Who was the first president of the Continental Congress?

• A. Peyton Randolph
• B. George Washington
• C. John Adams
• D. Thomas Jefferson

Answer: (A)

The key idea is recognizing that the Continental Congress had a chair, a president of the Congress, a role distinct from the later presidency of the United States. The first person chosen to lead the body was Peyton Randolph, a Virginia delegate who presided over the opening sessions of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774. He set the precedent for who would oversee debates and represent the Congress in ceremony and procedure.

George Washington is famous for his role as commander and later as the U.S. president, but he did not serve as the inaugural presiding officer of the Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were central figures in the independence movement and the Congress, but neither was the first to hold the chair in its early sessions. Jefferson helped draft the Declaration, and Adams played a key role as a statesman and advocate, not as the first presiding officer of the Congress.

So Peyton Randolph is the correct answer because he held that early leadership position at the outset of the Continental Congress.