1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: On this episode of Newtsworld. As part of Founding Fathers Week, 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: I'm talking about the lives and legacies of our original 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: founders and the impact they've had in our country on 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: this episode of Newtsworld. John Hancock was an American founding father, merchant, statesman, 5 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: and prominent patriot of the American Revolution. He served as 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: President of the Second Continental Congress and was the first 7 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: and third governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and perhaps 8 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: he has remembered best because of his huge signature of 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: the Declaration of Independence. He also signed the Articles of 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: Confederation and used his influence to ensure that Massachusetts ratified 11 00:00:48,479 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: the United States Constitution in seventeen eighty eight. Hancock had 12 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: a fascinating life. He was the son and grandson of ministers. 13 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: Born January twelfth, seventeen thirty seven, he was sort of 14 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: destined to become a minister. However, his life changed when 15 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: Hancock was seven years old after his father died and 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: his mother, brother, and sister went to live with his 17 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: grandparents in Lexington, Massachusetts. Hancock's stay in Lexington, who was 18 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: brief as his grandfather sent him to Boston to live 19 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: with his uncle Thomas and aunt Lydia, who had no 20 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: children of their own. They wanted to him a better 21 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: schooling to prepare him for Harvard College. His uncle was 22 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: one of the richest merchants in Boston and lived in 23 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: a mansion on top of Beacon Hill. Hancock attended Boston 24 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: Latin School and graduated from Harvard in seventeen fifty four 25 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: at the age of seventeen. Instead of following his late 26 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: father and grandfather's footsteps, Hancock returned to his uncles to 27 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: work in his merchant business, and notice he was graduating 28 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 1: younger than many Americans today enter college. When his uncle 29 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: died in seventeen sixty five, Hancock, who was twenty seven 30 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: years old at the time, inherited his uncle's entire fortune 31 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: and the merchant business. Now, Hancock was actually more interested 32 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: in politics than in business, and in seventeen sixty five 33 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: he was elected as a Selectman of Boston when the 34 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: British government passed the Stamp Act. Initially, Hancock was not 35 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: opposed to the act, but after witnessing the protest in Boston, 36 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: he changed his mind. He then started participating in the 37 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: protest by boycotting the importation of British goods and that 38 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: made him popular with people in Boston. In seventeen sixty six, 39 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: Samuel Ladam has voiced his public support for Hancock, which 40 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 1: helped him get elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. 41 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 1: And by the way, that must have been quite a 42 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: contrast between the oratory of Samuel Adams and the merchant 43 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 1: background of Hancock made him quite a pair as allies. 44 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: When Parliament passed the Towns Enact, colonists began smuggling goods 45 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: to avoid paying taxes, which caused British ships to illegally 46 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: search and seize ships. In April seventeen sixty eight, a 47 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: British customs agent illegally boarded Hancock's boat Liberty, and it 48 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: tells you a little bit psychologically about where Hancock's coming 49 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: from that he would name his ship Liberty. Hancock demanded 50 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: to see warrants authorizing the search, and when the official 51 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: was unable to produce the documents, he was asked to leave. 52 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: On May ninth, seventeen sixty eight, Hancock's ship came into 53 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: port with Madeira wine, and customs officials again visited his boat, 54 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: but this time they had the proper warrants. The ship 55 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: was loaded onto the dock, and Hancock paid the customs fee, 56 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: but the officials thought that his shipment of wine twenty 57 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: five casks, which was about a quarter of what the 58 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: ship could hold, seemed too small, and speculated that he 59 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: had smuggled some of the wine before coming into port. 60 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: A month later, on June ninth, seventeen sixty eight, Thomas Kirk, 61 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: the customs official who boarded Hancock's boat a month earlier, 62 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: changed his initial story and accused Hancock of offering him 63 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: a bribe. He claimed that Hancock offered him several casks 64 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: of wine if he told the British government that his 65 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: ship only contained twenty five casks, so that he could 66 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: avoid paying the fee. He insisted that he did not 67 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: take the bribe, but Hancock's captain, John Marshall, had threatened 68 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: him if he ever told the truth. John Harrison, the 69 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: official collector of the port, brought Kirk's statement