Two Dollar Bills and John Hanson

I remember when these were very common in the 1950's. They had a red seal on the front because they were testing a new kind of paper. There were also others  with the normal blue seal. They were Silver Certificates and could be exchanged for the old silver coins. 

Now everything is a Federal Reserve Note and there are no real silver coins. Today's paper money cannot be exchanged for any precious metal. 

If you have ever looked at the back of the new ones closely you will notice a black man seated with the other delegates. That is John Hanson of Charles County, Md. in John Trumball's painting of the Signing of the Declaration  of independence in 1776.

Before the Constitution was ratified he was one of several Presidents who served on a rotating basis. Not elected by the people, they were chosen by the other delegates. Some people confuse him with a black Senator of the same name who served after the Civil War and wanted to return the freed blacks to Liberia, the same as Lincoln had briefly proposed before his death.

John Hanson was born April 14, 1721 (Old Style calendar of 1732 was April 3rd) – and he passes away on November 15, 1783. He was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Maryland during the Revolutionary Era. In 1779 Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress after serving in a variety of roles for the Patriot cause.

He signed the Articles of Confederation in 1781 after Maryland joined the other states in ratifying them. In November 1781, he was elected as the first President of the Confederation Congress; sometimes referred to as "President of the United States in Congress Assembled". For this reason, some of Hanson's biographers have argued that he was actually the first holder of the Office of President of the United States.