Rick tells that man who brought in the "George Washington" buttons that George Washington was not the first President of the United States. This is an Urban legend that has been around for some time. Prior to George Washington being elected as President of the United States of America there were eight Presidents of the Continental Congress, that were elected for a term of one year, but not as Presidents of the United States as the United States of America proper was not formed until the 8th of July 1788 (about five years after the death of John Hanson who is often mentioned as the "first" president of the united states in this legend) when the Continental Congress put the new Constitution that formed the United States of America into effect by announcing the dates for the elections and the assembly of the new Congress. The 1st United States Congress then elected, through the electoral college, George Washington as the First President of the United States of America in 1789 and took the oath of office on 30th April of that same year. He was also the only President of the United States to ever be elected to office with a unanimous vote from the electoral college. The Continental Congress was a body of Representatives that was called together from the thirteen colonies to aid in their governing but was not an overseeing body as was the later United States Congress. The term "State" used by the original thirteen states referred to "Sovereign State" which the original thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves to be and to which many in the modern Tea Party refer to when they talk of the founding fathers ideas of the rights of states vs the federal government.