JohnhanCoCk— morethanJuStaSiGnature
Senior Counsel Section Co-Chairs: ThomasNewcombHyde – AttorneyatLaw & DonSmith – Smith, Tozian, Daniel & Davis, PA
John Hancock is best known for his large stylish signature at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence. It is said that Hancock bragged that he wrote his signature so large that King George III could read it without his spectacles. 1 But John Hancock’ s contributions as a leader of the American resistance to the British is not limited to his signature.
John Hancock was a rich shipping merchant and sometime smuggler. 2 He was one of the wealthiest men in the thirteen colonies, having inherited a profitable shipping company from his uncle. He was a graduate of Boston Latin School and Harvard College, but he learned the mercantile business from his uncle. Hancock was very philanthropic and was one of the chief financial contributors to the cause of American independence. 3 On April 19, 1775, Hancock was hiding from the British troops with his friend and mentor, Samuel Adams, at Hancock’ s boyhood home in Lexington, when Paul Revere rode to warn them that the British were coming to arrest them and seize munitions hidden by the Minutemen. 4 When the British
troops arrived, Hancock, who had served in the Massachusetts militia, wanted to join the fight on the side of the colonists. He was dissuaded by Adams who told Hancock that he would have more important roles to play in the defense of the American cause. Adams was right, for later in 1775, Hancock was elected as President of the Second Continental Congress. 5
On June 15, 1775, Congress resolved that“ a general be appointed to command all the continental forces raised for the defense of American liberty.” There were several candidates for the position, including John Hancock. After congress voted, Hancock announced the result. George Washington was the unanimous choice. 6
On June 18, 1776, Hancock, as President of the Second Continental Congress, received the first draft of the Declaration of Independence from Thomas
asweprepareto celebratethe250 th anniversaryofthe declarationof independence, letus rememberJohn hancockandallthe patriotswhohelped establishour independence.
Jefferson and the Committee of Five. This event is portrayed in a painting by John Trumbull( circa 1818) entitled Declaration of Independence, which hangs in the Capitol Rotunda where President Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
As we prepare to celebrate the 250 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, let us remember John Hancock and all the patriots who helped establish our independence. n
1
Wall Street Journal, p. A15.
2
A Short History of the United States, John Spencer Bassett, p. 172, The Macmillan Company 1932.
3
The Short History of the American People, Samuel Eliot Morrison, 193, Oxford University Press( 1965).
4
Ibid. p. 214.
5
Ibid. p. 215
6
Revolution Song, Russell Shorto, pp. 212-213 W. W. Norton & Company( 2018)
Author: Thomas Newcomb Hyde – Attorney at Law
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