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Life of John Hancock
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John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts
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John Hancock's adoptive dad dies and John inherits what was said to be "the greatest body of wealth in New England."
When John's uncle died, John was to inherit the wealth of his late uncle. When John inherited the wealth, he also inherited a family name which was very popular in politics. John shortly became involved politics around Boston. He even served as the 3rd governor of Massachusetts. He was a natural born leader. -
John Hancock was elected to the Boston Assembly
The Boston Assembly is a legislative body for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. They made and enforced the law in Boston. Hancock was elected to this position in 1766. He was a part of the Stamp Act Congress. -
John Hancock's sloop, 'Liberty" was impounded on a charge of running contraband goods
When John Hancock's boat was impounded in 1768, this caused him to develop a hate towards the government of Boston. The Sloop, Hancock's boat, was impounded under the suspect of carrying wine that John hancock supposedly did not pay the duties that were owed. This influenced John to hold a position on the government's committee. In fact, John Hancock would be elected Chairman of the Board 2 years later. -
John Hancock is elected chairman of the Board seeking to have the British troops evacuated from the area
The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770 in the streets near the Port of Boston. Five people died in this horrific event and six more were injured. In March of 1770, John Hancock was elected Chairman of the Board for the Boston Council, and he was seeking to have the British soldiers removed from the area. Sadly, the soldiers were tried, acquitted, released. -
John Hancock pays Samuel Adams to organize the Boston Tea party in response to the Tea Act of 1773
As you may know, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party. But, you may not know that it was John Hancock that came up with the idea of a Tea Party and that he paid Samuel Adams to organize the Tea Party for him. Hancock came up with the idea when he and every other person in Boston were furious that there was such an outrageous duty on the British East India tea monopoly. After this rebellion, the British instilled what was referred to as the Intolerable Acts. -
John Hancock was elected to the First Continental Congress
The delegates of the Continental Congress met to discuss a reaction to the Intolerable Acts. There were 56 delegates there from 12 colonies. Georgia was not present at the Continental Congress. They also met to write a petition to the King and to agree on Boycotting economic goods. -
John Hancock was elected President of the Second Continental Congress
Much like the First Continental Congress, the Second Continental Congress met to discuss adopting a document establishing their freedom from the tyranny of King George III. They had already offered him the Olive Branch Petition nd he threw it away thinking they wouldn't dare to rebel against him. But the colonists said they would do anything to gain their freedom. They would even take up arms. And they did just that.They wrote up a Declaration of Independence, and went to war for their cause. -
John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence with the biggest signature on the document
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. John Hancock was the President of the Continental Congress and he was the first to sign the document. You may recognize his signature as the biggest one there is The men that signed the Declaration were taking a big risk because if they were caught they could be hung. -
John Hancock is elected Governor of Massachusetts
John Hancock was elected 1st Governor of Massachusetts in 1780 until 1793. This was one of the last positions John ever held. Being Governor of any state may not sound like a big deal, but you do need to sign the bills and checks. John Hancock was good at everything he did, no matter how miserable the job was. -
John Hancock is elected President of the Massachusetts Convention
When John Hancock was elected President of the Massachusetts Convention, it was big deal. It was a big deal because the constitution was proposed and the majority of the states needed to ratify it for it to pass. At first, 9 nines states approved it which was enough to pass, Massachusetts was one of the 9 states. In the end, all 13 states ratified the Constitution. -
John Hancock died and was buried in his birthplace, Braintree, Massachusetts
