Why the term "President"?

Why did the Americans decide to name their executive "President"? Were there other names thrown about that could've been used?
Consul did was wondered, President seems was more culture neutral(as a latin term for 'chairman' as the first one to sit in a board)
 
"President" was considered a neutral-ish term, not quite monarchial, but not unimpressive, either. They really did make it up as they went.
 
"The modern usage of the term president to designate a single person who is the head of state of a republic can be traced directly to the United States Constitution of 1787, which created the office of President of the United States. Previous American governments had included "presidents" (such as the president of the Continental Congress or the president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress), but these were presiding officers in the older sense, with no executive authority. It has been suggested that the executive use of the term was borrowed from early American colleges and universities, which were usually headed by a president. British universities were headed by an official called the "Chancellor" (typically a ceremonial position) while the chief administrator held the title of "Vice-Chancellor". But America's first institutions of higher learning (such as Harvard University and Yale University) didn't resemble a full-sized university so much as one of its constituent colleges. A number of colleges at Cambridge University featured an official called the "president". The head, for instance, of Magdalene College, Cambridge was called the master and his second the president. The first president of Harvard, Henry Dunster, had been educated at Magdalene. Some have speculated that he borrowed the term out of a sense of humility, considering himself only a temporary place-holder. The presiding official of Yale College, originally a "rector" (after the usage of continental European universities), became "president" in 1745." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_(government_title)
 
"The modern usage of the term president to designate a single person who is the head of state of a republic can be traced directly to the United States Constitution of 1787, which created the office of President of the United States. Previous American governments had included "presidents" (such as the president of the Continental Congress or the president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress), but these were presiding officers in the older sense, with no executive authority. It has been suggested that the executive use of the term was borrowed from early American colleges and universities, which were usually headed by a president. British universities were headed by an official called the "Chancellor" (typically a ceremonial position) while the chief administrator held the title of "Vice-Chancellor". But America's first institutions of higher learning (such as Harvard University and Yale University) didn't resemble a full-sized university so much as one of its constituent colleges. A number of colleges at Cambridge University featured an official called the "president". The head, for instance, of Magdalene College, Cambridge was called the master and his second the president. The first president of Harvard, Henry Dunster, had been educated at Magdalene. Some have speculated that he borrowed the term out of a sense of humility, considering himself only a temporary place-holder. The presiding official of Yale College, originally a "rector" (after the usage of continental European universities), became "president" in 1745." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_(government_title)
Thank you very much for that.
 
On further investigation: the New Hampshire Constitution of 1784 does seem to provide for a "President" of the state: "There shall be a supreme executive magistrate, who shall be styled, the President of the State of New-Hampshire; and whose title shall be His Excellency. " https://books.google.com/books?id=AYk0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA252 This was changed to "Governor" in 1782. https://books.google.com/books?id=uOpMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA186
Many states called their executive "President" before they eventually changed it to "Governor". I know Delaware and Pennsylvania were like that.
 
Many states called their executive "President" before they eventually changed it to "Governor". I know Delaware and Pennsylvania were like that.

In PA it was President of the Supreme Executive Council, not of the State. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Executive_Council_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Pennsylvania (The Council was replaced by a single Governoe in 1790.) But in DE it does seem to be "President" of the state https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/de02.asp
 
At the very beginning of the republics of Argentina, Chile and Nicaragua, the title Director Supremo (Supreme Director) was used, but later it was changed to president
 
In PA it was President of the Supreme Executive Council, not of the State. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Executive_Council_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Pennsylvania (The Council was replaced by a single Governoe in 1790.) But in DE it does seem to be "President" of the state https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/de02.asp
That's right! I forgot about the Pennsylvania situation. I remember reading about Ben Franklin and being very confused about how it was talking about his time as president. Then I realized it was President of the Pennsylvania council.
 
Some proposals for the US Government during the Constitutional Convention called for the executive branch to be headed by a governor, so we'd be talking about the Governor of the United States of America (as opposed to the President).
 
Some proposals for the US Government during the Constitutional Convention called for the executive branch to be headed by a governor, so we'd be talking about the Governor of the United States of America (as opposed to the President).
A timeline where a governor has more authority than a swarm of state presidents would be amusing. You could call the Speaker of the House (as leader of the Article 1 branch) consul for even more fun.
 
A timeline where a governor has more authority than a swarm of state presidents would be amusing. You could call the Speaker of the House (as leader of the Article 1 branch) consul for even more fun.
There was a list on one of the Alternate Presidents and PMs threads that had the American Executive called the "Governor". It was actually a pretty interesting little list. America had a parliamentary system after a successful third revolution for freedom from Britain.
 
I show this video to my civics classes when we discuss the executive branch. The part of about why the president is called president starts at 1:30 but I think the rest of the video is interesting too. Ties in with the John Adams link above.
 
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