Troy can correct me if I am wrong, but presidents before the
Constitution were members of Congress elected to serve as president of
the Congress not an independent executive as prescribed in the
Constitution.
By the way, I am currently reading 1776 by David McCullough.
It is an absolutely fantastic book. He is one historian who is
not afraid to suggest that God had a hand in the establishment of the
country. When Washington retreated from Long Island at night, not
all of the troops were across the East River by daybreak. The
remaining troops would have come under the guns of the British warships
and subject to attack on the ground in daylight. When the sun
rose, the Long Island shore was shrouded in an unusually thick
fog. All of Washington’s troops escaped unmolested.