confederation called for Congress to meet "on the first Monday in November, in every year....") On November 5, 1781, John Hanson of Maryland was elected. He would become the first president of Congress to serve a one-year term as specified under the Articles of Confederation.〔〔〔Sanders, 24.〕 He was followed by Elias Boudinot, who won the office in a comparatively narrow election, receiving the votes of just seven states.〔 Boudinot's successor was Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania, who was elected to the presidency more than a week before he had secured reelection as a congressional delegate. "()ad the Presidency been a more important office", wrote historian Jennings Sanders, "this would strike one as having been rather hazardous."〔Sanders, 25.〕 Mifflin served for just seven months. His most important duty was to accept on behalf of Congress the commission of General George Washington, who resigned in December 1783.〔Sanders, 26.〕 Mifflin was followed in office by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, who was elected on November 30, 1784.〔Sanders, 27.〕 John Hancock was elected to a second term in November 1785, even though he was not then in Congress, and Congress was aware that he was unlikely to attend.〔 He never took his seat, citing poor health, though he may have been uninterested in the position.〔Jillson and Wilson, 88.〕 Two delegates, David Ramsay and Nathaniel Gorham, performed his duties with the title of "chairman".〔〔Sanders, 29.〕 When Hancock finally resigned the office in June 1786, Gorham was elected. After he resigned in November 1786, it was months before enough members were present in Congress to elect a new president.〔 In February 1787, General Arthur St. Clair was elected. Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance during St. Clair's presidency and elected him as the governor of the Northwest Territory.〔Sanders, 30–31.〕 Even before the ratification of the new United States Constitution in June 1788, the Confederation Congress had been reduced to the status of a caretaker government.〔 There were not enough delegates present to choose St. Clair's successor until January 22, 1788, when the final president of Congress, Cyrus Griffin, was elected.〔 Griffin resigned his office on November 15, 1788, after only two delegates showed up for the new session of Congress.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「President of the Continental Congress」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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