Who Else Could Have Been The First US President?

Just curious, but who else aside from George Washington could have been the first US President, with a POD after the end of the American Revolution?
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
I was always a fan of the idea of Ben Franklin becoming president. IIRC, a lot of the Founders wanted to offer it to Benny-boy in the event of Washington turning the job down.

A Ben Franklin presidency would have presented a lot of interesting precedents. He probably wouldn't have taken the strong leadership role Georgie did, opting to let the Congress decide most matters. He also would have died before his term was up, giving us a minor succession "crisis," especially with Adams (assuming he's still VPOTUS; the positin may very well go to a southerner this time) being so unpopular.

I actually read a delightful short story by Jody Lynn Nye in the anthology Alternate Presidents that deals with a Franklin presidency. He spends most of his time being the silly and wily fellow he always was, using his office (and nom de plumes in newspapers) to encourage common people to take a more active role in governance, much to the distress of John Adams and the Congress.
 
Well, a successful Newborough plot might have led to a different president.

but anyway, if Washington dies or declines the Presidency without endorsing anyone else, a Franklin Presidency doe seem likely.
 
I'm with Franklin too. Would've been cool, less corruption more affairs. he would have pushed education more too.
 

maverick

Banned
Jefferson and Madison spring to mind

John Adams as well.

The Federalist was the biggest party/faction at the time, IIRC, well before their opponents could form a coherent force.

So probably John Adams.

Other interesting options could be Aaron Burr or Horatio Gates. But the first is not that popular, is an anti-federalist and the other might I don't know how popular he was.
 
I think having a one year Franklin presidency would be pretty cool. Then maybe John Adams would be his VP, and we'd get an Adams presidency before OTL's time.
 
I think having a one year Franklin presidency would be pretty cool. Then maybe John Adams would be his VP, and we'd get an Adams presidency before OTL's time.

I wonder if Hamilton and the High Federalists would exert as much influence in an earlier Adams Presidency? and if so, would something like the alien and Sedition acts have been more long-lasting if they were introduced earlier?
 
Ah, that reminds me. Why exactly could Hamilton not run for president IOTL?

Strictly speaking he could, and the language in the constitution was written specifically to allow it. Despite being born in Jamaica, he was a US Citizen at the time the constitution was adopted. Had Burr not knocked him off, he could have succeed Jefferson.
 

maverick

Banned
Am I the only one who remembers Hamilton was not a US Citizen? well, one born in the United States.

At least that's what I've heard everytime a Hamilton Presidency is discussed.

If he can in fact be elected President due to some grand-father clause or something, let me know please...:)
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
Franklin is out of the question. He was far too old by that point. He would have been roughly 83 in 1789, and died a year later.

I'm not sure that age would necessarily preclude Franklin from gaining the presidency. We should bear in mind that Franklin was much beloved by basically...everybody...and we ought also to remember that the presidency was still in its infancy, and many in the Congress (and Franklin himself, for that matter) thought it would by and large be a sort of figurehead position, and illusion that Washington (as perhaps only Washington could) quickly disabused them of.

Besides, even though 84 is old, especially for the time, nobody really saw Franklin's death as a sort of imminent thing, and IIRC his death came as quite a shock to many.

But, assuming Franklin doesn't get the nod, perhaps John Hancock could get it, though perhaps John Adams and John Jay would be more likely, both having placed 2nd and 3rd in the electoral college, respectively.
 
Am I the only one who remembers Hamilton was not a US Citizen? well, one born in the United States.

The US Constitution said:
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President

Hamilton falls under the second case, which was arguably written specifically for him.
 
Benjamin Franklin seems like the most likely candidate, even though he would die a little less than a year after becoming president. His replacement would probably be John Adams. President Franklin would likely set the precedent of a weak presidency, with Congress taking the primary role in governance. Since he would die before the end of his term, there would be no precedent of the president serving a maximum of two terms.
 
Hamilton was ineligible for the presidency. Which really is a good thing, in my opinion.

US Constitution said:
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President



Although I agree with you on the second point, he certainly could have run for President.
 
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