Maybe I made a common mistake, saying the Presidency didn't exist
in 1780.
Well, it appears that there WAS a person addressed as "President of
the United
States," as well as the technically more accurate "President of the
United
States in Congress Assembled," and the President of the "United
States" who held
office in 1780 --the earliest "zero-year" following the American
Revolution,
after which we were no longer colonial subjects of a head of state
ruling over
us from England-- was a fellow named Samuel Huntington.
http://www.virtualology.com/uspresidents/samuel-huntington.com/
His term of office was from September 28, 1779 to February 28,
1781, 1780 in
the middle.
"After signing the Declaration [of Independence], Huntington had
served in
the Continental Congress for three more years when, on September
28, 1779, he
was elected President. Huntington presided over the Confederation
Congress
during a critical period in the War for Independence. His
commitment to
Independence and his Presidency is renowned among scholars as his
unwavering leadership
held our nation together during a succession of military losses,
sedition and
defections:
October 10th, 1779 - American attempt to recapture Savannah, GA
fails. Winter
of 1779-80 - was the coldest of the war and provisions for
Washington and his
army were scarce Morristown, NJ. causing a mutiny.
May 12, 1780 - British capture Charleston, SC. May 1780 - Former
Continental
Congress President Henry Middleton pledges his allegiance to the
crown after
the Fall of Charleston. May 29, 1780 - British crush Americans at
Waxhaw Creek.
August 16, 1780 - British rout Americans at Camden, SC. September
25, 1780 -
Major General Benedict Arnold's plans to cede West Point to the
British
discovered.
January 1, 1781 - Mutiny of unpaid Pennsylvania soldiers. January
14, 1781 -
Benedict Arnold burns Richmond. March 15, 1781 - British win costly
victory at
Guilford Courthouse, NC. April 25, 1781 - General Greene defeated at
Hobkirk's Hill, SC. May 15, 1781 - Cornwallis clashed with Greene
at Guilford
Courthouse, NC. June 6, 1781 - British hold off Americans at Ninety
Six, SC . July 6,
1781 - General Anthony Wayne repulsed at Green Springs Farm, VA
"By the fall of 1780 three years had elapsed since Burgoyne's
surrender at
Saratoga. The fortunes of the Americans, instead of improving, had
grown worse
to the point of desperation. France’s aid had thus far proved to
be quite
minor, the southern army had been annihilated, US paper money, the
Continental
had become worthless, US credit abroad hinged on the dwindling
fortunes of
patriots like Robert Morris and Haym Salomon. The founding Articles of
Confederation which were to form the perpetual Union of the United
States of America,
after four years, had yet to be ratified. Legally, the nation that
sought foreign
recognition and aid was not a united country as its own
"constitution" was no
ratified by all 13 states. Prospects of the United States's
survival were
far past bleak as the country had never been formed!
"The army, clothed in rags, half-starved and not paid, was ripe for
the
mutiny and desertions to the British lines averaged more than 100 a
month. Samuel
Huntington's Presidential Predecessor, former Continental Congress
President
Henry Middleton betrayed his fellow patriots and declared a renewed
loyalty to
King George III.
"Even George Washington wrote that "he had almost ceased to hope."
"In the summer of 1780 the spirit of desertion now seized Washington's
greatest General, Benedict Arnold, with whom the British commander
had for some time
tampered through the mediation of John Andre and an American loyalist,
Beverley Robinson. Stung by the injustice he had suffered, Arnold
made up his mind
to play a part like that which General Monk had played in the
restoration of
Charles II to the British throne.
"By putting the British in possession of the Hudson river at West
Point,
Arnold would deliver the British all that they had sought to obtain
by the
campaigns of 1776-'77. Once West Point was secured the American
cause would thus
become so hopeless that an occasion would be offered for
negotiation ..."
========
After breaking ground for the Washington Monument on July 4, 1850,
President
Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican War, suddenly fell ill. <He
ALMOST died
on the Fourth July, like 3 other Presidents before him.> He
survived for only
a few days and finally died on July 9th, the official cause of list
given as
gastroenteritis -- inflammation of the stomach and intestines.
Some historians suspected that Taylor's death may have had other
causes, and
in 1991 one convinced Taylor's descendants that the president might
have
suffered arsenic poisoning. As a result, Taylor's remains were
exhumed from a
cemetery in Louisville and Kentucky's medical examiner brought
samples of hair and
fingernail tissue to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for study." [Their
conclusion: no sign of arsenic poisoning.]
