Author’s Note: This
series of postings are taken from the book Signing Their Lives Away by Denise
Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese. The
publishers at Quirk Books kindly gave me permission to judiciously quote from
it on my blog. While I dispense with
quotation marks, the sentences are lifted directly from the book. The purpose is to introduce you to those who
signed the Declaration of Independence and who often remain in the shadows of
history. This book is a must for the
home collection of any avid reader, historian, or patriot.
Massachusetts By
the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
John Hancock. Age at
signing: 39, Profession: Merchant, Shipping Magnate
The son of a
clergyman, Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, not far from John
Adams. At age seven he lost his
father and his mother, unable to keep things going on her own, sent him to live
with his childless and exceedingly rich uncle, Thomas Hancock. In 1764, Uncle Thomas died and Hancock
inherited the business, loads of cash, and a gorgeous place on Beacon
Hill. An overnight millionaire, he wasn’t
yet thirty years old.
For the rest of his life, Hancock was known as a remarkably
generous man who spent money ostentatiously and won the adoration of Bostonians….He
funded his alma mater, paid for street lamps and concert halls, and helped
impecunious friends such as Samuel Adams feed their families.
…Like many colonists, Hancock was outraged by the Stamp Act,
though at that stage in his patriotic development he chose to express his
feelings in letters rather than actions.
Radical Samuel Adams did his best to draw him into the fray; he brought
Hancock to meetings of like-minded patriots and urged him to run for
office. In 1766, Hancock was elected to
the Massachusetts legislature.
A few years later, one of his ships, the aptly named Liberty, was seized by the British, and
Hancock was accused of smuggling cargo without paying the proper duty. This accusation was hardly a shock: Hancock was an unabashed smuggler at a time
when smuggling was considered the only reasonable response to unreasonable
taxation. Adams successfully defended him
for smuggling, but the ship was seized and pressed into service as a royal
vessel.
Folks such as Hancock – prominent, rich, influential, and
dependent on shipping for their fortunes – risked much when they placed their
chips on the patriot’s table. This risk
endeared Hancock to many, and probably made his self-involved behavior and
annoying preening a little easier to tolerate.
He was handily elected president of the Continental Congress and served
from 1775 through 1777 – throughout the resolution for independence as well as
the sniping, voting, and signing that followed.
…He attended the Constitutional Convention for Massachusetts
and was elected its first governor, an office he held from 1780 to 1793, except
for a brief two-year absence….He died in 1793 while still in office as
governor.
No comments:
Post a Comment