to the 70 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: Commissioner's and wanted to place the King's mark on Hancock's 71 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: boat waiting for legal proceedings. Controller Benjamin Hollowell, however, urged 72 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: him to seize the boat instead, so Harrison enlicted a 73 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: crew another smuggler, Daniel Malcolm, and A handful of men 74 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: saw Harrison boarding the boat and argued that they should 75 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: at least wait for Hancock to arrive first. A fight 76 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,919 Speaker 1: broke out between the men, but Harrington and his crew 77 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: still managed to bring Hancock's boat onto the side of 78 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 1: their boat, capturing it. Hallowell, Harrison and his son fled 79 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: the fight on the wharf with scrapes and bruises. An 80 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: angry crowd began to assemble. When word of Hancock's boat 81 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: being seized got out, A crowd of about three thousand 82 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: men began to search the city for Harrison and Hollowell. 83 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: When they couldn't find him, they shattered the windows of 84 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: their houses instead. The following month, a sub was fouled Onst. 85 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: Hancock for the sum of nine thousand pounds with the 86 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: smuggling of wine. Being unable to negotiate this himself, Hancock 87 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: enlisted John Adams to defend him in court. That's a 88 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: cousin to Samuel Adams. They were both deeply involved in 89 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 1: seeking freedom. In his defense, John Adams questioned the validity 90 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 1: of the case as it denied Hancock the right of 91 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 1: a jury trial, and according to Adams, it repealed the 92 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: Magna carta as far as America is concerned, degrading Hancock 93 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: below the rank of an Englishman. This is a theme 94 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: that goes through again and again with the founding fathers. 95 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: They saw themselves as Englishmen, and the British people had 96 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: come to believe that they had certain rights which the 97 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: government could not infringe on, and the right to trial 98 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: was one of them. Adams is weaving back into British 99 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,600 Speaker 1: history to claim the rights of an Englishman, not of 100 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 1: an American colonist. Adams defense was successful, and on March 101 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: twenty fifth, the case was dropped and the record read, 102 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: quote the Advocate General praise leave to retract this information, 103 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: and says our Sovereign Lord, the King will prosecute no 104 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: further hero On September fourteenth, seventeen sixty eight, Hancock, with 105 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: Joseph Jackson, John Ruddick, John Rowe, and Samuel Palmerton, wrote 106 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: a letter in response to the Town and Acts quote, 107 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: you are already too well acquainted with the melancholy and 108 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: very alarming circumstances to which this province, as well as 109 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: American General, is now reduced taxes equally detrimental to the 110 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: commercial interests of the parent country. And her colonies are 111 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: imposed upon the people without their consent, taxes designed for 112 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: the support of the civil government the colonies, in a 113 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: manner clearly unconstitutional and contrary to that in which till 114 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 1: of late government has been supported by the free gift 115 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: of the people. In American assemblies or parliaments, as also 116 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: for the maintenance of a large standing army, not for 117 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: the defense of newly acquired territories, but for the old colonies, 118 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: and in a time of peace. The decent, humble and 119 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: truly loyal applications and petitions from the representatives province for 120 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: the redress of these heavy and very threatening grievances have 121 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: hitherto been ineffectual, being assured from authentic intelligence that they 122 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: have not yet reached the Royal ear. The only effect 123 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: of transmitting these applications, hitherto perceivable has been a mandate 124 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: from one of His Majesty's Secretary's of State to the 125 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: Governor of this province to dissolve the General Assembly, merely 126 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: because the late House representatives refuse to rescind a resolution 127 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: of a former House which implied nothing more than a 128 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: right in the American subjects to unite in humble and 129 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: dutiful petitions to their gracious sovereign when they found themselves aggrieved. 130 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 1: This is a right naturally inherent in every man and 131 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 1: expressly recognized at the Glorious Revolution as the birthright of 132 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 1: an Englishman. Let me point out that the Glorious Revolution 133 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: is of course the return of Protestant monarchy, as Willim 134 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: and Mary come from Holland in sixteen eighty eight. It's 135 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 1: a decisive moment in British history and leads directly to 136 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: the whole concept of natural rights. And what they're se 137 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: saying here is we're Englishmen. You owe us these rights. 