Wikipedia:
On July 4, 1850, Taylor attended Independence Day ceremonies at the
Washington Monument on a hot day. He consumed several bowls of
cherries and iced milk
(milk with ice shavings). The combination of milk and cherries
caused his
stomach to create excessive amounts of acid and he contracted
gastroenteritis
(stomach illness). He was diagnosed by his physicians with cholera
morbus, a
term that included diarrhea and dysentery but not true cholera.
The cause of
the gastroenteritis is variously described as cholera, typhoid
fever, or even
food poisoning.
Taylor died on July 9. He is buried in Louisville, Kentucky, in
what is now
the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. Taylor was succeeded by Vice
President Millard Fillmore.
Because of conspiracy theories that Taylor was poisoned by his vice
president
or other political rivals <his daughter Sarah Knox Taylor
(1814" "1835)
married future President of the Confederate States Jefferson Davis>
— and thus
might have been the first president to be assassinated — his body
was exhumed and
autopsied in 1991. No traces of poison were found on his bones.
==========
Not just on the same day, the Fourth of July 1826, but within hours
of each
other, 2nd President John Adams and 3rd President Thomas Jefferson
died ...
Both were architects of the Declaration of Independence that gave
birth to this
nation; both died 50 years to the day from the birth of the country
they
founded.
----------------
Working closely with Aaron Burr of New York, ran for the Presidency
in 1800.
Federalists counterattacked Jefferson, a Deist, as an atheist and
enemy of
Christianity. He tied with Burr for first place in the Electoral
College, leaving
the House of Representatives (where the Federalists still had some
power) to
decide the election.
After lengthy debate within the Federalist-controlled House, Hamilton
convinced his party that Jefferson would be a lesser political evil
than Burr and
that such scandal within the electoral process would undermine the
still-young
regime. The issue was resolved by the House, on February 17, 1801,
when
Jefferson was elected President and Burr was granted the Vice
Presidency.
...
[In 1800, it turns out, Aaron Burr played a
conspiratorial role
similar to Benedict Arnold in 1780, during the previous 20-year
cycle.]
James Wilkinson
Entrusted with the control of the newly acquired territory of
Louisiana,
this Revolutionary War hero was a double agent on the Spanish
payroll and a
co-conspirator with the traitor Aaron Burr.
Wilkinson served honorably in the Revolution under General Horatio
Gates.
Following the war, he decamped to Kentucky, where he founded the
community of
Frankfort and worked to gain statehood for Kentucky.
In 1787 Wilkinson turned traitor and began a long-lasting
relationship as a
secret agent of Spain. He was known to his Spanish contacts as
Agent 13. After
Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana from Napoleon Bonaparte,
Wilkinson was
named territorial governor of northern Louisiana. He also served as
the
commander in chief of the U.S. Army.
By this time, Wilkinson had already begun to engage in a plot with
Aaron
Burr. While complete details of the plot are still open to debate,
they probably
included plans to separate Louisiana from the U.S. and perhaps even
to conquer
Mexico. Burr gathered and began to train an army, on the
assumption that
Britain would provide him with warships and monetary support.
When support failed to appear, Wilkinson betrayed Burr to Jefferson
and
facilitated Burr's capture. In the treason trial that followed,
Wilkinson's story
aroused suspicion. Nonetheless, he was acquitted of treason and
rose to the
rank of major general. Following a devastating defeat at Montreal
during the War
of 1812, Wilkinson retired in disgrace.
