{"product_id":"king-hancock-the-radical-influence-of-a-moderate-founding-father-9780674271777","title":"King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA rollicking portrait of the paradoxical patriot, whose measured pragmatism helped make American independence a reality.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAmericans are surprisingly more familiar with his famous signature than with the man himself. In this spirited account of John Hancock's life, Brooke Barbier depicts a patriot of fascinating contradictions--a child of enormous privilege who would nevertheless become a voice of the common folk; a pillar of society uncomfortable with radicalism who yet was crucial to independence. About two-fifths of the American population held neutral or ambivalent views about the Revolution, and Hancock spoke for them and to them, bringing them along. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOrphaned young, Hancock was raised by his merchant uncle, whose business and vast wealth he inherited--including household slaves, whom Hancock later freed. By his early thirties, he was one of New England's most prominent politicians, earning a place on Britain's most-wanted list and the derisive nickname King Hancock. While he eventually joined the revolution against England, his ever moderate--and moderating--disposition would prove an asset after 1776. Barbier shows Hancock appealing to southerners and northerners, Federalists and Anti-Federalists. He was a famously steadying force as president of the fractious Second Continental Congress. He parlayed with French military officials, strengthening a key alliance with his hospitable diplomacy. As governor of Massachusetts, Hancock convinced its delegates to vote for the federal Constitution and calmed the fallout from the shocking Shays's Rebellion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn insightful study of leadership in the revolutionary era, \u003ci\u003eKing Hancock\u003c\/i\u003e traces a moment when passion was on the side of compromise and accommodation proved the basis of profound social and political change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBarbier, Brooke:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Brooke Barbier is a public historian with a doctorate in American history from Boston College. The author of \u003ci\u003eBoston in the American Revolution: A Town versus an Empire\u003c\/i\u003e, she founded and operates Ye Olde Tavern Tours, a popular guided outing along Boston's renowned Freedom Trail.","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50584585535762,"sku":"9780674271777","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_09de4bd9-4e42-4fff-81ca-e7a7509a1c9e.jpg?v=1757421996","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/king-hancock-the-radical-influence-of-a-moderate-founding-father-9780674271777","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}