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A peculiar sculpture of a miraculous amputee.

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It is walking around just going about life.

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Without a head.

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A magnificent city park linked to salacious rumors.

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This is one of the great sex scandals of the 20th century.

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And a lighthouse marks the site of unspeakable horrors.

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There are some of the darkest deeds people have ever been reduced to.

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Sometimes the greatest secrets lie in plain sight.

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These are monumental mysteries.

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Named for the bountiful orchards that once covered the area,

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Fruta Colorado is now known for its spectacular views and rugged trails.

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Within an hour of your doorstep, you can be on a 10,000-foot mountain,

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or you can be out in the middle of the desert all by yourself.

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And it's this diversity that makes Fruta such a unique place to live.

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But in the downtown district, there's an attraction

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that even in these disparate surroundings seems oddly out of place.

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That's about five feet tall, and it's made of rested metal implements.

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It has proud feathers, talons,

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and it looks like it might be contemplating whether it should or should not cross the road.

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This is a sculpture of a chicken, but it's no ordinary bird.

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It became the town's most famous resident because of its unique anatomy.

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This chicken doesn't have a head.

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It defied all the odds and literally achieved the impossible.

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So how did a headless rooster defy biology and pack its way to stardom?

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September 10, 1945, Fruta Colorado.

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Farmer Lloyd Olson is preparing a hearty feast for his large family.

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Lloyd Olson doesn't have a lot of money, and he raised chickens to put on his dinner table.

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Taking several live chickens out to the wood shed,

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he lays each of their heads on the chopping block.

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And Lloyd began cutting their heads off one by one.

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And what normally happens when you cut a chicken's head off

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is it blutters around for a little bit, then an adrenaline response,

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because the brain hasn't completely shut down yet.

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Olson continues to slaughter the chickens,

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and as always, they flap their wings momentarily before expiring.

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And Lloyd gets to the end and he looks around, and there's a chicken walking around.

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The farmer wanders over to collect the wayward bird,

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assuming there must be one more still to slaughter.

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But when he takes a closer look, he realizes his chicken's head has been cut off. It's gone.

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But he doesn't appear to be in any pain.

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He's just walking around like nobody's business.

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Amazed that the creature has survived,

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Olson spares the death-defying animal from the night's feast and leaves it in its coop.

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The next day, he returns, expecting to find the headless rooster dead.

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But the chicken is still alive.

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And Olson realizes that they have a biological marvel on their hands.

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It is walking around like it has not a care in the world, actually pecking at the ground,

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just going about life, without a head.

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Astonished that such a phenomenon could occur, Olson gently tends to the unusual bird.

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They feed him using an eye drop dispenser through his open esophagus.

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They give him milk and water and an occasional grain of corn.

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He was well cared for and not in any pain.

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The curious creature, once destined for the dinner plate, soon becomes a member of the Olson family.

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And it's even given a pet name, BIRICAL MIC.

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Word of the astounding animal quickly spreads through the farming community.

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Pretty soon they've got neighbors knocking on their door and they would bring a six pack of beer in exchange for taking a look at this chicken.

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When the local journal publishes a story about the unusual creature, it sparks a media frenzy.

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And soon, Miracle MIC is earning a lot more than just a few bottles of ale.

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And this is when a promoter talks the Olsons into putting MIC on the sideshows,

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so that they can share MIC with the rest of the country.

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The show hits the road, making its way across the country.

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And at each stop, adoring fans marvel at how the animal could possibly still be alive.

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The side shows they were charging people 25 cents a pop to see MIC.

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At the height of MIC's popularity, he was making about $4,500 a month.

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And so for a farmer like Lloyd Olson, that was a lot of money back in 45.

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For 18 months, Miracle MIC Mania overtakes the nation.

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But the life of a shooting star can be short.

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And one night at a hotel room in Phoenix, fate finally catches up with a celebrated bird.

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MIC begins to choke. And this wasn't an uncommon thing.

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Mucous would often get clogged in his throat.