138 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: You are stepping upon our natural right here. This is 139 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: all going to echo into Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Independence. Also, 140 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: notice there's this constant effort to draw a distinction between 141 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: the bad government and the good King. There's a very 142 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,079 Speaker 1: important psychological goal here of trying to make sure that 143 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: people understand that they're loyal to the king, they're just 144 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: angry at the government. Now. Of course, the government and 145 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 1: king in England see it differently, because the government see 146 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: itself as the king and the king sees himself as 147 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: the government. And this is why historically it's very hard 148 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 1: to petition the King without looking like you're engaged in treason, 149 00:09:45,320 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: which is the refusal to be loyal to your sovereign. Hi, 150 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: this is newt In my new book, March the Majority, 151 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,599 Speaker 1: The Real Story of the Republican Revolution, I offer strategies 152 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: and insights for everyday citizens and for season politicians. It's 153 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: both a guide for political success and for winning back 154 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: the Majority. In twenty twenty four, March to the Majority 155 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: outlines the sixteen year campaign to write the Contract with America. 156 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: Explains how we elected the first Republican House majority in 157 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,199 Speaker 1: forty years, in how we worked with President Bill Clinton 158 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: to pass major reforms, including four consecutive balance budgets. March 159 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: to the Majority tells the behind the scenes story of 160 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: how we got it done. Go to ginglishtree sixty dot 161 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: com slash book and order your copy now. Order it 162 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: today at gingishtree sixty dot com slash book now. They 163 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: go on to say, this dissolution your Sensible has taken place. 164 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: The governors publicly and repeatedly declared that he cannot call 165 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: another Assembly, and the Secretary of State for the American Department, 166 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: in one of his letters communicated to the Late House, 167 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: has been pleased to say that proper care will be 168 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: taken for the support of the dignitive government, the meaning 169 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: of which is too plain to mean misunderstood. In other words, 170 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: the British officials are now saying to the American colonists, 171 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: we will take care of things, We will raise money, 172 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 1: we will decide how to spend it. You have no rights. 173 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,440 Speaker 1: They go on to say, quote the concern and perplexity 174 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: into which these things have thrown the people have been 175 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: greatly aggravated by a late declaration of his Excellency, Governor Bernard, 176 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: that one or more regiments may soon be expected in 177 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: this province. The design of these troops is, in every 178 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: one's apprehension, nothing short of enforcing by military power the 179 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: execution of acts of Parliament in the forming of which 180 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: the colonies have not and cannot have any constitutional influence. 181 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: This is one of the greatest distress to which a 182 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: free people can be reduced. Notice what they're saying here, 183 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,199 Speaker 1: the very fact that the British ship concluded that they 184 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: have to oppress the Americans. They can't really negotiate with them, 185 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: they can't reason with them. So they're going to send 186 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: an army, and that army is going to, in fact 187 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: live in Boston and is going to impose the will 188 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: of the British government no matter what the local folks think. 189 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: This is the sort of thing which began to move 190 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: in a direction where suddenly they create the Committee of 191 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: the Boston Sons of Liberty, which included John Hancock, Sammuel Adams, 192 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 1: John Adams, James Otis. The group's amazing. This is the 193 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: beginning of real patriotism defining itself more and more and 194 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: more isolated from the British seventeen sixty nine, the Committee 195 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 1: of the Boston Sons of Liberty. Notice again, liberty is 196 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: a huge word in this period. Eighteen forty, an older 197 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: man was asked, why did you fight the revolution? They 198 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: were looking for this stamp act or the tax on 199 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: tea or whatever. He said, you know, we aim to 200 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 1: be free, and they aimed that we shouldn't. And that's 201 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: what it was all about. And that's why liberty is 202 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: such an important word here, because they're coming back again 203 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: and again the idea we are a free people. You 204 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,079 Speaker 1: were about to take away our freedom, So in their 205 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: mind they've already got the freedom. They're not fighting for freedom, 206 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: they're fighting against the oppression which would take away freedom. 