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Sep 12, 2019 · John Hancock is the person whose signature is so valuable and significant. He is primarily remembered by Americans for his large, flamboyant signature on the Declaration, so much so that John Hancock became, in the United States, an informal synonym for signature.
- Background
- The Sons of Liberty
- The Liberty Incident
- The Boston Massacre
- The Declaration of Independence
- Service to Massachusetts
- Reading Comprehension Questions
- Critical Thinking Questions
John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737, in Braintree, Massachusetts. His father was a clergyman who died when Hancock was a boy. Hancock was then raised by his uncle, a wealthy Boston merchant, who sent him to Harvard College. At age seventeen, after an undistinguished academic career, Hancock graduated and became a clerk in his uncle’s shipping...
It was at this time that Samuel Adams befriended Hancock. A fellow Bostonian, Adams was already known for his opposition to the British attempt to tax the American colonies. He convinced the wealthy Hancock to assist him in organizing the Sons of Liberty, a group of Americans who took action to resist British tyranny. Hancock’s money largely funded...
In 1768, British customs officials seized one of Hancock’s merchant vessels, the Liberty. They claimed that the ship’s captain had failed to pay import duties. The captain was following Hancock’s orders to challenge the legality of the British tax. The incident sparked violence when the Sons of Liberty organized a mob to protest theLiberty’sseizure...
On the evening of March 5, 1770, a crowd of Bostonians gathered around a group of British soldiers and began to taunt them and throw snowballs. The soldiers fired on the citizens, killing five men. The event galvanized opposition among Bostonians to the British presence. Hancock and Adams convened a meeting of outraged citizens the next day. Hancoc...
By 1774 Hancock and Adams had been singled out by British authorities as the main troublemakers in Boston. In a last-ditch attempt to quell the uprising, the new royal governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, issued an amnesty to all who had been involved in illegal opposition to British law. However, he named Hancock and Adams as the only r...
Hancock served as governor of Massachusetts for nine terms between 1780 and 1793. He served on the committee that created the state constitution of 1780. As governor in 1787, he pardoned most of the participants in Shays’s Rebellion, including Daniel Shays himself. That same year, delegates from twelve of the states assembled in Philadelphia to rev...
What was the Libertyincident? What effect did it have on Hancock’s reputation?In what ways was the partnership of Samuel Adams and John Hancock an unexpected one?What role did Hancock play in the ratification of the federal Constitution of 1787?For a month in 1776, Hancock was the only known signer of the Declaration of Independence. What did this mean for Hancock personally, and what does this reveal about his character?John Adams said that Hancock was one of “the essential characters” of the American Revolution. Others said that he was no more than a tool of Samuel Adams. Which opinion is more justified?Nov 9, 2009 · John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence as president of the Second Continental Congress before serving as governor of Massachusetts.
Using a quill pen, this took some time to finish. The actual signing finally took place on August 2, 1776. As President of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock was the first to sign this historic document. He used large bold script and signed under the text in the center of the page.
Jul 6, 2023 · He selected the best skin that was available, prepared his quill pens, and made sure he had a sufficient supply of ink. Matlack penned a new title that is visually distinctive, with large letters and flourishes: “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”
Jul 1, 2021 · Matlack, who was an assistant to the Secretary of the Second Continental Congress, set to work with parchment, ink, and quill to transcribe the document using a patrician style called English round hand or Copperplate.
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Apr 2, 2014 · Hancock became the first representative to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a document which maintained that the thirteen American states were free of British rule. Hancock...
