John Hancock: The Signature of Independence | 5-Minute Videos | PragerU

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Transcript:
John Hancock: The Signature of Independence
Presented by Eric Metaxas

Look at the American Declaration of Independence and what’s the first thing you notice? The answer is probably the signature of John Hancock.

Who was this man? Why did he sign his name with such a flourish? And what role did he play in the struggle for independence? The answers will tell us much, not only about Hancock, but about the founding of the United States.

John Hancock was born January 23, 1737. As happened to so many of his contemporaries, his life changed dramatically when his father, a minister, died. John was just seven years old.

His uncle, Thomas, a prosperous Boston merchant, adopted him. Thomas and his wife did not have children of their own. They promised John’s mother that they would provide the boy with the best education money could buy. They kept their promise.

John went to a top prep school and then to Harvard. But the best education he received wasn’t in the halls of academia — it was from the uncle he came to love as a father. Thomas Hancock took John with him to business meetings, carefully coaching him on the ins and outs of trade: who could be trusted and who couldn’t, which ship captains were reliable and which weren’t, what goods brought the most profit and what goods drew in the