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But a quick shot of water down his esophagus with the eyed dispenser cleared it up very quickly.

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But they can't find the eyed dispenser.

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So while they're scrambling around frantically trying to come up with it,

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Miracle MIC sadly passes away.

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Although MIC is gone, the mystery remains.

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How could this chicken survive for a year and a half without its head?

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In search of answers, Olson donates the rooster's remains to science.

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And they discover some amazing things, actually.

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Normally, in a beheading, the major arteries in the neck are completely severed, and the chicken bleeds out.

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Well, in MIC's case, the artery was only partially severed and a clot had formed, which prevented him from bleeding to death.

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The researchers also discover that despite missing his head, most of MIC's brain stem was left intact.

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The brain stem controls most of the motor functions, breathing and heart rate, and the chicken's reflexes.

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So MIC was able to live his life relatively easy due to these two circumstances.

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There has never been another reported case of a headless chicken like Miracle MIC.

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And this rare bird's story is one that the town of Fruta will never forget.

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MIC is Fruta's unofficial mascot.

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We've actually created a festival in his honor to celebrate his lust for life.

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We do things such as a wing-eating contest, a peep-eating contest, a chicken song dance-off.

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And it's just a family-oriented event centered around a chicken's beheading.

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Today, this eccentric steel sculpture stands as a testament to the tale of one determined rooster and his inspirational will to live.

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Nestled on the southern coast of Maine is the historic town of York.

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With long stretches of white sandy beaches and sapphire waters, the area is a popular resort destination.

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But just a few miles off these picturesque shores stands a small, desolate island that's home to a formidable landmark.

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It's a 137-foot granite tower.

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Soaring up over the rock, it looks almost like it would topple over because it's so tall compared to the base that it sits upon.

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Built in 1851, this is the Boone Island lighthouse, which boasts the proud distinction of being the tallest in New England.

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But according to author Andrew Vietz, this watchtower was constructed in the aftermath of a terrible event that sent shockwaves across the ocean.

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It was the site of a horror story.

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It was betrayal, greed, and some of the darkest deeds that people ever have been reduced to.

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So what horrific scandal played out on the forsaken rocks that surround this lonely outpost?

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1711, York, Maine.

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It's New Year's Day and on this cold winter morning, the town's coroner is investigating reports that a body has washed up on the beach.

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And when he locates the corpse, he is horrified by its condition.

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It's rail-thin, emaciated, and pockmarked with chillblanes, which are sores that come about from exposure, from extreme cold.

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He deduced that this was a shipwreck victim, and he pieced together that he probably came from Boone Island, a number one hotspot for shipwrecks.

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The coroner organizes a rescue party to search for survivors.

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But when the group sets foot on Boone Island, they're met by a desperate sight.

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They're astonished to see a couple of people waving frantically at them.

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These men are all in horrible, horrible shape, crawling towards this rescuer, begging him to take them from this horror.

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The rescuers are amazed that anyone has survived in such freezing temperatures without any food.

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Though barely able to speak, one of the men explains that he is Captain John Dean of the British merchant vessel, the Nottingham Galley.

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The emaciated men are taken to York, and within a few months make a full recovery.

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And when they return to England, Captain Dean reveals the key to their incredible survival.

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He writes a memoir of this shipwreck as he saw it and sort of cast himself as a hero.

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Dean explains that the boat was sailing from London to Boston when it was swept into a savage nor'easter,

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which left them shipwrecked on Boone Island for three weeks in freezing temperatures without food or water.

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According to Dean, it was through his brave leadership that most of the crew survived.

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The captain says he was bandaging their wounds, nursing them back to health as best he could,

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and explains that he would plunge his hands into the freezing water to pull muscles out for the men.

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They ate seaweed and they even ate boot leather.

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Dean is hailed as a hero and becomes a celebrity of sorts on British shores.

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But not everyone is enthralled by the commanding officer's valiant story.

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When his crew members hear his version of the tale, they are horrified.

