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The Story of John Hancock’s Signature – Manage Your Life on Shine
July 4, 2011 You've heard it before...."Put your John Hancock here". What does it mean? I mean really? What does it mean? There's gotta be a story behind it. Betsy Ross was never hired by the government to sew the flag, so did she? Ok, I'm getting off track. Why is John Hancock's signature so big, why don't we say "Put your Thomas Jefferson here?
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.