An example of how we engage with culture.
Posted on 01/12/2025 7:54:23 AM PST by ProgressingAmerica
I feel like we're actually leading a sort of a revival here. There comes a time when a vision is seen, and then only later on can that vision be shown to others because it has materialized in some meaningful way.
Today I'm very happy to announce that Lorenzo Sears' biography of Founding Father John Hancock has been released for general use!
John Hancock: The Picturesque Patriot
Now be honest, how many of you actually know much at all about John Hancock, other than that he's that one guy who lived somewhere in a northern state and his autograph on the Declaration was the easiest one to see because its the largest? Seriously, very few people know much at all about John Hancock. But that can change, and for many it surely will change. That includes me, I'll raise my hand right now. I don't know much about Hancock myself.
We have a huge problem in this country, and we need to face it face on. Americans do not know their own Founding Fathers.
This is half because schools stopped teaching it generations ago. The other half is because of inconvenience - Why would anybody pick up a book written over a century ago to learn about John Hancock when they can read a compelling novel? Maybe Jurassic Park? Why would anybody buy a new book written about John Hancock (There are precious few, I'll get to this in a second) when they could go watch a football game? Or even beyond that, how many people prioritize family time most of all, or time put aside for spiritual pursuits and going to church?
There are hundreds of ways that the Founding Fathers get shoved out of our lives, even for some of the most noble of priorities. We have got to stop shoving the Founders out. It's killing us.
Convenience is king.
Most of you aren't going to take as much time as you should to read the Founders or read biographies about the Founders, so then it will be actively read to you and you only need to listen. Now the Founding Fathers can fit into your busy day, now you can learn while you are on a business flight between cities, now you can learn while you jog for an hour in the morning, or during the long commute. Maybe you listen to audio books or podcasts at night while you wind down for the day. Maybe you work solo all day in a warehouse. There are nearly endless possibilities.
A big target for me is home schoolers. The end-run-around that home schoolers commit against the school system is fantastic. But the problem is, it's expensive and its loaded with gatekeepers. Going to a discussion of one single book isn't saving one person all that much. $5, $10 maybe? But we now have more of a pile of books we can point to. So when budgets are tight and we have a good dozen or so books in audio format (which also highlights their written aspect) which can be offered, now you have something compelling that any home schooler would want at least some part of. Due to their age and sometimes rarity, many of these books are not cheap or can't be had altogether.
Now, as to shoving the Founding Fathers out. Yeah, this is happening a lot. The markets themselves are proof of this, go to the book store. There are not a constant flow of new written works about the Founding Fathers very often and why is this? On the one hand, most people who are interested only really focus on one or two Founders and the rest kind of don't exist. There are new books written about Jefferson or Washington or Franklin from time to time. But the rest of the Founders? Nah. There just isn't a big interest level. It's true. No customers means no new books, no interest means no customers. That is where we are actually at in this country, and it needs to change. And I'll tell you what, it isn't going to change because person A shoved a brand new book into person B's face for the cool new price of $39.95. That may get a dozen people, but a free audio book that makes people's lives more convenient will go quite a bit further. And since there are no customers anyways, a free open source audio book is the perfect fit.
Finally, let's not forget that this book about John Hancock is free and open source in the public domain. So, what of the gatekeepers? Let's talk about that a little bit. Have you ever attempted to buy a new book and look up the footnote, only to find that you had to go through another footnote which only meant another footnote? Historians do this "footnote maze-ing" on purpose as a way to protect their fiefdoms. If you cannot get out of their maze then you are captive and they have guarded their gate. Conversely, are you spending $10 a month for an Audible subscription for nonsense entertainment titles or are you getting solid audio books about the Founding Fathers for absolutely free? Yes, among other things, this is a jab (however small) at big tech. Specifically, Amazon. There may be some solid audio books you can get with that subscription. However, now a new and free audio alternative is being developed.
Why give money to big tech when you do not have to.
How much did you learn about John Hancock with this? :-)
Ping list peeps.....................
An example of how we engage with culture.
Thanks PA.
Why they never put biographies on school reading lists instead of fiction garbage, I’ll never know.
Newt Gingrich writes some great historical fiction books. Amazing. Gives you realistic insight to the times.
Thanks.
Will check it out. 250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord is coming up!
We are coming up on the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington & Concord.
When Paul Revere was released by Major Andre (after Revere’s skillful use of psyops), he made his way back to the parsonage where Hancock and Sam Adams were staying. There Revere found John Hancock furiously trying to sharpen his ceremonial sword to fight the British. Revere and Adams had to convince Hancock that they were management, and their capture would be a very big deal.
