Editing John Hancock (section)

===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>