Question in Presidential $1 Coin A Florida man has sued U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson with the goal of recognizing 10 men he says were president before George Washington. He wants Paulson to add these men into the Presidential $1 coin series.

Stanley L. Klos of Palm Beach, Florida would like everyone to know and recognize the men who were Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled—leaders after the Articles of Confederation were adopted in March of 1781 and prior to Washington’s presidency in 1789.

The men Klos speaks of are Samuel Huntington, Thomas McKean, John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Nathanial Gorham, Arthur St. Clair and Cyrus Griffin. Men, he says and talks about in his book, President Who? Forgotten Founders, who not only held top positions in U.S. history, but signed national documents as the President.

"If you go into the national archive, the first thing that greets you is the Treaty of Paris proclamation signed under the great seal of the United States of America by our president, Thomas Mifflin,” Klos says. “It ended the war with Great Britain.”

So why sue Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson? Paulson is over the United States Mint, and the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 requires,

"…the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of each
of the Nation’s past Presidents…"

It further directs the Secretary of Treasury in the general design of every Presidential $1 coin:

"…The design on the obverse shall contain— the name and likeness of a President of the United States…"

In affect, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is the top government official responsible for carrying out the requirements set within the law for the Presidential $1 coins and minting them.

The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida on May 1, 2008. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday will preside over the case.

Getting a positive judgment may be difficult. Although historical leaders in their own right, Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled invoked different authority and responsibilities compared to the later constitutionally created position of President of the United States.

History scholar Stanley Klos says the 10 men who served as president under the Articles of Confederation are America's 'Forgotten Founders.'

TAMPA – Any schoolchild knows that George Washington was the first president of the United States.

That's a problem for Palm Harbor resident Stanley L. Klos, 54, a scholar of rare historical documents who is on a quest for recognition of the 10 men he says were president before Washington took the oath of office in 1789.

Klos wants people to know about Samuel Huntington of Connecticut. Klos says Huntington was elected under the Continental Congress but ascended to the presidency under the Constitution of 1777, also known as the Articles of Confederation, on March 2, 1781.

Then there are Thomas McKean, John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Nathanial Gorham, Arthur St. Clair and Cyrus Griffin, who left office two months before Washington became president. All these men signed documents as president of the United States. They were leaders of this country's national government known as the United States in Congress Assembled.

"They actually enacted treaties, laws, proclamations and resolutions as presidents of the United States," Klos says. It doesn't bother Klos that historians say he's off base and dismiss his claims as silly. As far as he's concerned, they have it all wrong, and he has the documents to prove it.

"If you go into the national archive, the first thing that greets you is the Treaty of Paris proclamation signed under the great seal of the United States of America by our president, Thomas Mifflin," Klos says. "It ended the war with Great Britain."


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Stanley Klos holds up a one-dollar gold piece with the image of President John Adams stamped on it. Klos wants the government to print coins honoring the men who served as president under the Articles of Confederation, before the Constitution was ratified. (Tribune photo by Andy Jones)

Klos has written a book on the subject and formed a corporation called Forgotten Founders Inc. He had an exhibit at the 2004 Republican convention and plans another at this year's Republican convention.

And now he has brought his case to federal court. He is suing Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, trying to force the government to include his 10 presidents on coins. The suit cites the "Presidential Coin Act," which directs the Treasury secretary to issue $1 coins emblematic of the Presidents of the United States, and to mint the coins until each president has been honored.

Klos claims in the lawsuit that failing to recognize these men harms his children and all students in America by misleading them about "the existence and identity of the earliest founders and the presidents of the United States."

Klos said U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday, who has been assigned the case, "has a chance to right history. If he does it, it'll finally correct the textbooks."

To Klos, the law is clear. It makes no exception for Samuel Huntington and Thomas Mifflin.

The men signed documents as president of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, or president of the United States of America and President of the United States, Klos said. "It's very confusing," he conceded.



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This 18th-century military commission was signed by Samuel Huntington, president of the United States under the Articles of Confederation. Local scholar Stanley Klos says Huntington deserves to be honored on a U.S. coin, along with the nine other men who served as president before the Constitution was ratified.

Klos had another comparison. "Let's just take Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most powerful women ever in the history of the world," he said. "She has now been followed by Queen Elizabeth II, who has almost no power compared to Elizabeth I. Is she not queen of England? Just because the duties have changed, does not mean she is not queen?"

In some ways, Klos argues, Mifflin, Huntington and their colleagues had even more power than the present-day executive "because it was a unicameral government," so the president was, in effect, the leader of both the House and the Senate. And, Klos added, when there were disputes among states, the body would turn into the Supreme Court, and the president would act as chief justice.

Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, was as dismissive of Klos' claims as the other historians. But he welcomed the inquiry.


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In a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury secretary, Stanley Klos claims that failing to recognize the 10 presidents who served under the Articles of Confederation harms his children and all students in America by misleading them about "the existence and identity of the earliest founders and the presidents of the United States." (Tribune photo by Andy Jones)

"Technically, this is an historic debate worth having because it forces us to think what the founders at the constitutional convention were arguing about," Whitney said. "The Articles of Confederation set up a very weak executive, but there was a person who presided over the Confederated Congress. Some historians have said that that series of individuals who presided over the Confederated Congress amounted to our first our presidents."

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In a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury secretary, Stanley Klos claims that failing to recognize the 10 presidents who served under the Articles of Confederation harms his children and all students in America by misleading them about "the existence and identity of the earliest founders and the presidents of the United States."

(Photo By of Proposed 1st President Coin Courtesy of Forgotten Founders, Inc)

But Whitney said that idea isn't really a matter of controversy. "The reason the framers of the Constitution of 1787 provided for a much stronger executive than the people who had presided over the Articles of Confederation was that they knew George Washington would be our first president and they trusted George Washington because George Washington had the one quality that reassured them he could walk away from power — he didn't need the power.


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Stanley Klos holds a one-dollar gold piece with the image of President John Adams stamped on it. The government is honoring all the U.S. presidents with coins, and Klos says that should include the 10 men who served under the Articles of Confederation. (Tribune photo by Andy Jones)

None of the men on Klos' list had "the quality that George Washington possessed in spades," Whitney added. "That was the greatest reputation in the young United States. That's true power."

"We love the debate because it gets kids interested," Whitney said. "This is great stuff. It's fun, and we're approaching Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July. Why not?"

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

Man Sues Treasury Secretary, Wants More Presidential $1 Coins

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