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<DIV>Maybe I made a common mistake, saying the Presidency didn't
exist in 1780. Well, it appears that there WAS a person
addressed as "President of the United States," as well as the
technically more accurate "President of the United States in
Congress Assembled," and the President of the "United States"
who held office in <STRONG>1780 --the earliest "zero-year"
following the American Revolution,</STRONG> after which we were no
longer colonial subjects of a head of state ruling over us from
England-- was a fellow named <STRONG>Samuel Huntington</
STRONG>. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.virtualology.com/uspresidents/samuel-
huntington.com/">http://www.virtualology.com/uspresidents/samuel-
huntington.com/</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>His term of office was from September 28, 1779 to February 28,
1781, 1780 in the middle.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"<FONT face="Times New Roman"><B>After signing the Declaration
[of Independence], Huntington had served in the Continental
Congress for three more years when, on September 28, 1779, he was
elected President. Huntington presided over the Confederation
Congress during a critical period in the War for Independence. His
commitment to Independence and his Presidency is renowned among
scholars as his unwavering leadership held our nation together
during a succession of military losses, sedition and defections:</
B></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><B><I><FONT
color=#800000>October 10th, 1779</FONT></I> - American attempt to
recapture Savannah, GA fails. <I><FONT color=#800000>Winter of
1779-80</FONT></I> - was the coldest of the war and provisions for
Washington and his army were scarce Morristown, NJ. causing a
mutiny. </B></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><B></B></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><B><FONT color=#800000>May
12, 1780</FONT> - British capture Charleston, SC. <FONT
color=#800000>May 1780 - </FONT><FONT color=#0000ff>Former
Continental Congress President Henry Middleton</FONT></B><FONT
color=#0000ff> <B>pledges</B></B> </FONT><B><FONT color=#0000ff>his
allegiance to the crown after the Fall of Charleston</FONT>.<FONT
color=#800000> May 29, 1780</FONT> - British crush Americans at
Waxhaw Creek. <FONT color=#800000>August 16, 1780</FONT> - British
rout Americans at Camden, SC. <FONT color=#800000>September 25,
1780</FONT> - <FONT color=#0000ff>Major General Benedict Arnold's
plans to cede West Point to the British discovered.</FONT></B></
FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><B><BR><I><FONT
color=#800000>January 1, 1781</FONT></I> - Mutiny of unpaid
Pennsylvania soldiers. </B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700"><I><FONT
color=#800000>January 14, 1781</FONT></I> - Benedict Arnold burns
Richmond.</SPAN><B> <I><FONT color=#800000>March 15, 1781</FONT></
I> - British win costly victory at Guilford Courthouse, NC.
<I><FONT color=#800000>April 25, 1781</FONT></I> - General Greene
defeated at Hobkirk's Hill, SC. <I><FONT color=#800000>May 15,
1781</FONT></I> - Cornwallis clashed with Greene at Guilford
Courthouse, NC. <I><FONT color=#800000>June 6, 1781</FONT></I> -
British hold off Americans at Ninety Six, SC . <I><FONT
color=#800000>July 6, 1781</FONT></I> - General Anthony Wayne
repulsed at Green Springs Farm, VA</B></FONT> </DIV>
<P></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B>"By the fall of
1780 three years had elapsed since Burgoyne's surrender at <A
style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline:
single" href="http://www.battleofsaratoga.com/";>Saratoga</A>.
The fortunes of the Americans, instead of improving, had grown
worse to the point of desperation. France’s aid had thus far
proved to be quite minor, the southern army had been annihilated,
US paper money, the Continental had become worthless, US credit
abroad hinged on the dwindling fortunes of patriots like Robert
Morris and </B><A href="http://virtualology.com/
virtualwarmuseum.com/revolutionarywarhall/HAYMSALOMON.COM/"><B>Haym
Salomon</B></A><B>. The founding Articles of Confederation which
were to form the perpetual Union of the United States of America,
after four years, had yet to be ratified. Legally, the nation
that sought foreign recognition and aid was not a united country as
its own <I>"constitution"</I> was no ratified by all 13
states. Prospects of the United States's survival were far
past bleak as the country had never been formed! </B></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B>"The army,
clothed in rags, half-starved and not paid, was ripe for the mutiny
and desertions to the British lines averaged more than 100 a
month. <FONT color=#0000ff>Samuel Huntington's Presidential
Predecessor, former Continental Congress President Henry Middleton
betrayed his fellow patriots and declared a renewed loyalty to King
George III.</FONT> </B></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B>"Even George
Washington wrote that <I>"he had almost ceased to hope." </I></B></
FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B><FONT
color=#0000ff>"In the summer of 1780 the spirit of desertion now
seized Washington's greatest General, Benedict Arnold, with whom
the British commander had for some time tampered through the
mediation of </FONT><A style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION:
underline; text-underline: single" href="http://
www.johnandre.com/">John Andre</A><FONT color=#0000ff> and an
American loyalist, Beverley Robinson. <EM><U>Stung by the
injustice he had suffered, </U></EM></FONT><A href="http://
www.virtualology.com/uspresidents/samuel-huntington.com/samuel-
huntington.com/benedictarnold.org"><EM>Arnold</EM></A><FONT
color=#0000ff><EM><U> made up his mind to play a part like that
which General Monk had played in the restoration of Charles II to
the British throne. </U></EM></FONT></B></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B><FONT
