John Hancock (January 12, 1737-October 8, 1793) was an American merchant and Revolutionary leader. He was a graduate of Harvard, 1754, a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, 1766-72; and a member of the Continental Congress, 1774-78. He became well-known for being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was the Governor of Massachusetts, 1780-85, 1787-93.
On March 5, 1774, on the occasion of the Boston Massacre, John Hancock gave an oration in Boston, which was printed in five pamphlet editions and widely circulated:
<Some boast of being "friends to government": I am a friend to "righteous" government, to a government founded upon the principles of reason and justice....
I have the most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America. And let us play the man for our GOD, and for the cities of our GOD; while we are using the means in our power, let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great LORD of the universe, who loveth righteousness and hateth inequity.
- And having secured the approbation of our hearts, by a faithful and unwearied discharge of our duty to our country, let us joyfully leave her important concerns in the hands of HIM who raiseth up and putteth down empires and kingdoms of the world as HE pleases; and with cheerful submission to HIS sovereign will, devoutly say,
"Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olives shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet we will rejoice in the LORD, we will joy in the GOD of our salvation."(Habakkuk 3:17-18)> 1737JH001
While serving as President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in October of 1774, John Hancock urged the people of his colony to repentance:
<We think it is encumbent upon this people to humble themselves before God on account of their sins, for He hath been pleased in His righteous judgment to suffer a great calamity to befall us, as the present controversy between Great Britain and the Colonies.
[And] also implore the Divine Blessing upon us, that by the assistance of His grace, we may be enabled to reform whatever is amiss among us, so that God may be pleased to continue to us the blessings we enjoy, and remove the tokens of His displeasure, by causing harmony and union to be restored between Great Britain and these Colonies.> 1737JH002
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress agreed with John Hancock, concurring in late 1774:
<Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual....Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.> 1737JH003
On April 15, 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress declared a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, signed by the President of the Provincial Congress, John Hancock:
<In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that, whilst every prudent Measure should be taken to ward off the impending Judgments....All confidence must be withheld from the Means we use; and reposed only on that GOD who rules in the Armies of Heaven, and without whose Blessing the best human Counsels are but Foolishness-and all created Power Vanity;
It is the Happiness of his Church that, when the Powers of Earth and Hell combine against it...that the Throne of Grace is of the easiest access-and its
Appeal thither is graciously invited by the Father of Mercies, who has assured it, that when his Children ask Bread he will not give them a Stone....
RESOLVED, That it be, and hereby is recommended to the good People of this Colony of all Denominations, that THURSDAY the Eleventh Day of May next be set apart as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer...to confess their sins...to implore the Forgiveness of all our Transgression...and a blessing on the Husbandry, Manufactures, and other lawful Employments of this People; and especially that the union of the American Colonies in Defence of their Rights (for hitherto we desire to thank Almighty GOD) may be preserved and confirmed....And that AMERICA may soon behold a gracious Interposition of Heaven.
By Order of the Provincial Congress, John Hancock, President.> 1737JH004
On November 8, 1783, Governor John Hancock, from Boston, Massachusetts, issued a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to celebrate the victorious conclusion of the Revolutionary War:
<John Hancock, Esquire
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts A Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving:
Whereas...these United States are not only happily rescued from the Danger and Calamities to which they have been so long exposed, but their Freedom, Sovereignty and Independence ultimately acknowledged.
And whereas...the Interposition of Divine Providence in our Favor hath been most abundantly and most graciously manifested, and the Citizens of these United States have every Reason for Praise and Gratitude to the God of their salvation.
Impressed therefore with an exalted Sense of the Blessings by which we are surrounded, and of our entire Dependence on that Almighty Being from whose Goodness and Bounty they are derived;
I do by and with the Advice of the Council appoint Thursday the Eleventh Day of December next (the Day recommended by the Congress to all the States) to be religiously observed as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, that all the People may then assemble to celebrate...that he hath been pleased to continue to us the Light of the Blessed Gospel;...That we also offer up fervent Supplications...to cause pure Religion and Virtue to flourish...and to fill the World with his glory.> 1737JH005
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1737JH001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Hancock. March 5, 1774, in an oration on the Boston Massacre. The Magazine of History, with Notes and Queries, Vol. 24, No. 95 (1923), pp 125, 136. Ronald Reid, ed., Three Centuries of American Rhetorical Discourse: An Anthology and a Review (Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press, Inc., 1988), pp. 101, 107-8.
1737JH002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Hancock. October 1774, in the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, 6 vols. (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, Third Edition, 1838), Vol. II, p. 229. Lucille Johnston, Celebrations of a Nation (Arlington, VA: The Year of Thanksgiving Foundation, 1987), p, 77.
1737JH003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Hancock. 1774. George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, 6 vols. (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, Third Edition, 1838), Vol. II, p. 229. Lucille Johnston, Celebrations of a Nation (Arlington, VA: The Year of Thanksgiving Foundation, 1987), p. 77. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Light and the Glory (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1977), p. 269.
1737JH004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Hancock. April 15, 1775, Massachusetts Provincial Congress declaring a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer. Proclamation of John Hancock from Concord (from an original in the Evans collection, #14220, by the American Antiquarian Society. William Lincoln, ed., The Journals of Each Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, 1774-1775 (Boston: Dutton & Wentworth, 1838), pp. 114-145.
1737JH005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Hancock. November 8, 1783, A Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving-signed by Governor John Hancock from Boston, Massachusetts. From an original in the Evans collection, #18025, by the American Antiquarian Society.