Hvem var den første egentlige præsident i usa?
George Washington
Tanken om, at Hanson var den glemte første præsident i USA, blev yderligere fremmet i en biografi om Hanson fra 1932 af journalisten Seymour Wemyss Smith. I Smiths bog hævdes det, at den amerikanske revolution havde to primære ledere: George Washington på slagmarken og John Hanson i politik. Smiths bog var ligesom Douglas H. Thomas' bog fra 1898 en af en række biografier, der blev skrevet med det formål at promovere Hanson som "USA's første præsident". Om udtalelsen udtalte historikeren Ralph Levering "Det er ikke biografier skrevet af professionelle historikere; de er ikke baseret på forskning i primære kilder." Ifølge historikeren Richard B. Morris kunne man, hvis en kongrespræsident skulle kaldes USA's første præsident, "i højere grad argumentere for Peyton Randolph fra Virginia, den første præsident for den første og anden kontinentale kongres, eller for John Hancock, kongressens præsident, da denne erklærede sin uafhængighed." Påstanden om, at Hanson var en glemt præsident for USA, blev genoplivet på internettet, nogle gange med en ny påstand om, at han faktisk var en sort mand; et anakronistisk fotografi af senator John Hanson fra Liberia er blevet brugt til at understøtte denne påstand.
George Washington
The idea that Hanson was the forgotten first President of the United States was further promoted in a 1932 biography of Hanson by journalist Seymour Wemyss Smith. Smith's book asserted that the American Revolution had two primary leaders: George Washington on the battlefield, and John Hanson in politics. Smith's book, like Douglas H. Thomas's 1898 book, was one of a number of biographies written seeking to promote Hanson as the "first President of the United States". Regarding the opinion, historian Ralph Levering stated: "They're not biographies by professional historians; they aren't based on research into primary sources." According to historian Richard B. Morris, if a president of Congress were to be called the first President of the United States, "a stronger case could be made for Peyton Randolph of Virginia, the first President of the first and second Continental Congresses, or for John Hancock, the President of Congress when that body declared its independence." The claim that Hanson was a forgotten President of the United States was revived on the Internet, sometimes with a new assertion that he was actually a black man; an anachronistic photograph of Senator John Hanson of Liberia has been used to support this claim.
John Hanson