This biography of the leading Massachusetts patriot of the
Revolutionary period, John Hancock, is written in an accessible,
non-academic style, and will appeal to both lay and expert
readers. John Hancock served as governor of Massachusetts,
president of the Continental Congress, and president of the
Massachusetts ratification convention. From the beginning of the
Imperial Crisis until his death in 1793, Hancock incontestably
was the foremost figure in New England political life. Yet his
station at birth gave little indication of his future eminence.
Hancock's father died when he was only seven years old. This
personal disaster would prove to be a political disaster for the
First British Empire. John soon was adopted into the family of
his childless paternal uncle, Thomas Hancock, who from his home
on Beacon Hill in Boston controlled a private fleet of trading
ships; extensive real estate holdings in Massachusetts and the
rest of New England; and an enormous network of trading
relationships. His intention was