There was also a Spruance-class destroyer, DD-981. The ship was unique in the the name of the ship was in Hancock's familiar script across the stern.
Founding Father discussion.
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Not trying to be a smart-a$$ here ‘but’ .. “The guy had one hell of a cool signature!”
I think he is discussed more than any other. How many times has someone asked you for your “John Hancock”? He is known by his large beautiful handwriting more than anyone.
Do you mean Mr. Hancock gave generously of his personal fortune and was a key framer of our Constitution yet put nothing in there giving government money to people?? Wow! What a great idea! How quaint!
Thank God everyday for these heroes who founded our nation.
bflr
but at best, most Americans know that his signature is by far the largest on the Declaration of Independence.
Yep. But most don't know WHY he signed it so large.
Does anyone else??????
Okay, first it wasn't that Hancock was more 'ticked off' or had a big ego, or anything like that, the reason was....Bueller?
Bueller?
Ferris Bueller?
He wanted King George III to be able to read it without his glasses.
Thank you, History Channel :-)
Hear! Hear!
There was also a Spruance-class destroyer, DD-981. The ship was unique in the the name of the ship was in Hancock's familiar script across the stern.
Claims that Washington was a deist are false and designed to undermine the Christian heritage of the Founders of the nation. Washington was a devout Christian who rarely made a public show of his deep beliefs.
An account from his adopted granddaughter Nelly Custis-Lewis who lived with him for 20 years until his death is found within the following:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Was-George-Washington-A-Christian
And numerous other historical analyses support Washington's devotion to Christianity:
http://old.nationalreview.com/novak/novak200603140955.asp
http://swordattheready.wordpress.com/answering-the-charge-that-george-washington-was-a-deist/
The confusion over the participation of Founders as Masons is used by Atheists to sow doubt about their Christianity, and so such Atheists bring the Founders closer to themselves by claiming Founders were just a step away from Atheism by claiming they were 'Deists'. But historically the Masons were not always viewed as having an association with deism or atheism. In fact they were not always a secret society.
"The crisis occurred when the customhouse officers attempted to seize a cargo of wine which John Hancock was trying to smuggle into Boston. It was said that Hancock had sworn not 'to sell or to drink wine pollluted by the payments of unconstitutional duties.'
But rather than become a teetotaler, John Hancock took the easier course and became a smuggler. In June 1768, the customhouse got wind of his activities, boarded his ship Liberty and demanded to see its cargo.
Hancock and his men showed scant respect for these officials of His Royal Majesty. They locked them up in the cabin, landed the cargo, and when the work was done heaved the customhouse officers overboard.
Meanwhile the mob had learned what was going on at Hancock's wharf; and to punish the customhouse officers for their presumption seized the Collector and the Controller, drove them through the streets, and dragged the Collector's son along by the hair of his head. The Commissioners of the Customs did not wait for their turns to come: they fled to Castle William and thus put three miles of blue water between themselves and the Boston Sons of Liberty.
When one of the commissioners was reported to have taken refuge in Newport, the Sons of Liberty searched 'Out-houses, Bales, Barrels, Meal Tubs, Trunks, Boxes, Packs, and Packages...in short every Hole and Corner sufficient to conceal a Ram Cat, or a Commissioner, but they found neither."
from Origins of the American Revolution by John C. Miller
* * *
During the Revolution, the Continental Congress had issued irredeemable paper currency to pay for the war, the infamous Continentals, as in "not worth a Continental." These notes quickly fell to zero value. States issued IOU's to pay militia members. Notes issued in April, 1778, in Massachusetts quickly fell 25 percent of their face value. By 1781, they were at two percent of face value. Other states followed suit. Virginia's notes fell to one-thousandth of face value. Soldiers in the field sold these notes in order to keep their families solvent. The political question after independence was attained in 1783 revolved around the redemption price. At what percent of face value would states repay note-holders?
Unlike all other states, Massachusetts' legislature passed a law to redeem the notes at face value. The legislature was dominated by Boston's mercantile interests. While it is not possible to trace the ownership of all of the debt after the war, what can be traced indicates that 80 percent of the speculators lived in or near Boston, and almost 40 percent was held by 35 men. Most had bought these notes at tremendous discounts. Then, to add insult to injury, interest on these notes was retroactively made payable in silver. To pay off these speculators, taxes were raised. The main ones were the poll tax and the property tax, beginning in 1785. Prof. Richards describes the nature of this tax burden:
Every farmer knew that he was going to have to pay for every son sixteen years or older, every horse he owned, every cow, every barn, every acre in tillage. Everyone also knew that the tax bite was going to be regressive. Only about 10 percent of the taxes were to come from import duties and excises, which fell mainly on people who were most able to pay. The other 90 percent was direct taxes on property, with land bearing a disproportionate share, and polls. The latter was especially regressive, since it mattered not a whit if a male sixteen years of age or older had any property or not. Rich or poor, he was going to have to pay the same amount, and altogether polls were going to pay at least one-third of all taxes.
But would these taxes actually be collected? After the Revolution, the most popular politician in Massachusetts was John Hancock, the ex-smuggler/merchant whose signature is so large on the Declaration of Independence. He was among the richest men in the state. He was lenient to all poor debtors who owed him money personally. He let them pay him in depreciated paper money. The rich had to pay in silver. He was elected governor in 1780 and served for five years. He also was elected in 1787 and served until his death in 1793. He did not serve in 1785–87, the crucial period. He declined to run in 1785 because of gout. Gout normally affects the big toe. It can accurately be said that the great turning point in post-Revolutionary America was John Hancock's big toe.
Hancock had understood that the soldiers had been forced to sell their promissory notes for a small fraction of their face value. He was accused by opponents of refusing to collect taxes. When he left office, he was replaced by James Bowdoin, a holder of at least £3,290 in depreciated notes. He did not receive enough votes to command a majority, so the legislature had to choose. The senate insisted on him, and the house capitulated. Under his leadership, the political faction whose members had bought up these notes gained power. The government passed new taxes and insisted on collecting taxes that were in arrears. That tax burden was now higher by several times what they had been under Great Britain.
Happy Independence Day!