388 John Hancock

Ben Franklin's World

Happy Fourth of July!

We’ve created special episodes to commemorate, celebrate, and remember the Fourth of July for years. Many of our episodes have focused on the Declaration of Independence, how and why it was created, the ideas behind it, and its sacred words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This year, we examine a different aspect of the Declaration of Independence: the man behind the boldest signature on the document: John Hancock.

Brooke Barbier is a public historian and holds a Ph.D. in American History from Boston College. She’s also the author of the first biography in many years about John Hancock, it’s called King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/388 Sponsor Links

• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
• The Power of Place: The Centennial Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg
• Friends of Lafayette Grand Tour Re-enactment

Complementary Episodes

• Episode 018: Our Declaration
• Episode 129: John Bell, The Road to Concord, 1775
• Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft
• Episode 245: Celebrating the Fourth
• Episode 277: Whose Fourth of July?
• Episode 306: The Horse’s Tail: Revolution & Memory in Early New York City
• Episode 309: Merchant Ships of the Eighteenth Century
• Episode 360: Kyera Singleton, Slavery & Freedom in Massachusetts

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