color=#0000ff>"By putting the British in possession of the Hudson
river at West Point, Arnold would deliver the British all that they
had sought to obtain by the campaigns of 1776-'77. Once West Point
was secured the American cause would thus become so hopeless that
an occasion would be offered for negotiation ..."</FONT></B></
FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#0000ff>========</FONT></STRONG></P><FONT face="Times New
Roman" color=#0000ff>
<P><FONT color=#400040 size=3><STRONG>After breaking ground for the
Washington Monument <FONT color=#ff0000><U><EM>on July 4</EM></U>,
1850, President Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican War, suddenly
fell ill.</FONT> <EM><U><He ALMOST died on the Fourth
July, like 3 other Presidents before him.></U></EM> He survived
for only a few days and finally died on July 9th, the
official cause of list given as gastroenteritis --
inflammation of the stomach and intestines. </STRONG></FONT>
<P><FONT color=#400040 size=3><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>Some
historians suspected that Taylor's death may have had other causes</
FONT>, and in 1991 one convinced Taylor's descendants that the
president might have suffered arsenic poisoning. As a result,
Taylor's remains were exhumed from a cemetery in Louisville and
Kentucky's medical examiner brought samples of hair and fingernail
tissue to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for study." [Their
conclusion: no sign of <EM>arsenic</EM> poisoning.]</STRONG></
FONT></P></FONT><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<P><FONT color=#0000ff size=3>Wikipedia:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff>On </FONT><A title="July 4" href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_4">July 4</A><FONT color=#0000ff>, </
FONT><A title=1850 href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1850";>1850</
A><FONT color=#0000ff>, Taylor attended </FONT><A
title="Independence Day (United States)" href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%
29">Independence Day</A><FONT color=#0000ff> ceremonies at the </
FONT><A title="Washington Monument" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Washington_Monument">Washington Monument</A><FONT
color=#0000ff> on a hot day. He consumed several bowls
of </FONT><A title=Cherry href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Cherry">cherries</A><FONT color=#0000ff> and iced milk (milk with
ice shavings). The combination of milk and cherries caused
his stomach to create excessive amounts of acid and he contracted </
FONT><A title=Gastroenteritis href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Gastroenteritis">gastroenteritis</A><FONT color=#0000ff> (stomach
illness). He was diagnosed by his physicians with <I>cholera
morbus</I>, a term that included </FONT><A title=Diarrhea
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diarrhea";>diarrhea</A><FONT
color=#0000ff> and </FONT><A title=Dysentery href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysentery">dysentery</A><FONT color=#0000ff>
but not true </FONT><A title=Cholera href="http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Cholera">cholera</A><FONT color=#0000ff>. The cause of
the gastroenteritis is variously described as cholera, </FONT><A
title="Typhoid fever" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Typhoid_fever">typhoid fever</A><FONT color=#0000ff>, or even </
FONT><A title="Food poisoning" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Food_poisoning">food poisoning</A><FONT color=#0000ff>. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff>Taylor died on </FONT><A title="July 9"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_9";>July 9</A><FONT
color=#0000ff>. He is buried in </FONT><A
title="Louisville, Kentucky" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Louisville%2C_Kentucky">Louisville, Kentucky</A><FONT
color=#0000ff>, in what is now the </FONT><A title="Zachary Taylor
National Cemetery" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Zachary_Taylor_National_Cemetery">Zachary Taylor National Cemetery</
A><FONT color=#0000ff>. Taylor was succeeded by Vice
President Millard Fillmore.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff>Because of conspiracy theories that Taylor
was poisoned by his vice president or other political rivals <FONT
color=#ff0000><his daughter </FONT><A title="Sarah Knox Taylor"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Knox_Taylor";><FONT
color=#ff0000>Sarah Knox Taylor</FONT></A><FONT color=#ff0000>
(1814–1835) married future </FONT><A title="President of the
Confederate States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
President_of_the_Confederate_States"><FONT color=#ff0000>President
of the Confederate States</FONT></A><FONT color=#ff0000> </FONT><A
title="Jefferson Davis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Jefferson_Davis"><FONT color=#ff0000>Jefferson Davis</FONT></
A><FONT color=#ff0000>>—</FONT> and thus <EM><U><FONT
color=#ff0000>might have been the first president to be
assassinated</FONT></U></EM> — his body was exhumed and autopsied
in 1991. No traces of poison were found on his bones.</
FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff>==========</FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT size=3>Not just on the same day, the
Fourth of July 1826, <EM><U>but within hours of each other</
U></EM>, 2nd President John Adams and 3rd President Thomas
Jefferson died ... Both were architects of
the Declaration of Independence that gave birth to this
nation; both died <EM><FONT color=#ff0000><U>50 years to </U></
FONT></EM></FONT><FONT size=3><EM><FONT color=#ff0000><U>the day</
U></FONT></EM> from the birth of the country they founded.</
FONT><U> </U></P>
<P align=left><FONT size=3>----------------</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3>Working closely with </FONT><A title="Aaron Burr"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Burr";><FONT size=3>Aaron
Burr</FONT></A><FONT size=3> of New York, </FONT><A title="U.S.
