HUB History - Our Favorite Stories from Boston History

In King Hancock, the Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father, Brooke Barbier paints the portrait of a walking contradiction: one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, but a man of the people; a merchant who made his fortune in the warm embrace of empire, but signed his name first for independence; and an enslaver who called for freedom. Perhaps most of all, he’s portrayed as a moderate in a town of radicals. Hancock didn’t leave behind the same carefully preserved, indexed, and cross referenced lifetime of papers like our old friend John Adams. He wasn’t immortalized as the indispensable man, like George Washington. But Brooke weaves together the details that can be found in portraits, artifacts, official records, and surviving letters to create a nuanced portrait of a founder who should be remembered for more than a famous signature.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/286/

Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

Brooke Barbier is a public historian, tour guide, and the proprietor of Ye Olde Tavern tours, offering a boozy look at Boston’s revolutionary history. Speaking of the revolution, Brooke is our first repeat guest, as she joined the show back in March of 2017 to talk about her first book, Boston in the American Revolution: A Town versus an Empire. Brooke holds a PhD in American History from Boston College, with a specialty in social and cultural life in Boston during the revolutionary era. Her new book is out this month, King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father. In it, she examines revolutionary Boston through the life of John Hancock, including his deep longing for connection to friends and family, his love of entertaining, and his embrace of fashion in crafting his public image.

• Learn what happened to John Hancock’s grand Beacon Hill mansion.
• More on the 1768 Liberty riot.
• You may be surprised by John Hancock’s role in hanging the last woman executed in Massachusetts.
• Here’s our attempt to describe Hancock’s role with the Corps of Cadets VERY early on in the podcast’s run.
• If you’re brave enough to listen to some baby podcasters, check out our first interview with Brooke Barbier.
• Check out Hancock’s famous signature on this 1765 thank you note.