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They are beyond angry, enraged really. They call them a liar and a scoundrel.

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So is Captain Dean telling the truth about what really happened on Boone Island?

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It's 1711 in London, England. After a group of shipwrecked sailors are rescued from Boone Island off the coast of Maine,

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the captain publishes an account of his heroic efforts to save his men.

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But not everyone agrees with the commander's version of the story.

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So what really happened on Boone Island?

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Following the publication of Dean's story, three of the surviving sailors accuse him of lying.

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They do something that is sort of unheard of in that day and age.

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They challenged the captain in print and wrote their own version of the tale.

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And then they took out depositions under oath, swearing that their version of this tale is accurate.

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The crew members state that the cause of the shipwreck was not a storm, but the actions of the captain himself.

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The bosson claims that he overheard the captain say explicitly that maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if the boat were lost.

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It's money for the entire ship.

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So he could claim the insurance money.

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If the vessel were to wreck, Dean's policy would make him a very rich man.

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And according to the crew, the captain put them on the collision course into Boone Island.

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Once marooned on the barren island, the crew says the captain didn't tend to their wounds or fish for food as he claimed.

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Instead, they survived by turning to the darkest of Deeds.

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The carpenter passes away in the middle of the night.

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And the men decide that the only way they're going to survive is if they eat the carpenter.

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As word of a sailor's account spreads throughout London, the once celebrated commander quickly falls from grace.

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The captain is run out of town.

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At best, he's a lousy captain.

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And at worst, he's a traitor and scoundrel and anything but a gentleman.

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Yet despite his downfall, it has never been determined who was actually telling the truth.

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Today, this historic lighthouse warns passing ships about the treacherous tides surrounding Boone Island and endures as a stark reminder of a haunting tragedy at sea.

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Minneapolis, Minnesota, once the flower milling capital of the world, is now a major center of commerce in the Midwest.

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And while its downtown is packed with modern skyscrapers, perhaps the most distinctive high rise is an old obelisk-like structure.

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The building is 32 stories created out of Indiana limestone.

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And at the top, you will see 10 foot letters with the name Foché on every side of the building.

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Visitors might assume that Foché is just another company that has come and gone.

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But author Elizabeth Johanek can attest that this word is linked to one of the most devious schemes in the history of the state.

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The tower represented wealth, greed and trickery.

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What nationwide financial scam is at the heart of this magnificent landmark.

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1917, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Wilbur Foché has climbed from humble roots to become the owner of a burgeoning utilities empire.

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Foché was a very charismatic gentleman.

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He seemed to be making stellar profits and people trusted him.

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Foché's firm continues to expand thanks to an aggressive direct mail and newspaper advertising campaign.

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He was a marketing genius. Foché's motto was never has an investor lost any money with the Foché company.

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All your money, all the time, on time.

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Investors buy the pitch, hook, line and sinker.

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People from all over the United States were invested in this stock.

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They were young, old, rich, they had medium incomes, but they all believed in Foché.

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Over the next decade, the Utilities Mogul rewards his delighted shareholders with stellar returns.

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And as the company's value skyrockets, Foché announces he will build a sensational new tower for his headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.

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He ended up with a 447 foot 32 floor building, the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River.

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In August 1929, Foché stages a grand dedication ceremony for 25,000 invited guests.

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The elaborate three-day affair includes burlesque dancers, fireworks and lavish parades.

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Celebrated composer John Philip Sousa is even commissioned to write and perform a special song titled The Foché Tower March.

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It was a party like nothing Minneapolis had ever seen before.

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But just as the tycoon prepares to move into his tower, trouble appears on the horizon.

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The company checks mysteriously started bouncing.

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And bad checks are just the tip of the iceberg.

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Soon Foché also stops paying all the company's bills and dividends.

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It suddenly seemed as though Foché's well-ped evaporated.

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What could cause this massive corporation to seemingly go bankrupt overnight?

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It's 1929 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Wilbur Foché has just constructed a dazzling new tower as headquarters for his wildly successful Utilities Company.

