Editing John Hancock (section)

==President of Congress==

[[File:Dorothy Quincy Hancock.jpg|thumb|Hancock's wife Dorothy Quincy, by [[John Singleton Copley]], c. 1772]]

With the war underway, Hancock made his way to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia with the other Massachusetts delegates. On May 24, 1775, he was unanimously elected [[President of the Continental Congress]], succeeding [[Peyton Randolph]] after [[Henry Middleton]] declined the nomination. Hancock was a good choice for president for several reasons.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=190}}{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=206}} He was experienced, having often presided over legislative bodies and town meetings in Massachusetts. His wealth and social standing inspired the confidence of moderate delegates, while his association with Boston radicals made him acceptable to other radicals. His position was somewhat ambiguous because the role of the president was not fully defined, and it was not clear if Randolph had resigned or was on a leave of absence.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=191}} Like other presidents of Congress, Hancock's authority was mostly limited to that of a presiding officer.{{sfn|Fowler|2000a}} He also had to handle a great deal of official correspondence, and he found it necessary to hire clerks at his own expense to help with the paperwork.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=205}}{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=237}}

In Congress on June 15, 1775, Massachusetts delegate [[John Adams]] nominated [[George Washington]] as commander-in-chief of the army then gathered around Boston. Years later, Adams wrote that Hancock had shown great disappointment at not getting the command for himself. This brief comment from 1801 is the only source for the oft-cited claim that Hancock sought to become commander-in-chief.{{sfn|Proctor|1977|p=669}} In the early 20th century, historian [[James Truslow Adams]] wrote that the incident initiated a lifelong estrangement between Hancock and Washington, but some subsequent historians have expressed doubt that the incident, or the estrangement, ever occurred. According to historian Donald Proctor, "There is no contemporary evidence that Hancock harbored ambitions to be named commander-in-chief. Quite the contrary."{{sfn|Proctor|1977|p=670}} Hancock and Washington maintained a good relationship after the alleged incident, and in 1778 Hancock named his only son ''John George Washington Hancock''.{{sfn|Proctor|1977|p=675}} Hancock admired and supported General Washington, even though Washington politely declined Hancock's request for a military appointment.{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=215}}{{sfn|Proctor|1977|p=672}}

When Congress recessed on August 1, 1775, Hancock took the opportunity to wed his fiancée, [[Dorothy Quincy|Dorothy "Dolly" Quincy]]. The couple was married on August 28 in Fairfield, Connecticut.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=197}}{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=218}} They had two children, neither of whom survived to adulthood. Their daughter Lydia Henchman Hancock was born in 1776 and died ten months later.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|pp=214, 218}} Their son John was born in 1778 and died in 1787 after suffering a head injury while ice skating.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|pp=229, 265}}{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=309}}

While president of Congress, Hancock became involved in a long-running controversy with Harvard. As treasurer of the college since 1773, he had been entrusted with the school's financial records and about £15,000 in cash and securities.{{sfn|Proctor|1977|p=661}}{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=214}} In the rush of events at the onset of the Revolutionary War, Hancock had been unable to return the money and accounts to Harvard before leaving for Congress.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=214}} In 1777, a Harvard committee headed by James Bowdoin, Hancock's chief political and social rival in Boston, sent a messenger to Philadelphia to retrieve the money and records.{{sfn|Manuel|Manuel|2004|pp=142–42}} Hancock was offended, but he turned over more than £16,000, though not all of the records, to the college.{{sfn|Proctor|1977|p=662}}{{sfn|Fowler|1980|pp=215–16}}{{sfn|Manuel|Manuel|2004|p=143}} When Harvard replaced Hancock as treasurer, his ego was bruised and for years he declined to settle the account or pay the interest on the money he had held, despite pressure put on him by Bowdoin and other political opponents.{{sfn|Manuel|Manuel|2004|pp=144–45}}{{sfn|Fowler|1980|pp=262–63}} The issue dragged on until after Hancock's death, when his estate finally paid the college more than £1,000 to resolve the matter.{{sfn|Manuel|Manuel|2004|pp=144–45}}{{sfn|Fowler|1980|pp=262–63}}

Hancock served in Congress through some of the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. The British drove Washington from [[New York and New Jersey campaign|New York and New Jersey]] in 1776, which prompted Congress to flee to [[Baltimore]].{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=248}} Hancock and Congress returned to Philadelphia in March 1777 but were compelled to flee six months later when the British [[Philadelphia campaign|occupied Philadelphia]].{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=255}} Hancock wrote innumerable letters to colonial officials, raising money, supplies, and troops for Washington's army.{{sfn|Unger|2000|pp=216–22}} He chaired the Marine Committee and took pride in helping to create a small fleet of American frigates, including the [[USS Hancock (1776)|USS ''Hancock'']], which was named in his honor.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|pp=198–99}}{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=245}}

===Signing the Declaration===

[[File:Us declaration independence signatures.jpg|thumb|left|Hancock's signature on the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence is visibly larger than the others.|alt=In relation to the other signatures, Hancock's is at the top and center.]]

[[File:JohnHancockSignature.jpg|thumb|left|Hancock's signature up close|alt=The handwriting of Hancock's signature, which slants slightly to the right, is firm and legible. The final letter loops back to underline his name in a flourish.]]

Hancock was president of Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed. 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''.{{sfn|Allan|1948|p=vii|ps=. See also [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/John%20Hancock Merriam-Webster online] and [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/john%20hancock Dictionary.com]}} According to legend, Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that [[George III|King George]] could read it without his spectacles, but the story is apocryphal and originated years later.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=213}}{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=241|ps=. See also [http://www.snopes.com/history/american/hancock.asp "John Hancock and Bull Story"], from Snopes.com}}

Contrary to popular mythology, there was no ceremonial signing of the Declaration on July 4, 1776.{{sfn|Fowler|1980|p=213}} After Congress approved the wording of the text on July 4, the ''fair copy'' was sent to be printed. As president, Hancock may have signed the document that was sent to the printer [[John Dunlap]], but this is uncertain because that document is lost, perhaps destroyed in the printing process.{{sfn|Boyd|1976|p=450}} Dunlap produced the first published version of the Declaration, the widely distributed [[Physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence|Dunlap broadside]]. Hancock, as President of Congress, was the only delegate whose name appeared on the broadside, although the name of [[Charles Thomson]], secretary of the Continental Congress but not a delegate, was also on it as "Attested by" implying that Hancock had signed the fair copy. This meant that until a second broadside was issued six months later with all of the signers listed, Hancock was the only delegate whose name was publicly attached to the treasonous document.{{sfn|Allan|1948|pp=230–31}} Hancock sent a copy of the Dunlap broadside to George Washington, instructing him to have it read to the troops "in the way you shall think most proper".{{sfn|Unger|2000|p=242}}

Hancock's name was printed, not signed, on the Dunlap broadside; his iconic signature appears on a different document—a sheet of parchment that was carefully handwritten sometime after July 19 and signed on August 2 by Hancock and those delegates present.{{sfn|Boyd|1976|pp=464–65}} Known as the engrossed copy, this is the famous document on display at the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html|title=Declaration of Independence|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|access-date=November 15, 2010}}</ref>