I heard mention of this on Colbert one night a while back and thought I'd look into it further. It appears the first president was John Hanson and by some accounts, Hanson was highly regarded, though there is little mention of him in the history texts.
http://www.constitution.org/hist/first8pres.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/582763/posts
I can't help but wonder what sort of political machinations might have taken place during this period that caused such erasure? Some self aggrandizement on the part of those we regard as "Founders" today?
I don't know, but it does seem a tad fishy. And I would like to know more about this Hanson fellow.
I do notice the comments about the failure of the Articles of Confederation and the notes stating that it was attributed to
too much power being given to the states........................
Dave