by
surrounding the Declaration of Independence. One of the most famous concerns John Hancock and his comically large signature. According to
legend, the founding father signed his name bigger than everyone
else's because he wanted to make sure "fat old King
George" could read it without his spectacles.
It's a neat story about American brashness, but it isn't
very accurate. The truth is a tad less dramatic. Snopes.com
explains that Hancock, president of the Continental Congress,
gave a super-sized signature not because he was itching for a fight
with the king, but because, among other things, he happened to be
the first person to sign the document.
Because Hancock was the
first to sign, he did the sensible thing and put his name front and
center. He was the leader of the Congress, after all. He didn't
know his fellow patriots would sign their names on a smaller
scale.
So, why are some of the other signatures high and to the left
while others are down and to the right? The National Archives
explains, "In accordance with prevailing custom, the other
delegates began to sign at the right below the text, their
signatures arranged according to the geographic location of the
states they represented. New Hampshire, the northernmost state,
began the list, and Georgia, the southernmost, ended it."
And it's worth remembering that signing one's name to
the Declaration of Independence was no small thing. Those who
signed the document were sure to be hanged for treason should they
be caught.
Another popular story says that the members of Congress were
inspired to lend their own names to the document after seeing
Hancock's epic autograph and the bravery it signified. Neat,
but not true. Not only was Hancock the first to sign the
Declaration, he did it weeks before anybody else. The National
Archives explains, "One of the most widely held misconceptions
about the Declaration is that it was signed on July 4, 1776, by all
the delegates in attendance."
In reality, Hancock signed it in the presence of just one man,
Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress.
National Geographic explains, "no one actually signed the
Declaration of Independence at any time during July 1776. Signing
began on August 2, with John Hancock's famously bold scribble,
and wasn't completed until late November."
That
famous painting of all the founding fathers gathered around,
signing the document was a case of artistic license.
