Congress of the United Colonies, informally referred to as the Continental Congress in historical studies, was a body of delegates, elected by the various American colonies during the summer of 1774, which first assembled in September 1774 in Philadelphia, PA, and again in May 1775 in the same city. In the period of the U.S. War of Independence, this body spoke and acted collectively for the people of the colony-states that later became the United States of America.

The term Continental Congress most specifically refers to the bodies that met in 1774 and 1775-81 and respectively designated as the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress. The first U.S. constitution, Articles of Confederation, ratified in March 1781, placed Congress on a constitutional basis, legalizing the powers it had exercised since 1775. To underline this distinction, the post-Articles Congress is often referred to as the Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress. This Congress continued to function under the Articles until the new Congress, elected under the present Constitution, met in 1789. However, all official documents of both Continental Congress and Confederation Congress were issued on behalf of the Congress.

The presiding officer of the American legislature in 1774-1789 was styled President of the Congress. The Articles of Confederation (1781) authorized Congress "to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years." The first US constitution did not have any other mentioning of president and the Congress continued to refer to him as President of the Congress in most official documents.

The Articles introduced a new formula "United States in Congress Assembled" in reference to the United States of America and its representatives in the Congress. On some occasions, president of Congress was styled President of the United States in Congress Assembled, but this title was not confirmed either by any legal regulation or the Congress' resolves. It was first mentioned in the Journals on 23 Aug 1781 as a style used in a letter of the Minister to France to the President of Congress Thomas McKean. [6]

John Hanson was the first president nominated by the Congress, which had been elected under the Articles of Confederation, but not the first after the full ratification of the Articles as Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean served in 1781 before him. There is a theory that Hanson was the first president of the United States or at least the first, who assumed the new style, but analysis of theJournals shows that the presiding officer continued to be styled "President of (the) Congress." For instance, on 4 Nov 1782, the legislature resolved "that the thanks of Congress be given to the Hon. John Hanson, late President of Congress, in testimony of their approbation of his conduct in the chair, and in the execution of public business." Apparently, the theory was conceived and based on later references to Hanson made by his contemporaries or scholars.

At that time, presidents of the Congress occupied a position, which was far either from the authority of modern head of state or from contemporary state governors. All presidents through Samuel Huntington served terms, which were not specified by any official document. The replacement occurred only in case the incumbent was forced to resign or asked for a leave of absence:

• Peyton Randolph left the office two times – in 1774 ("unable to attend, on account of indisposition"), and in 1775 (returned to his native state to preside over the Virginia Convention).
• Henry Middleton did not resign but his term expired de facto as the First Continental Congress dissolved itself on 26 Oct 1774.
• John Hancock took leave of absence on 29 Oct 1777.
• Henry Laurens resigned on 9 Dec 1778, due to disagreement with the policy of the Congress.
• John Jay resigned the chair as he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Spain on 27 Sep 1779.

Samuel Huntington was elected president in 1779. When a year elapsed after his election, Congress confirmed on 28 Sep 1780, that Huntington will continue in office since "no rule or practice of the house limits the term for which the President is elected," but resolved that in future "the continuance of the President in office shall not be longer than one year" according to the Articles of Confederation, which went into effect on 1 Mar 1781.

Election of president for the term of the federal year beginning first Monday of November became a common practice after John Hanson, but in 1784-1788 the election was each time postponed because of a lack of quorum in Congress.

The term of the last elected president, Cyrus Griffin, ended on 2 Nov 1788. Since that date Congress never had quorum to elect the next president because of the organization of the new Government under the Constitution. Thus, between November 1788 and April 1789, the United States had no chief executive. The Congress did not hold regular sessions, though delegates from the various states continued to appear and present their credentials, so that it would have been possible at any time that seven states were present for the secretary to have read the credentials and for Congress to have begun its sessions.