Were there any Presidents before George Washington?

This is kind of a tricky question. Most people, when they think of Presidents, think of those people that were elected after the Constitution went into effect. Therefore, most people would say that George Washington was our first President.

However, there was a President under the plan of government created by the Articles of the Confederation. The position of President under the Articles of Confederation was very different from the position of President under the Constitution. The President in the Articles of Confederation had very limited power, unlike the President under the Constitution. The first President under the Articles of Confederation was John Hanson.

However, because there was no executive branch of government under the Articles of Confederation, and also because the position really had no significant power, it is much more accurate to say that George Washington was the first President of the United States. There really is no need to clarify this since almost everybody accepts the idea that George Washington was our first President.