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But with the building complete, rumors begin to circulate that all is not well with Foché's vast empire.

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By November, Foché's backers have lost almost all of the $28 million they've invested.

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And although Wall Street has recently suffered a devastating crash,

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many believe that the firm's colossal loss cannot be due to market forces alone.

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And what authorities step in to investigate the company's books?

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They are stunned.

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They discovered a lot of discrepancies.

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What became clear is that the Foché company had been pulling the wool over investors' eyes.

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With evidence of missed deeds mounting, Wilbur Foché is charged with fraud.

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And in 1931, he stands trial at the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse.

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Testimony reveals that he has been manipulating his accounts to make it look as if the business was making a profit,

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when in fact, it was incurring a huge loss.

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This practice made the company look extremely successful.

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$100,000, triple that point, two-foot.

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By selling stock to new shareholders based on the inflated value,

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the utility's magnet was able to pay handsome dividends to earlier investors.

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He was robbing Peter to pay Paul, and was basically running a Ponzi scheme.

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Through this elaborate scam, Foché managed to accumulate $3 million

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and build the symbol of his success, his famous tower.

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In 1932, Foché is convicted of fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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After serving his time, he relocates to the southwest,

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where he spends his remaining days working as a salesman for a small firm.

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Yet while the infamous swindler's empire has crumbled, his legacy endures.

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In the end, this incredible tower represented his downfall.

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Today, the Foché Tower is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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And while this elegant art deco structure has become one of the region's most recognizable landmarks,

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it also stands as a dark reminder of the perils of white-collar crime.

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Once a rough-and-tumble settlement filled with rowdy saloons,

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Casper, Wyoming is now known for its rugged natural splendor.

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And 50 miles to the southwest is a vast mountain range

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that is one of the region's most dramatic sights.

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They cover about 12,000 acres. They're surrounded by isolation,

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flat windswept basin to the east, some water to the west.

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Soaring more than a thousand feet over the surrounding plains,

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these colossal granite domes are the Pedro Mountains.

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But according to journalist Jeremy Fugelberg,

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this windswept range harbored a mystery

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that baffled scientists for nearly a century.

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These mountains held a secret that captured the imagination of so many people.

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It made them wonder about the truth, about humans and the American West.

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What miniature treasure was found here?

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And how did it challenge our understanding about the history of the human race?

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October, 1932, the Pedro Mountains, Wyoming.

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Gold prospectors Cecil Main and Frank Carr

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have just dynamited a section of rocks in hopes of finding their fortune.

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At first, they are sorely disappointed.

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They didn't find gold, but what they did find was a cave.

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It's very narrow opening, but of course they decided to see what was inside the cave.

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Leading away, Cecil crawls into the dark cavernous space.

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In the blackness, he catches sight of a diminutive and grotesque creature

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seated motionless along the wall.

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It's a small brown figure.

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It's head tilted, it's eyes squinted shut.

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It looks like it has arms, it's wrapped around itself.

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It appears to be some kind of mummy,

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but what is most stunning about the specimen is its size.

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The proportions are very adult-like, but it's about six, seven inches tall.

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It looks like a little human.

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The two prospectors wrap up the freakish figure and return to Casper.

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Frank and Cecil don't have gold, but one thing's for sure,

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they thought, hey, we can actually make some money out of this one.

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Indeed, when the mysterious little man is presented to the public,

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he makes waves across the media.

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And over the next few years, the mummy, nicknamed Pedro,

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after the mountain range where he was discovered,

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is bought and sold several times, often to be displayed.

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It was a freak show, something that people could pay a little bit of money to see.

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And all who set eyes on Pedro can't help but wonder,

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what is he and where did he come from?

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Many believe that it is simply a hoax.

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One of the assumptions about this is that this is something that was manufactured,

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partially because it was so incredible.

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But others insist that the figure is authentic

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and that he belonged to an ancient band of aggressive pygmies,

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described in Native American folklore as the Nimiragar.