Hancock and Adams fled and ended up at the homestead of Amos Wyman and his wife. There they fed the patriots a simple meal as the salmon Hancock had brought to the parsonage was left behind (along with their women). When Hancock later became the Governor of Massachusetts, he gave a cow to Mrs. Wyman, which was a very big deal back in the day.
Most of the biographies of Hancock that I have read were not very complementary of that Founding Father. I look forward to reading / hearing this one.
RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping
Excellent. Thanks for the ping.
John Adams admired John Hancock very much.
Today is the birthday of my Revolutionary War ancestor (born in 1744, served in the Virginia militia, was present at Yorktown).
thx
I missed this ping-yes, I did learn some things about John Hancock I didn’t know.
I didn’t know he was instrumental, perhaps even solely responsible for keeping the French our allies at a critical time.
At one point, American colonialists were fed up (rightly or wrongly) waiting to see when France was going to deliver on their promises of aid, cultivated by Franklin.
Colonials were getting quite vocal about it, and it got to the point the French were being disparaged (in VERY uncivil terms) everywhere they went, in quite strident and impolite ways.
The French who were here became very angry about it at all levels, and the relationship was going to disintegrate because the French were quite sensitive to criticism, and colonials were not at all shy about saying what they felt, loudly, and often.
Hancock, already under the gun due to a whole range of burdens and tasks that he had willing accepted (a chronically overextended man) dropped everything and went back up to Boston, and threw a series of lavish parties on his own dime for the host of high-level French military and civilians who were quite numerous up there at the time.
All of them were extremely indignant and ready to walk out until he made that effort to stroke their egos and make them feel appreciated by Americans.
It was critical. This was before the French came in force at Yorktown, how long before I cannot recall.
The author of the book gave him all the credit for keeping the alliance intact.
In addition to the post above describing his key role in preserving the French-American alliance, there were three other things I learned, two of them interesting and good, and one that was negative.
First, I did not realize how wildly popular John Hancock was. He was adored and appreciated at all levels by the citizenry, and whenever someone was needed for "something", to hold an office, chair a meeting of some kind, or work on a committee to construct a document, Hancock was the man of the hour.
I had read a book (also on Librivox) called "The Life and Times of Joseph Warren", and up until his death at the Battle of Bunker Hill, I very much got the impression Warren was also "The Man of The Hour", but Hancock sounds like he took on that role after Warren's death. He was a hardworking man and not afraid to assume responsibility.
Second, I knew he was philanthropic, but did not realize how generous he was, and his unfailing generosity to his fellow man was both noted and appreciated by his contemporaries which made him all the more popular. He was rich, and one would think the lower classes would resent him, but...they didn't.
Third, he had plenty of enemies, and they were the ones who got to stick the knife in Hancock. While it seemed to me that many people of all classes admired and liked him, I definitely got the impression that his worst enemies were his political and economic rivals, who from what I read, appeared to resent his success and popularity.
That said, he did a great disservice to himself as the Treasurer of Harvard College, which he strung out for years in the face of repeated entreaties by Harvard to give them what they needed to run the college.
Apparently, he was so overloaded with work that his duties as Treasurer of Harvard College were constantly put on the back-burner, but he also resented the efforts of Harvard College to find a Treasurer who would devote time and effort to the task. I think they kept after him constantly for ten years, asking him for information, for statements, etc. and he simply refused to comply. I don't believe for a second that he was dishonest, but his enemies, in the way one foe pilloried him in a public way for cowardice (untrue) the others latched on to his performance as Harvard's treasurer as a way to smear him.
In the end, of all things, Hancock was indeed human. He had problems with his vanity, and was sensitive to criticism.
In that light...who doesn't battle those things? His foes took advantage of them, and they wrote the history. This author was not one who bought into it.
This book packs a strong left hook punch.
I’m only finished now up to ch. 2 but it certainly delivers.
In ch 1. the big standout is Thomas Morton. If you listened to modern progressives you would think that the Christians back in the day were the eeeeeeeeeeeevil Christians that we have been taught to expect. The modern story goes that they sought out Morton for destruction, banned his books as all snooty and judgy Christians do and harassed innocent old Morton until his final days.
That’s not how Morton actually was though. The guy was a troublemaker and a malcontent.
Ch 2. is also stand out in the detail it gives about what level of education children were expected to learn. Progressives tell us they would never under any circumstances dumb education down.
Yeah, ok.
Yes...I most certainly enjoyed it. Sheesh...they would NEVER dumb down education!
We hauled in a big fish here.
The current download count since release stands at 38,714. That is really fantastic!
https://archive.org/details/johnhancock_2501_librivox
Excellent summary. And congratulations!
Bttp
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