John Hancock the Forgotten Hero - Essay Example

John Hancock – the Forgotten Hero John Hancock, one of the founding fathers of modern America, was easily one of the most prominent and popular men during and after the American freedom movement in the middle and later part of the 18th century. He was instrumental in pushing the American Revolution and giving it the start. Though not very well known today, he cut a very flamboyant and dominant figure in his times. John Hancock was born in Braintree (Massachusetts) on 23rd of January 1737 to Reverend John Hancock and Mary Thaxter. However being orphaned at a very young age he was adopted by his uncle Thomas Hancock and his wife Lydia, a childless couple. Thomas Hancock had a very successful business firm called the “House of Hancock” which dealt with export and import of various goods from England. He was one of the richest and most well known merchants of Boston and became the most dominating influence in young Johns life. After completing his academic life (Boston Latin School and later Harvard University) he started working in his uncles firm. It was at this time that the Seven Years War started (1756-1763) which later fueled the war of American independence. John Hancock spent some time in England(1760-1761) while working for his uncle to develop business contacts and relationships and soon became a full time partner with the company owing to his hard work and honesty. With his uncles death in 1763, he inherited the business and became one of the richest men in Boston. Though hobnobbing with the rich and the famous of those times (also known as loyalists), Hancock, however, soon became engaged in politics that were of the revolutionary nature and his sympathies were for the freedom struggle against the ruling Britain. Owing to the heavy losses incurred during the Seven Years War, on November 1st, 1765, the British Imperial government decide to impose a tax on its colonies in America to be paid directly to the king. Revenue stamps were to be compulsorily carried on all printed matter starting from pamphlets, bills, to newspapers under the Stamp Act. It was for the first time in 160 years of British rule that America needed to pay taxes directly to Great Britain. In protest against this, colonial America formed a Stamp Act Congress which called for the rolling back of the Stamps Act which was soon replaced with the infamous Declaratory Act. This act gave Great Britain supreme power over the American colonies leading to outspread public outrage. During this period of political unrest and increasing tensions with the ruling British, Hancock came to the fore front as a prominent political leader in Boston. He was elected as one of the five Select Men from Boston in the year 1765 just before the Stamp Act was passed. This Stamp Act led to violent organized protests and riots but at first Hancock decided to take a moderate stand. He thought that the Americans as loyal subjects should pay the taxes, though he surmised that the parliament was wrong in charging tax, in the first place. Later he changed his stance, though condemning the violent methods taken by the resistance group. Hancock joined the protests against the Stamp Act and took part in the boycott of English made goods. He was elected to Massachusetts House of Representatives along with Samuel Adams, Thomas Cushing and James Otis after becoming immensely popular amongst the Bostonians due to his boycott call of British goods. Samuel Adams who was the leader of the “Whigs” group supported Hancock in his political drive and they formed a relationship which was mutually beneficial with Adams playing the role of a mentor and Hancock giving monetary support as and when required. They however formed a very strange pair, with Adams having a very puritan view of life and Hancock fond of luxury and extravagant lifestyle. It is often said that Hancock was very attached to the idea of being a popular social figure and was very fond of public applause and this led him to being used by many politicians like Adams. According to Higginson (1857) “these qualities rendered him a proper object for the effective patriots...to bring forward to favour their views.....availed themselves of his great desire for popularity....represented him as a man useful in the cause of liberty...he was captivated...of being a publick man...was lavish of money...to gain their affections” (Higginson, 1857, p. 6-7) As an elected member of the house of Massachusetts, Hancock boldly defied the British Empire on their tax act. As Eliot commented on Hancock that, "he blazed a Whig of the first magnitude"(as cited in Klos, 2000) while reading out his defiance act. The British retaliated by trying to seize Hancocks sloop “Liberty” on the charges of misuse of trade laws. This caused riots to break out in Massachusetts with the commissioners of the British Empire just about managing to escape with their lives. This planted the seeds of the American war of independence and made Hancock quite popular. The Townshend Revenue Acts was passed by the British parliament in 1767 which imposed taxes on imported goods like tea, lead, paper, paints, glass etc. in order to obtain more revenue from colonial America. In 1768 the Massachusetts Assembly passed out a letter to other American colonies protesting against these taxes and hoping to get a reprieve by petitioning to the King of England. The British government however, asked the Massachusetts assembly to annul this letter and ordered this assembly to be dissolved if they refused to pay the taxes. To protest against this and other taxes John Hancock and the Selectmen on 23rd September 1768 called for a town meeting to be addressed at the Faneuil Hall and got a huge response with about 96 other towns participating in this protest meeting against the British Imperial rule. Here Hancock read out a circular that pointed out a series of grievances against the ruling British government and passed certain resolutions. England took a strong stand against this meeting and the circular and brought in reinforcements just two days later to place Boston under military rule. This was the first step towards ending the colonial rule in America and its getting independence. Though Boston was placed under the militia it could not entirely control the citizens. Regular clashes took place and there was a constant tension between the citizens and the ruling militia. On the fateful evening of 5th of March, 1770, a small group of British army personnel was assaulted by a large group of Bostonians with weapons and snow balls. The commanding officer ordered the soldiers to open fire on the citizens killing five on the spot and injuring several others. Feeling the public outrage at this incident, later known as the “Boston massacre”, Hancock and Adams instigated the citizens to form an assembly which placed these two men along with a few others in a committee to demand the withdrawal of the troops from Boston and Hancock was made the chairman of this newly formed committee. At the funeral service of these fallen citizens Hancock was asked to address the public, which he did in a most befitting manner. He gave a very heart rending speech which started as “The town of Boston, ever faithful to the British crown, has been invested by a British fleet; the troops of George the