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There's legends going back of a tribe of small humans that were dangerous

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that would hurt you because you encroached on their turf.

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In 1950, an attempt is made to answer these questions,

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when Pedro is brought to New York City to be examined by experts

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at the American Museum of Natural History.

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They thought this mummy was very unique and decided to find out what's inside this thing.

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The scientists run a series of X-rays on the specimen, expecting to prove a hoax,

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but are stunned by the results.

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This is something that instantly debunks any sort of plane that this is a hoax.

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The X-rays show a curved spine, a developed rib cage.

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It was a very small human.

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This raises all sorts of questions.

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So could this mummy be proof that a lost race of tiny Native American warriors once walked this earth?

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It's 1950 in Casper, Wyoming.

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Scientists have confirmed that a 7-inch mummy discovered in the Pedro Mountains is in fact human,

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leading some to speculate that it's evidence of an ancient race of miniature people.

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So what's the truth behind this inexplicably tiny man?

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Scientists believe that further analysis is needed to get to the bottom of the strange specimen's origins.

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But these plans are thwarted when Pedro's owner dies and the mummy disappears.

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Its whereabouts and the riddle of its origins remain a mystery for the next 40 years.

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But then in 1994, a TV documentary about Pedro and his discovery offers renewed hope.

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A family watching it looked at each other and said,

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wait a minute, we have a mummy just like Pedro.

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Their specimen was discovered in the same area of the Pedro Mountains.

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Their ancestor had purchased it off a sheep herder in Wyoming who'd found it in some sort of mountain range.

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For decades, the family has kept the odd figure as a collectible.

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But after seeing the program, they bring it to scientists in Wyoming.

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This is a chance to examine it closely with modern science.

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They carbon-date it and they're able to date this mummy just 300 years ago.

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However, the analysis unveils another unexpected revelation.

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The test showed that this was an infant.

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When combined with the analysis done on the first mummy,

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it's discovered that both figures were likely born with a condition called anencephaly

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that resulted in a very small number of people dying.

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This results in the abnormal formation of the head and spine.

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So what these tests show are that these aren't the race of little people, they're infants,

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and both likely suffered from a birth defect.

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Yet many questions surrounding the mummies remain unanswered.

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Why were they there?

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There's no clue where they came from or who cared about them.

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They're just mysteries.

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And while the origins of these peculiar figures are still a mystery,

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the Pedro Mountains from which they emerged continue to remind us

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that there's still much to be discovered about the human race.

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With the Pacific Ocean to the west and Desert to the east,

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San Diego boasts a year-round Mediterranean climate

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that is treasured by lovers of the outdoors.

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And its crown jewel is a vast and picturesque public park.

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It is over a thousand acres linked by arcaded passageways and arched bridges.

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And it really serves as the cultural center of the city.

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This is Balboa Park, home to a magnificent collection of museums, hiking trails,

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and open-air pavilions.

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But a coordinated curator, Jeffrey Richardson,

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this botanical wonderland also helped launch the career of an evangelical superstar

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who was both captivating and controversial.

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This woman would fall from grace in one of the greatest scandals of the 20th century.

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Who inspired the masses on these glorious grounds?

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And how did she become entangled in a sordid tale of sex, kidnapping, and torture?

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1921 Balboa Park, San Diego

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Sister Amy Semple McPherson is a rising celebrity in the Pentecostal movement

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known for her remarkable ability to heal through the power of her faith.

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Today, however, 30,000 followers are about to witness her greatest miracle yet.

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They were there to see this notion that through Jesus Christ,

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Sister Amy was able to channel his healing powers.

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A paralyzed woman is brought to the stage to receive the preacher's blessing.

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Sister Amy asked her, is Jesus Christ a part of her life?

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And the woman says yes.

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Please lift the weight from this woman.

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And after several seconds, quite remarkably, she gets up and she walks.

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The event in Balboa Park catapults Sister Amy's popularity to new heights.

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In 1923, she opens what would become one of the first mega churches in the country.