207 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: So this continues to move in the same direction. By 208 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: December seventeen seventy, the Massachusetts House represented wrote a letter 209 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: which Hancock again signed, to Benjamin Franklin, appointing him an 210 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,719 Speaker 1: agent at the Court of Great Britain. This is the 211 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: first letter of Franklin, the only one known to have survived. 212 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: Franklin is asked by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to go 213 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: to London to represent them. He goes to London. He's 214 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: initially very well received. Gradually, the longer he's there, the 215 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: more he realizes he will never be an Englishman. They 216 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: will never accept him into their circle. He will always 217 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: be a colonist, no matter how bright he is, no 218 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: matter how renowned he is as a scientist, no matter 219 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:18,839 Speaker 1: how wealthy he is. He just isn't them. Somebody once wrote, 220 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: Franklin left America as an Englishman and returned as an American. 221 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: This is the person who the Massachusetts House is asking. 222 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: Since you're already there anyway, would you also represent us? 223 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: And they explain them what they're worried about. Quote the 224 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: House representatives of this province, after appointing you their agent 225 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: at the Quart of Great Britain directed us to correspond 226 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: with you in the recess of the Court upon matters 227 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: that concern the interest of the province in general. There 228 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: is nothing that will more promote the true interest to 229 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: this party, as well as Great Britain herself, than a 230 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: happy settlement of the disputes that have too long subsisted 231 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 1: between the other country in the colonies. These are justly 232 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: tenacious of their constitutional natural rights and will never willingly 233 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: part with them, and it certainly can never be for 234 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: the advantage of the nation to force them away. Great 235 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 1: Britain can lose nothing that she ought to retain by 236 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: restoring the colonies to the state they were in before 237 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: passing the obnoxious Stamp Act, and we are persuaded if 238 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: that is done, they will no further contend. This. We 239 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: think it necessary early to inform you of as our 240 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: own opinion is. We have reason to think that there 241 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: are persons on both sides the Atlantic, whose interest it 242 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: may be to keep alive a spirit of discord, who 243 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: are continually insinuating the men of power, that such a 244 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: concession of the part of Great Britain would only serve 245 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: to increase our claims, and there would be no end 246 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: of them, which we believe and may even venture to 247 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: assure you, is that the least color of foundation and truth. 248 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: In other words, the founding fathers, generally speaking, and Hancock 249 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: was a key member of this, are not asking to 250 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: leave Great Britain. They're not moving towards independence. What they 251 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: want is their rights to be respected, their role to 252 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: raise taxes on themselves in the spirit of the Magna Carta, 253 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: to be accepted, to negotiate with the British government as equals, 254 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: and not in any way to move towards independence. Now, 255 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: the fact is, Hancock is faced with the Boston Tea 256 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: Party coming up. He's faced with growing public anger, and 257 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: there's actually not certain that Hancock was involved in planning 258 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: the Boston Tea Party, which is when a group of 259 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: Americans dressed as Indians broke into a British ship and 260 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: threw tea into the Boston harbor in order that it 261 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: not be available to sell because they did not want 262 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: to pay the tax on tea. Hancock the most he 263 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: said that we know publicly, he told the crowd, let 264 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: every man do what is right in his own eyes. 265 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: So he's not saying he's going to participate but he's 266 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 1: also not saying you shouldn't know it. And that very 267 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: same evening, the crowd went into the Boston Harbor addressed 268 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 1: as Native Americans boarded the ship dumped three hundred and 269 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: forty two chests of tea into the harbor. Tea back 270 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: then was expensive. So this is a substantial hit on 271 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: the East India Company and a direct defiance of the 272 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: British government. Now, Hancock never talked about it other than 273 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: this comment that night before it happened. Now though, also 274 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 1: as a part of this growing separation, there was an 275 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:34,199 Speaker 1: annual commemoration of the Boston Massacre, which in seventeen seventy 276 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: one British soldiers who were rattled shot and killed several 277 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: