Presidents of the Continental Congresses and Confederation Congress, 1774–1789
When the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, the Delegates elected a presiding officer to oversee the revolutionary legislature’s sessions. Given the title of “president,” this officer’s responsibilities included ruling on parliamentary issues, managing official correspondence, advancing or holding back legislation, and meeting with important allies and foreign dignitaries as the “first member” of the Continental Congress. While these responsibilities were similar to those held by speakers in the colonial legislatures, the president could not appoint Delegates to committees, take actions independent of the Congress, or control the voting process. The first president of the Continental Congress was Virginia Delegate Peyton Randolph, who had previously served as speaker of the Virginia house of burgesses.1
| Congress | Name | Colony | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Continental Congress | Peyton Randolph | VA | Sep. 5–Oct. 22, 17742 |
| Henry Middleton | SC | Oct. 22–Oct. 26, 17743 | |
| Second Continental Congress | Peyton Randolph | VA | May 10–May 24, 17754 |
| John Hancock | MA | May 24, 1775–Oct. 31, 17775 | |
| Henry Laurens | SC | Nov. 1, 1777–Dec. 9, 17786 | |
| John Jay | NY | Dec. 10, 1778–Sep. 27, 17797 | |
| Samuel Huntington | CT | Sep. 28, 1779–Mar. 1, 17818 |
Following the creation of the Articles of Confederation, the Confederation Congress convened on March 2, 1781. Like the Continental Congress, the Confederation Congress elected a president to preside over its debates. On the whole, however, the Confederation Congress president had far fewer responsibilities, meaning the president’s ability to manage official correspondence and maintain social relations with important allies became more important.9 The Confederation Congress also elected a chairman to facilitate proceedings and perform specific ceremonial functions when a president was unable to serve. The duties of the chairman and the president were virtually the same.
| Congress | Name | Colony | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation Congress | Samuel Huntington | CT | Mar. 2–July 6, 178110 |
| Thomas McKean | DE | July 10–Oct. 23, 178111 | |
| John Hanson | MD | Nov. 5, 1781–Nov. 3, 178212 | |
| Elias Boudinot | NJ | Nov. 4, 1782–Nov. 3, 178313 | |
| Thomas Mifflin | PA | Nov. 3, 1783–Nov. 30, 178414 | |
| Richard Henry Lee | VA | Nov. 30, 1784–Nov. 4, 178515 | |
| John Hancock | MA | Nov. 23, 1785–June 5, 178616 | |
| Nathaniel Gorham | MA | June 6, 1786–Feb. 2, 178717 | |
| Arthur St. Clair | PA | Feb. 2–Oct. 5, 178718 | |
| Cyrus Griffin | VA | Jan. 22, 1788–Mar. 2, 178919 |
Footnotes
1Jennings B. Sanders, The Presidency of the Continental Congress: A Study in American Institutional History, Revised Edition (Chicago: n.p., 1930): 39–41.
2Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789, ed. Worthington C. Ford, Gaillard Hunt, John C. Fitzpatrick, and Roscoe R. Hill (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904–1937). Accessed via Library of Congress, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Databases, 1774–1875, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html. Hereinafter referred to as JCC, 1774–1789. See JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 1: 14, 102.
3JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 1: 102, 114.
4JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 2: 12, 58–59. Seat vacated to resume duties as speaker of Virginia house of burgesses.
5JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 2: 58–59; JCC, 1774 –1789, vol. 9: 852–853. Requested a “leave of absence for two months.”
6JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 9: 854; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 12: 1206.
7JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 12: 1206; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 15: 1113. Elected minister plenipotentiary to Spain.
8JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 15: 1114; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 19: 223; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 20: 724. Resigned due to “ill state of health.” Delegate Samuel Johnston of North Carolina was elected president on July 9, but “declined to accept the office of President,” on July 10; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 20: 732–733. On March 1, 1781, the Continental Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation and became known as the Confederation Congress.
9Sanders, The Presidency of the Continental Congress, 1774–89: 33; Edmund Cody Burnett, The Continental Congress (New York: MacMillan, 1941): 34; Calvin Jillson and Rick Wilson, Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994): 71–91.
10JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 19: 223; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 20: 724.
11JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 20: 733; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 21: 1069–1070. Resigned to serve as chief justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court.
12JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 21: 1099–1100.
13JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 23: 708.
14JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 25: 799.
15JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 27: 649; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 29: 872.
16JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 29: 883; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 30: 264; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 30: 328. Hancock never served as president because of illness and resigned on May 29, 1786. David Ramsay of South Carolina was elected chairman of the Confederation Congress and served from November 23, 1785 to May 15, 1786. When Ramsay left Congress, Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts was elected chairman and served from May 15 to June 6, 1786.
17JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 30: 329.
18JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 32: 11; JCC, 1774–1789, vol. 33: 610. Elected Governor of the Northwest Territory.
19JCC, 1774 –1789, vol. 34: 9.