Fourth President of the United States in Congress. (1783)
President Washington was not elected until 1789. Prior to then, there were ten elected presidents. The one that is referenced in the prologue to American Savage is Elias Boudinot, and all-around good guy, and the fourth president of the new republic.
Notably as president:
He argued for the rights of black and American Indian citizens, and sponsored students to the Board School for Indians in Connecticut. One of these, a young Cherokee named Gallegina Uwatie, also known as Buck Watie, stayed with him in Burlington on his way to the school. The two so impressed each other that Gallegina asked for and was given permission to adopt the statesman’s name. Later known as Elias Boudinot, he was an editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, the nation’s first newspaper, which was published in Cherokee and English.
Here is that famous Indian namesake, Elias Boudinot the Cherokee, who was also known as Buck Watie.
Also, his sister was the chief justice of NJ supreme court