Massachusetts colonists. And so Hancock was chosen on March fifth, 278 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four to read the third annual oration to 279 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:52,680 Speaker 1: commemorate the Boston Massacre. So he really is beginning to 280 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: lay the case out here as a public figure. He 281 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: says in his oration quote, is the present system which 282 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: the British administration have adopted for the government of the 283 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: colonies a righteous government? Or is it tyranny? Here? Suffer 284 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: me to ask, and would to heaven, there could be 285 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:15,120 Speaker 1: an answer, What tenderness, what regard, respect or consideration has 286 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: Great Britain shown in their late transactions for the security 287 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: of the persons or properties of the inhabitants of the colonies, 288 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 1: Or rather, what have they omitted doing to destroy that security? 289 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: They have declared that they have ever had, and of 290 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: right ought to ever have, full power to make laws 291 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: of sufficient validity to bind the colonies in all cases 292 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: whatever they have exercised this pretended right by imposing attacks 293 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: upon us without our consent. And notice this is not 294 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: the heart of it, Lest we should sow some reluctance 295 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:50,840 Speaker 1: at parting with our property. Our fleets and armies are 296 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 1: sent to enforce their mad pretensions. The town of Boston, 297 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,239 Speaker 1: ever faithful to the British Crown, has been invested by 298 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: a British fleet. The true troops of George third have 299 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: crossed the wide Atlantic, not to engage an enemy, but 300 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: to assist a band of traders in trampling on the 301 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,640 Speaker 1: rights and liberties of his most loyal subjects in America, 302 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: those rights and liberties which is a father he ought 303 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: ever to regard, and as a king he has bound 304 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: in honor to defend from violation, even at the risk 305 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: of his Unlet notice what he's now starting to say. 306 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 1: Hancock is saying, if you help enforce this law. Notice 307 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: the word he uses, band of traders. You are a 308 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,960 Speaker 1: trader to America. You're a trader to our rights under 309 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: the Constitution. And therefore the division is getting deeper and deeper. 310 00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: That year, he's elected as a delegate to the first 311 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: Continental Congress, called to bring together the colonies to talk 312 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,439 Speaker 1: about what's going on. And he's also faced with the 313 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 1: fact that living in Boston is less and less safe 314 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: because the British could come and arrest him at any time. 315 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: So Hancock moves to his grandfather's home in Lexington, and 316 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: on April eighteenth, seventeen seventy five, doctor Joseph Warren got 317 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:25,160 Speaker 1: news that British troops were heading toward Lexington. Warren sent 318 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: three writers, the most famous of them Paul Revere, to 319 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: warn people. Revere warned Hancock and Adams of the incoming 320 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: troops and suggested they flee before the British reached Lexington. 321 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: This is the first real moment of violence because what 322 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: had happened was the American militia had been practicing, and 323 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 1: this is one of the great differences in the courses 324 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 1: behind the whole notion of the Second Amendment and the 325 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: right to bear arms. The British Army was very good 326 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,360 Speaker 1: at putting down peasant revolts. They'd put down revolts in England, 327 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: in Scotland, and Wales in Ireland, and so they marched 328 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,919 Speaker 1: out of Boston, assuming this would be just like all 329 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 1: those other peasant revolts. But they had a problem. They 330 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: were now faced with a free people who had weapons 331 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: and who had been practicing, and also people who frankly 332 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 1: went deer hunting and generally actually provisioned their houses by 333 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 1: their effectiveness as hunters. The result was a disaster for 334 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: the British Army. They were shot at all the way 335 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: back to Boston. They took a substantial number of casualties. Suddenly, 336 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: what was then called the shot heard around the world. 