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And a year later, she acquires her own radio station, allowing her to build what she calls a church without walls.

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And because of her radio program, her message was now going around the world.

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But just as her global success is gaining momentum,

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a mysterious event threatens to end it all.

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May 18, 1926

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Venice Beach, California

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Sister Amy, accompanied by her secretary, takes a break from her busy schedule to go for a swim.

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The secretary stepped away for a moment and when she returned, Sister Amy was nowhere to be found.

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For weeks, the Los Angeles Police Department scours the area.

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But there is no trace of the missing evangelist.

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The assumption is that she has drowned and that Sister Amy is no longer with us.

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Then, one month later, there's a surprising development in the case.

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Sister Amy emerges from the Mexican desert and she claims she has been kidnapped, beaten, tortured and held for 32 days.

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Sister Amy gives investigators a horrific account of how she was abducted and taken across the border to Mexico.

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She claims that while on the beach, two individuals had grabbed her, threw her in a car and took her hostage to a remote location in the Mexican desert.

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The evangelist explains that after more than a month in captivity, she pulled off an incredible escape.

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According to Sister Amy, it was only a month after the incident.

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She ultimately found an aluminum tin can top and she used that top to slowly break from the ropes that were tying her.

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She then walked 17 hours across the scorched terrain until she finally found help.

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It truly seems miraculous that she has emerged unscathed from such a traumatic event.

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On hearing of her extraordinary ordeal, Sister Amy's followers welcome her back to California in huge numbers.

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But while the crowds are captivated by her incredible tale of survival, the authorities are having problems with the facts.

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How could you escape?

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The authorities are having problems with the facts.

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The authorities are having problems with the facts.

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How could you escape?

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How could you escape?

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For someone who has apparently traveled several miles in the desert by themselves, her clothes were in really good shape.

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The police start to wonder, was her story true?

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Southern California, June 1926.

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After disappearing for weeks, celebrity evangelist Amy Semple McPherson has emerged from the Mexican desert claiming she was held hostage and tortured.

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Yet when police investigate her remarkable story, they begin to wonder, is McPherson telling the truth?

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There was an issue of how she appeared when she made her way out of the desert.

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Her clothes were in really good shape, her shoes were perfectly clean, and police ultimately come to the realization that Sister Amy is lying.

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Following their suspicions, detectives interview her parishioners and learn that the preacher may not be quite as pious as she seems.

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They hear rumors of improprieties.

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Sister Amy may be having an affair with one of the local radio technicians that works for her.

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His name is Kenneth Ormiston, and he's a married man.

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Not only that, when police look into Kenneth Ormiston's whereabouts during Sister Amy's disappearance, they make an even more shocking discovery.

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The police find he had rented a hotel room up the California coast, and one woman claimed that she saw Kenneth Ormiston with a woman matching Sister Amy's description.

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This caused many individuals to make the assumption that the two of them had run off together.

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Sister Amy's alleged affair immediately attracts the attention of the media.

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This wasn't just a sex story. This is one of those stories with a major religious figure.

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So Sister Amy really got caught up in what was one of the great sex scandals of the 20th century.

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In July of 1926, prosecutors convened to charge the preacher with falsifying police reports.

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But although there is a wealth of circumstantial evidence against her, it's not enough to convince the jury.

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And as a result of this, all charges were dropped against her and no additional charges were ever filed.

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It's never determined whether Sister Amy was really kidnapped or actually having an affair.

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But whatever the truth, her reputation is forever tainted by the scandal.

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In September of 1944, the controversial evangelist is found dead in her hotel room, apparently from an accidental drug overdose.

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Sister Amy was really an enigma. She had her own physical desires that ultimately turned out to forever damage her reputation.

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But she'd founded the first mega church, the kinds that we kind of think of today, that really are very prominent and it all began with Sister Amy.

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And today, the splendid grounds of Balboa Park, where this revered figure once preached to the masses,

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endure as a reminder of her meteoric rise and her stunning fall from grace.

