Singleton speaks on U.S. history for Constitution Day

Sep. 16—Ask any American from kindergarteners to retirees who the first president was, and they will all give you the same answer — George Washington.

But as Bruce Wayne Singleton told the audience yesterday at Somerset Community College for their Constitution Day event, this fact could not be further from the truth.

America celebrates the Constitution every September 17 and Somerset Community College celebrated it yesterday by hosting Bruce Wayne Singleton for his speech "A few things you might not have known about the United States Constitution, or ... Are you sure you know who the first President of the United States was?"

Singleton is a Somerset attorney and professor of cyber law and business law at Campbellsville University, and he loves giving lectures about the American Constitution.

"I cannot remember not having a passion for the Constitution" said Singleton.

His "lecture" was more of a discussion. Singleton enjoys a system where he sits in a chair onstage and pulls notecards randomly with names of audience members. The first question he asked of each audience member was to name one of the original 13 colonies. The audience members would give their answers and Singleton would briefly break down history of each.

"A lot of us take the details of the U.S. Constitution for granted," said Singleton. "There are many things that make the founding document for our country interesting and unique."

Singleton continued the speech with a chapter of American History that is often forgotten. In the period immediately following the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation. This basic rulebook gave the colonies a way to maintain a fragile "friendship" during the Revolutionary War.

The union kept the Articles of Confederation a little longer until they realized they would need a strong central government in order to protect themselves from attack. However, during the eight-year period in which the Articles of Confederation served as the active constitution, presidents oversaw Congress.

The first president of the United States therefore was not George Washington, who was the first to serve under the constitution, but rather John Hanson, a man from Maryland who served as president from November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782. However, the presidents under the Articles of Confederation had far fewer responsibilities and powers than presidents have today.

"The president back in the day didn't mean what it means today. A president just meant the guy who was sitting up at the front of the room," said Singleton in his speech. "The president really didn't do anything except maybe count the votes. It was a ceremonial post; nobody wanted the job. Hanson tried to quit three times."

The states themselves were individual countries instead of parts of one large country. Therefore, Congressmen were representing individual countries.

Singleton explained that the creation of the United States as we know it today required the Continental Congress to barricade the windows and doors to Congress and "commit an act of treason," by combining the 13 countries into one unified United States of America.

"[The Constitution] was not a document that was forged in fire and handed down from the gods," said Singleton, "but one born of practical necessity at a time when survival of the country was anything but certain."