May 24, 1775: Congress Elects Its President

Even though he was President of the Second Continental Congress when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 (whoops…spoiler alert), it’s entirely possible that John Hancock would be just one more guy who signed the document, except for the fact that he signed his name so large. His signature is so large and so well-known that you can say to someone “Give me your John Hancock” and they know exactly what you mean. Sure, we know John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, because they became presidents of the US, and Ben Franklin was already a living legend. But how many others can you name? See what we mean? Even if you’re a fan of 1776, you might only come up with a couple of others, and you’d still be trying to work out the name of the guy from the south with the white outfit on. And Richard Henry Lee doesn’t count because he didn’t sign the thing. It’s just some late-night thinking on my part. Addendum: for the next few nights I’m not in my usual recording space, so apologies in advance if you pick up some stray background noises. The post May 24, 1775: Congress Elects Its President appeared first on 250 and Counting.