337 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: The Americans stood up and said, if you try to 338 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: take our weapons, we will shoot you. Across all of 339 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: the colonies. People were shaken because suddenly this was a 340 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,919 Speaker 1: real fight. This wasn't just words. The British Army had 341 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: attempted to do something which would have stripped the Americans 342 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: of their ability to be free. Shortly after that, Hancock 343 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: was elected President of the Second Continent of Congress. He 344 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: is a significant figure in the development of the ideas 345 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: and the movement that leads to American freedom. As President, 346 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,040 Speaker 1: he presided during the discussion on the appointment of the 347 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: Commander in chief of the Continent Army. Now, this is 348 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: a very interesting moment in American history. They need an 349 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: army in order to stand up to the British. However, 350 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:18,479 Speaker 1: that army is going to be in Boston. It's going 351 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: to be largely New England, and they have to find 352 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: a way to unite all of the colonies into this 353 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: fight and not just have it be a New England fight. Now, 354 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: one of the great moments of theater, there's a very 355 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:36,639 Speaker 1: tall man walking around wearing the University the unit form 356 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: of a Virginia Militia officer, Colonel Washington, who says to everybody, Oh, 357 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 1: I don't know why you would think of me as 358 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: the commander. I'm not sure I could be the commander. 359 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 1: I'm not really sure I could do the job. But 360 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: he's the only guy at the whole place wearing a uniform, 361 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: and it's just one of those things about Washington, who's 362 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: very understudied but very strategic. So of course they picked Washington. 363 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: And now you have this Virginian going to Boston to 364 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,400 Speaker 1: lead a largely new England army. Remember, the accents were 365 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: wildly different, and there was this whole sense of getting 366 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 1: used to each other. Washington does a brilliant job throughout 367 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,120 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War. Hancock takes the wealth he had inherited 368 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 1: and he'd grown with his own businesses, and he helped 369 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: fund the army. I mean, Hancock is genuinely putting his life, 370 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: his liberty, and his fortune to the fight for freedom. 371 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: He oversaw the Declaration of Independence on July fourth, seventeen 372 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: seventy six. In his most famous single moment, John Hancock 373 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: was the first to sign the document. He had a 374 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 1: large cursive signature and said, there, John Bull can read 375 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,680 Speaker 1: my name without spectacles. He may double his reward when 376 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,160 Speaker 1: he sang as John bullmant England. The King can see 377 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: clearly that Hancock has signed the Declaration Independance, and the 378 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,679 Speaker 1: King then wants to double the reward for killing him. 379 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,920 Speaker 1: That's fine, and that's where the term John Hancock meaning 380 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: signature comes from. Because he deliberately went out of his way, 381 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: almost as a propaganda act. Two days later, in July sixth, 382 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:15,359 Speaker 1: Hancock writes Washington, instructing him to read the Declaration of 383 00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: Independence to his troops. And this is an important thing 384 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: to remember about the American Revolution. This was an informed military. 385 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: Again and again Washington, who's a master at this, make 386 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,719 Speaker 1: sure that they understand why they're fighting, They understand what 387 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: the situation is, and they are reminded that they have 388 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: a moral cause. That's a key part of it. Now. 389 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: I think Hamilton felt that this was a duty. They 390 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: were doing, working and doing everything they can as a team. 391 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: And so you have militia coming from all over, you 392 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: have people showing up on a regular basis, and you 393 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: begin to really see that there's going to be an 394 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: American force, not a Massachusetts force or Virginia force, but 395 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: a genuinely Amerrican force. Hancock stays as President of Congress 396 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 1: until seventeen seventy seven. When he resigns as president, he 397 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: had his chance as a military leader. He led five 398 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: thousand Massachusetts soldiers to attempt to recapture Newport, Rhode Island 399 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: in seventeen seventy eight. The mission ultimately was a failure, 400 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: but he went back home and in seventeen eighty he 401 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: helped frame the Massachusetts Constitution and was elected as the 402 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Member, we are 403 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: still fighting at this point, and he's now the governor 404 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: of the commonwealth. Where you could argue the fight started. 