John Hancock
Founding Father
Biography
John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737. John was born in Braintree, Massachusetts although, after his father died, his mother, his siblings and he moved to Lexington. Hancock's mother made him move in with his aunt and uncle, who eventually adopted him. John went to Harvard University and graduated. After his graduation, he decided to work with his uncle in the shipping business. After his uncle's death, John inherited the family industry. In 1760, John had two political positions. These two positions got John very involved with politics. Later, John's ship "The Liberty" was taken away by British rule. They thought that John had not payed the fees. They punished him with a large fee and took him to court. This aggravated the colonists creating havoc. After the Boston Massacre, John was a voice of getting the British troops removed from the colonies. In 1774, John was made the leader of Massachusetts. He was also part of the Second Continental Congress. John was a sign of rebellion to Britain which lead him into some trouble. Hancock and Samuel Adams were being hunted by General Gage of Britain because of their protests against Britain. John Hancock is famous for his large signature on the Declaration of Independence. Hancock died on October 8, 1793 while serving as Massachusetts governor.
Famous Quote
"There, I guess King George will be able to read this without his spectacles." This quote to me shows that John Hancock was a large part of the rebellion against Britain. That also he did not care if people knew he was. He made protests against Britain that made people from the colonies agree. These were major steps to independence. When John Hancock said this, he was basically making fun of the King's vision. He was saying it was so bad that he had to write his name very large for the King to read it without his spectacles.
Final Paragraph
John Hancock to me is classified as a "Founding Father" because he was one of the men that believed in American independence. Not only did he believe in independence, he was one of the few people to actually do something about it. Everyone wanted independence, but they were too scared. A "Founding Father" is someone that wasn't scared to go against Britain to gain that independence for America. John was important to American history because he was not scared to show Britain that he was against them. I figured this out when I read his famous quote. When he said that quote, he said it on purpose to make sure the King did hear about it. These juts that he had were another characteristic of a "Founding Father".
Bibliography
"John Hancock." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Jan 02 2014, 11:57http://www.biography.com/people/john-hancock-9327271.
Hancock, John. "John Hancock Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore, 2001. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_hancock.html>.