third have crossed the Atlantic, not to engage an enemy, but to assist a band of traitors in trampling on the rights and liberties of his most loyal subjects; those rights and liberties, which, as a father, he ought ever to regard, and as a king, he is bound in honour to defend from violation, even at the risk of his own life.....” (as cited in Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 2004, p. 4). All previous insinuations and doubts as to his true patriotism vanished as the mourning crowd listened misty eyed, to his heart rending speech and he became a hero in the eyes of his fellow countrymen. His speech which was published in all the leading American dailies, greatly offended the governor general and later an arrest warrant was issued for both Adams and Hancock but they managed to escape due to the tidings of Dr. Joseph Warren and the famous ride of Paul Revere which managed to warn them just before the British troops arrived. Later the British issued a statement which offered to pardon all rebels except Adams and Hancock as their crimes were of too large a nature. In 1775 Hancock was elected the President of the Continental Congress and it was under his Presidency that the Declaration of Independence was signed and his signature is remembered in American history as the most flamboyant one. He was in fact the only Continental Congress member to sign the Declaration paper on the “Fourth of July”, now known as the American Independence day. As he signed with a flourish he is said to have commented “There, King George will be able to read that without his spectacles” (as cited in Somervill, 2005, p.13). His role as a president is however rather ambiguous with no clearly defined duties and it was also not clear whether his predecessor had actually resigned or had taken leave due to ill health. As an author puts it “Like other presidents of Congress, Hancocks authority was limited to that of a presiding officer. 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” (as cited in Answers.com “John Hancock”, 2009). Hancock wanted to be in charge of the Boston army and was extremely disappointed when George Washington was chosen over him. However he kept his disappointment to himself and putting duty first was always respectful and supported Washington in his endeavors. After two years in office he resigned from his office of presidency in 1777 and returned to Boston where he was again elected to the House of Representatives. Though in reduced circumstances, as he had a spent a lot of money for the revolution that led to Americas independence, he was always ready to lend a helping hand to those in need. It was this generous nature that made him so popular and turned him into a common mans idol. In 1780 he was elected as a governor of Massachusetts. Here again he was criticized for not being a good leader and avoiding controversies during the difficult economic times of the post war reconstruction period. He was an escapist and when he saw trouble coming he resigned from office. This trouble came in the form of Shays rebellion which his successor had to handle. After this rebellion he was again re elected to office in 1787, he pardoned all those who took part in the rebellion and remained a popular governor till the very end. Thus this nature of escapism, of trying to avoid difficulties had earned him the title of having political gout, as and when required. In 1789 he decided to stand for the US presidential election, though knowing that Washington would most probably be the chosen one, he vied for the post of vice presidency. However he lost the elections and John Adams was voted the first vice president of the United States of America. He died in 1793 while still in office as the governor of Massachusetts. A state holiday was declared on his burial day and he was given a lavish funeral by the then acting governor Samuel Adams. Though Hancock was more a politician than a revolutionary, one cannot ignore his importance in the American Independence. He used his wealth, power and prestige well to gain public acceptance and popularity. He showed rare courage during the Townshend Act by refusing the customs officials to board his ship without proper documentation. This snowballed into the “Liberty affair”, and a long public litigation. Subsequently, Hancock was a behind-the-scenes supporter of the Boston Tea Party which was an important trigger in the American Independence. Hancock was, by nature, a moderate, preferring to fight non-violent non-co-operations and use methods like boycotting of British Goods as weapons for protests. His methods were useful in gradually building up the tempo for the final act of taking to arms. When he became the President of Provincial congress, he also presided over the Committee of Safety in Massachusetts which was the beginning of creation of a “shadow army”, where every male adult were forced to take part. His prominent position led to the British dispatching General Thomas Gage to arrest him in 1775. Though he personally did not fight, this act of aggression triggered the American Revolution and the war started. During the war, he acted more as a facilitator by remaining the president of continental congress and providing money, supplies and troops to the erstwhile leader of the revolution – Mr. George Washington. Hancock was also instrumental in creating a small fleet called “Continental Navy”. As John Milton once said “They also serve, who only stand and wait” (Milton, “When I Consider How my Light is Spent”- Sonnet XIX, 2003), John Hancock did not have a glamorous role to play in the revolution; he was not the stuff legends are made of; he was not the cardboard heroes of dewy eyed teenagers. Often referred to by critics as a person of a shallow nature who did not have any strong convictions and was mainly an opportunist by nature, he cannot be denied his pivotal role in kick starting the movement for American Independence. Whatever his drawbacks are, history cannot obliterate the fact that he had a major part to play in the revolution, had the courage to stand up to the British empire when necessary and his flamboyant signature on the Declaration of Independence is certainly not out of place or tune, even to this day. References Answers.com (2009). John Hancock, Political figure (President of Congress). Retrieved on 26th April 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/john-hancock Goodrich, A, Charles, Rev. (January 2, 2004). Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock (1737-1793). 4. Retrieved on 26th April 2009 from http://colonialhall.com/hancock/hancock4.php Higginson, Stephen. (1857). Ten Chapters in the life of John Hancock. New York. Original from University of California. Digitized on 11th October 2007. 6-7. Klos, L, Stanley. (2000). Museum of History- Hall of USA- John Hancock- 1st President of the Continental Congress of the United States of America. Retrieved on 26th April 2009 from http://www.johnhancock.org/ Milton, John. (2003). Sonnet XIX: When I Consider How my Light is Spent (1673). Representative Poetry Online. University of Toronto – The Department of English. Retrieved on 26th April 2009 from https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem1457.html Somervill, A, Barbara. (2005). John Hancock: Signer for Independence. Compass Point Books. 13. Read More