405 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: In seventeen eighty eight, delegates elected Hancock to serve as 406 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: president of the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention. Unfortunately, he had gout, 407 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,639 Speaker 1: which is a recurring eilment for Hancock, and which he 408 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: probably tried to solve by drinking port, which made the 409 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 1: gout worse. But he was prevented from attending the debates 410 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: until January thirtieth. At that point he did everything he 411 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,959 Speaker 1: could to help make sure that the majority would be 412 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: in favor of ratifying the constitution. In fact, he felt 413 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: so deeply that on the morning of January thirtieth, wrapped 414 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: in blankets, he was carried into the convention and attended 415 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: the debates for the first time. He was absolutely in 416 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: favor of the new system. This is a quote from 417 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,399 Speaker 1: Henry Van Shack, who was actually in attendance, who writes 418 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: Governor Hancock had come to the convention and declared himself 419 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:31,440 Speaker 1: decidedly in favor of the system, which had an amazing 420 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: influence over a great number of wavering members. Ill health 421 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 1: had prevented the governor's attendants and convention before. The opposition 422 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: took advantage of this and industriously reported that his Excellency 423 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,679 Speaker 1: was opposed to the Constitution and advised and to reject it. 424 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: There's room to conjecture that the Governor would not have 425 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: come out so soon if it had not been for 426 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: those reports, as he was extremely unwell at the time 427 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: he went out. A day later, on January thirty first, 428 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,160 Speaker 1: Hancock read from a speech prepared by the Federal's Caucus 429 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:06,000 Speaker 1: supporting the signing of the Constitution. And I think it's 430 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: very important to realize here's a guy who has personally 431 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: spent his money helping fight the war, who has taken 432 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: great risk, who has been persecuted by the British, and 433 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: he is committed to working on the Constitution getting it approved. 434 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,719 Speaker 1: And at that point, I think he has had a 435 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: major role because Massachusetts, which is one of the biggest 436 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:33,199 Speaker 1: colonies in both population and wealth, having endorsed the Constitution 437 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 1: is a major step in the right direction, and it's 438 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: not decisive. It's very likely if Hancock had come out 439 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: against the Constitution that it might have lost. It only 440 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: wins in the Massachusetts convention by one eighty seven to 441 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 1: one sixty eight, so there's a pretty narrow margin that 442 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: it wouldn't have taken much to have turned it into 443 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: a defeat. In seventy eighty nine, Hancock's a candidate in 444 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 1: the first US presidential election, but only received four electoral 445 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,120 Speaker 1: votes out of total of one thirty eight. George Washington 446 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: garnered sixty nine votes. John Adams captured thirty six votes, 447 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: earning the two men the presidency and vice presidency. Back then, 448 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: you all ran on one ticket and the number one 449 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: or two people got to be president and vice president. 450 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: That changed after Adams and Jefferson had to suffer each 451 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 1: other and realized that it was crazy to have a 452 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: system where you were not elected as a ticket. After 453 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: the adoption of the Constitution, Hancock was elected for a 454 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: final time as governor, and he kept getting elected until 455 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,120 Speaker 1: his death. On October twenty fourth, seventeen eighty nine, President 456 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:41,440 Speaker 1: Washington and a tour of the Eastern States arrived in Boston, 457 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 1: where the whole town, minus Hancock, went out to greet him. 458 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: Hancock believed that his governor Washington should come to him. However, 459 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: soon after he realized this was a mistake, he visited 460 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: Washington and claimed that an illness kept him from arriving sooner. 461 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: On October eighth, seventeen ninety three, Hancock, while still in office, 462 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: died at the age of fifty six and received one 463 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: of the largest state funerals from his longtime friend Samuel Adams. 464 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: John Hancock is one of the people upon whom America stands. 465 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 1: It was his commitment, his courage, his belief in liberty, 466 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: his willingness to risk everything and literally to spend his 467 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: fortune to help us become free, which has helped make 468 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: America the country it is. And that is why he's 469 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: one of the immortals as we look at the Founding Fathers. 470 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening. You can read more about John 471 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,960 Speaker 1: Hancock and get links to my other Founding Father's episodes 472 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 1: on our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newsworld is 473 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: produced by Gingish three sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer 474 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 1: is Guernsey Sloan and our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The 475 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: artwork for the show was created by Steve Penley. Special 476 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,959 Speaker 1: thanks to the team at gingishtree sixty. If you've been 477 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast and 478 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 1: both rate us with five stars and give us a 479 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 1: review so all this can learn what it's all about. 480 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: Right now, listeners of neut World consign up for my 481 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: three freeweekly columns at ginglishthree sixty dot com slash newsletter. 482 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: I'm Newt Gingrish. This is neut World.