presidential election, 1800" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
U.S._presidential_election%2C_1800"><FONT size=3>ran for the
Presidency</FONT></A><FONT size=3> in 1800. Federalists
counterattacked Jefferson, a </FONT><A title=Deist href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deist"><FONT size=3>Deist</FONT></A><FONT
size=3>, as an </FONT><A title=Atheist href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist"><FONT size=3>atheist</FONT></A><FONT
size=3> and enemy of Christianity. He tied with Burr for first
place in the </FONT><A title="Electoral College" href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College"><FONT size=3>Electoral
College</FONT></A><FONT size=3>, leaving the </FONT><A
title="United States House of Representatives" href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives"><FONT
size=3>House of Representatives</FONT></A><FONT size=3> (where the
Federalists still had some power) to decide the election.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3>After lengthy debate within the Federalist-
controlled House, Hamilton convinced his party that
<EM><U>Jefferson would be a lesser political evil than Burr</U></
EM> and that such scandal within the electoral process would
undermine the still-young regime. The issue was resolved by the
House, on </FONT><A title="February 17" href="http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_17"><FONT size=3>February 17</FONT></
A><FONT size=3>, </FONT><A title=1801 href="http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/1801"><FONT size=3>1801</FONT></A><FONT size=3>, when
Jefferson was elected President and Burr was granted the Vice
Presidency.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3>...</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><EM><FONT size=3>
[In 1800, it turns out, Aaron
Burr played a conspiratorial role </FONT><FONT size=3>similar to </
FONT><FONT size=3>Benedict Arnold in 1780, during the
previous 20-year cycle.]</FONT></EM></FONT></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<P><FONT face=Helvetica size=3>James Wilkinson </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3> Entrusted with the control of the newly
acquired territory of Louisiana, this Revolutionary War hero was a
double agent on the Spanish payroll and a co-conspirator with the
traitor Aaron Burr. <BR><BR>Wilkinson served honorably in the
Revolution under General Horatio Gates. Following the war, he
decamped to Kentucky, where he founded the community of Frankfort
and worked to gain statehood for Kentucky. <BR><BR>In 1787
Wilkinson turned traitor and began a long-lasting relationship as a
secret agent of Spain. He was known to his Spanish contacts as
Agent 13. After Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana from Napoleon
Bonaparte, Wilkinson was named territorial governor of northern
Louisiana. He also served as the commander in chief of the U.S.
Army. <BR><BR>By this time, Wilkinson had already begun to engage
in a plot with Aaron Burr. While complete details of the plot are
still open to debate, they probably included plans to separate
Louisiana from the U.S. and perhaps even to conquer Mexico.
Burr gathered and began to train an army, on the assumption that
Britain would provide him with warships and monetary support.
<BR><BR>When support failed to appear, Wilkinson betrayed Burr to
Jefferson and facilitated Burr's capture. In the treason trial that
followed, Wilkinson's story aroused suspicion. Nonetheless, he was
acquitted of treason and rose to the rank of major general.
Following a devastating defeat at Montreal during the War of 1812,
Wilkinson retired in disgrace. <BR><BR></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></
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