The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
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Regrettably, St. Clair's service and achievement as governor of the massive Northwest Territory have mostly been forgotten. The Americans also eventually took back Ticonderoga, which the British had abandoned. However, St. Clair was court-martialed and deprived of command for more than two years. While the Congress of 1777 pronounced St. Clair a coward and basically ruined his reputation, they delayed resolution, finally turning over the case to the next Congress of 1778, which spent another year before exonerating and commending St. Clair for his wise and courageous decision. Washington took full advantage of having St. Clair on his staff, using him in special ways. He appointed him president of West Point after Benedict Arnold's treason, as judge at the Maj. John André trial, and to build an army for Gen. Nathanael Greene in North Carolina. Though he never received another major command during the war, St. Clair would go on to contribute greatly to America's development as a congressman, as President of Congress and governor. After the Revolution, St. Clair served as Pennsylvania's delegate to Congress in 1785 and 1786. In 1787, Congress elected St. Clair its ninth President of the United States in Congress Assembled. As President of Congress, St. Clair convened the Constitutional Convention and helped recruit Washington out of retirement to chair the 55 delegates toward a final document. As president, St. Clair presided over the enactment of two of America's most important 20 St. Clair proved of invaluable assistance to Gen. George Washington, top; British Gen. John Burgoyne, above. documents, the Constitution of the United States and the Northwest Ordinance. The Constitution enabled America to put its Declaration of Independence into action and the Northwest Ordinance set forth guidelines by which America was to develop and govern its lands west of the Ohio. After the 1786 attempt at a Constitutional Convention in Annapolis had failed to produce a quorum, St. Clair was determined. When Chairman Washington presented St. Clair with the finished document, he immediately put it out to the states for ratification. It took the better part of a year before the U.S. Constitution received Congressional approval and was signed into law. It contained a provision that prevents any foreign-born resident, like St. Clair, from ever being elected president of the United States. St. Clair became America's first and last foreign-born president. America had 11 presidents of Congress Assembled serving as our country's chief executive. St. Clair was the ninth president; Washington was actually our 11th president, but since he was the first president to be both elected by Congress and duly authorized by our U.S. Constitution, Washington became the first President of the United States of America. Unfortunately, history gives little recognition to those 10 men who served as our country's chief executives while we fought for freedom from the British. The Northwest Territory was massive, said to be the SAR MAGAZINE