Hancock, John

HANCOCK, JOHN

Although many saw John Hancock (1737–1793) as nothing but a vain and pompous merchant, he was nonetheless a key figure in securing American independence and creating the republic of the United States. His capacity to sidestep controversy made him an ideal presiding officer. He displayed this skill in the Provincial Conventions, the Continental Congress, and as governor of Massachusetts. Though he was largely an uninspired leader, generally lacking personal style, Hancock became famous for the enormous signature he affixed to the Declaration of Independence as one of the nation's founding fathers.

John Hancock was born in Braintree (present-day Quincy), Massachusetts, in 1737, the son of John and Mary Hancock. Hancock's father was a minister who died when his son was only seven. His widowed mother took him and her two other children to live in Lexington, Massachusetts, with her father-in-law. In 1795 Hancock was sent to live with his uncle and aunt, Thomas and Lydia Hancock, in Boston. His uncle was one of Boston's wealthiest businessmen, and so John Hancock grew up in wealth, living in the Beacon Hill area.

Hancock attended Harvard College as part of the class of 1754; after graduating, he returned to Boston and joined his uncle's import-export business. Hancock's return to the family business coincided with the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1754–1763)— for the next six years the House of Hancock, as the business was called, became busy fulfilling government contracts. During this time Hancock learned a great deal about the business. In 1759, to cement business ties and to introduce the young Hancock to a wider world, his uncle sent him to England for a year. On his return in 1761 Hancock found his uncle in poor health and began to take more responsibility in the business and, when his uncle died in 1764, Hancock assumed full responsibility.

Although the young man began life with many advantages, he was not a gifted businessman, and Hancock lost the House of Hancock business eleven years later in 1775. Despite the fact that his uncle had left him a thriving business which Hancock was unable to adequately manage, the loss was not completely his fault. English rule made it very difficult for anyone to run a profitable import-export business.

It may be said that the business world's loss was a gain for the movement of rebellion in America. Hancock subsequently immersed himself in politics and won election to the General Court of Massachusetts. He blamed British colonial rule for his business disasters and, in 1768, when British troops stationed in Boston Harbor seized his ship (the Liberty ) for smuggling, Hancock was drawn deeper into the movement for independence. He increasingly adopted the revolutionary perspectives of Samuel Adams (1722–1803) and Thomas Paine (1737–1809).

By 1775 Hancock had become such an irritation to the British that they tried to seize him along with Samuel Adams. Hancock avoided arrest and escaped to Philadelphia as a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. He was elected president of the Congress and held that position for three years. But in spite of his prominence in that service, Hancock contributed little of note to its efforts. Most of the Congress' work was accomplished through committees, which created a patchwork of enormous inefficiencies.

Hancock's greatest moment as a member of the revolutionary movement came on July 4, 1776, when he was asked with others to sign the Declaration of Independence. With his characteristic flair for the grand gesture Hancock signed the document first, with an oversized signature.

Hancock was becoming an annoyance to other members of the Continental Congress, as well as to his constituents back home. In 1777 he announced that, for reasons of health, he was returning to Boston. Still, he delayed his return until the summer of 1778. Back in Massachusetts, Hancock worked in concert with the French navy to commanded 5,000 Massachusetts militiamen in an attempt to capture Newport, Rhode Island, from the British in 1778. The expedition was a failure.

Hancock was elected as the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after the American Revolution (1775–1783). He continued as governor until 1785, when he retired purportedly because of poor health. Insiders knew that Hancock's mismanagement of Massachusetts' finances had put the state in financial peril. Hancock left in time to avoid the uprising of small farmers (including many revolutionary veterans) who, during the post-war depression, were losing their land for non-payment of taxes. Hancock's successor had the unhappy task of suppressing the rebellion.

In spite of his fiscal and governmental misadventures Hancock was elected delegate to the state ratifying convention for the new Constitution, which was written in 1787. He made public speeches in favor of ratifying the new Constitution. Many felt that without his support the Constitution might never have been ratified. Perhaps this was Hancock's finest moment in a life otherwise filled with failures and missteps. With the ratification of the Constitution, George Washington (1789–1797) was elected president. Contrary to his hopes Hancock was not elected as Vice President. John Adams (1735–1826) was instead awarded the post.

Hancock served as governor of Massachusetts from 1780 to 1793 (with the exception of two years, 1785 to 1787). He died in Boston in October of 1793.

See also: American Revolution

FURTHER READING

Baxter, William T. The House of Hancock: Business in Boston. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1945.

Becker, Carl L. The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. New York: Vintage Books, 1958.

Fehrenbach, T.R. Greatness to Spare: The Heroic Sacrifices of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1968.

Fowler, William M. The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John Hancock. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979.

Magill, Frank N., ed. Great Lives from History. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1990. s.v. "John Hancock."

Sears, Lorenzo. John Hancock, the Picturesque Patriot. Boston, MA: Gregg Press, 1972.