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Named for the striking steeples that define its scenic skyline,

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Frederick Maryland is known as the city of clustered spires.

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And while it's now home to 65,000 residents, outside the county courthouse stands a little-known figure that some argue should be its most illustrious.

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It's approximately 7.5 feet tall, made of bronze.

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It depicts the image of a stoic man dressed in colonial garb, a top of four-foot granite pediment.

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Most people have never even heard of this man.

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But according to local guide Tiffany Eholt, the title inscribed on the statue's base suggests he perhaps deserves more recognition.

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This isn't George Washington, but some people regard this man as the very first president of the United States.

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So who is this forgotten figure? And why does he hold claims to being the father of the nation?

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November 15, 1777. The Revolutionary War is raging as the American colonies fight to throw off the oppressive yoke of British rule.

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But to win, they must unite their forces under a central governing body.

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So at a meeting in York, Pennsylvania, delegates from each colony create a written contract called the Articles of Confederation.

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The charter called for the unification of all 13 colonies.

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The proposed alliance would be a key step to defeating the British.

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But soon after the document is drafted, its creation comes under threat, as not all agree with the terms.

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By May 5, 1779, all colonies had signed up from the charter, except for one, Maryland.

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Fearing that those with more land will possess too much power, Maryland delegates argue over some of the colony's territorial claims.

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And for the next several months, unification remains elusive.

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Yet just when it looks as if the creation of this new government is doomed, one man reportedly steps forward to settle the dispute.

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A 65-year-old veteran politician from Maryland named John Hansen.

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In June of 1780, the popular statesman known for his diplomatic skills is sent to Philadelphia to help solve the problem.

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While his fellow delegates purportedly refuse to bargain with their opponents, Hansen embraces negotiation.

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Hansen used his skills of diplomacy and persuasion to help overcome the impasse.

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I would like to now open the floor for many discussions.

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Soon all 13 colonies reach an agreement over the disputed lands.

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And on March 1, 1781, Hansen was the fundelegate to sign the Articles of Confederation.

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With this document, the 13 colonies unite for the first time under a centralized government.

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Standing together as one in their struggle for freedom.

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And in the fall of 1781, British forces surrender at Yorktown, and the new Congress of the now liberated nation convenes in Philadelphia.

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The delegates are charged with selecting a leader for their fledgling government.

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The man they choose will be called President.

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The cast their votes for a man that helped ensure the new nation's creation.

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66 year old Maryland patriot, John Hansen.

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So why then is George Washington recognized as the nation's first president and not John Hansen?

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It's November 1781, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Representatives from all 13 states have just signed the Articles of Confederation, establishing the nation's first formal government.

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And the delegates have voted for Maryland's John Hansen as president.

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But if that's the case, why do most people recognize George Washington as the first president?

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The new government is immediately plagued with several problems.

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Under the Articles of Confederation, it has no authority to tax, regulate trade, or even effectively enforce legislation.

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The Articles limited the government's authority, thus making it ineffective.

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The new government is immediately plagued with several problems.

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The new government is immediately plagued with several problems.

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The Articles limited the government's authority, thus making it ineffective.

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To solve the problem, on June 21, 1788, the delegates draw up a new set of laws, granting the federal government more power over the states.

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This document is the U.S. Constitution.

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And over time, the Constitution became known as the foundational document of the country.

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The Charter also calls for the selection of a powerful executive to lead the new nation.

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And eight months later, George Washington becomes the first president of the United States of America.

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And slowly, John Hansen got written out of history.

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Instead, George Washington became universally known as the father of the country.

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But some historians argue that although the government created by the Articles of Confederation was later replaced by a more effective system,

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it was nevertheless America's first government.

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And Hansen was its first president.

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And as the debate continues to this day, this statue stands as a memorial to the leader who has become one of history's most forgotten men.

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From a headless chicken to a cannibal's confession, a miniature mummy to a kidnapped evangelist.

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I'm Don Wildman, and these are Monumental Mysteries.