Lost Chapters
John Hancock: Quartz Character
John Hancock (1737 to 1793) was a wealthy Boston merchant and Patriot leader who served as president of the Second Continental Congress when it declared independence in 1776. As president he signed the Declaration of Independence first, with the bold signature he is best known for, and he later became the first governor of Massachusetts.
- Cost
- 1 crystal
- Type
- Character · Founder
- Power / Health
- 1 / 2
- Color
- Quartz (Founders & Revolution)
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Set
- Liberty & Lightning (Set 1)
On play: if you control another Founder, draw a card.
Signature enthusiast who made sure King George needed no magnifying glass to see his revolutionary sentiment.
The real history
Hancock was born on January 23, 1737, in Braintree, Massachusetts, the son and grandson of ministers. His father died when he was seven. After a short stay with his grandparents in Lexington, he moved to Boston to live with his uncle Thomas Hancock, one of the richest merchants in the city. He attended Boston Latin School, graduated from Harvard in 1754 and went to work in his uncle's business.
When his uncle died in the mid-1760s, John inherited the business and the fortune. He won election as a Boston selectman and joined the boycotts against the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. In 1768 customs officials seized his sloop Liberty and accused him of smuggling. The charges were dropped, and the publicity raised his standing among the Patriots.
In 1773 he moderated the Faneuil Hall town meeting on the Tea Act that led up to the Boston Tea Party. He was elected president of the new Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and in April 1775, as British troops marched toward Concord, he and Samuel Adams fled to avoid arrest.
That year the Second Continental Congress unanimously elected him its president. He presided as Congress chose George Washington to command the army, and he was still in the chair when Congress declared independence. As president he signed the Declaration first, and early public copies carried only his name.
Hancock returned to Boston in 1777, and in 1780 he was elected the first governor of Massachusetts. Unsure about the federal Constitution, he presided over the state ratifying convention and spoke for it once ratification seemed in danger; it passed 187 to 168. Apart from a short break in the mid-1780s, he stayed governor until he died in Boston on October 8, 1793.
Sources
- John Hancock, Boston National Historical Park, National Park Service
- John Hancock, George Washington's Mount Vernon
How the card plays
John Hancock costs just 1 crystal and is a 1/2 Uncommon Quartz Founder. When he arrives, if you control another Founder, draw a card. He is a cheap way to keep your hand full in a Founder deck.
He is legal under the George Washington Leader, whose passive gives Founders +0/+1, so he lands as a 1/3.
Play him once another Founder is already on the field. Thomas Paine is a 2-crystal Founder that also draws a card, and together they cost only 3 crystals. Sign Your Name draws 2 more and can even be played for free when it is revealed from your Life. Late in the game, drop Hancock next to a big Founder such as John Adams for a 1-crystal card that replaces itself and benefits from the +1/+0.
- Playable in decks led by George Washington, and by any Traveler Leader whose colors include Quartz.
- In the Washington starter deck (2 copies). Deck code:
LC2-BhoCgAKBAYIBgwGEAYUBhgKHAYgBiQGKAYsBjAKNAY4BjwGQAZEBkgGTAZQBlQGWAZcBmAGZAZoCmwGcAZ0BngGfAaABoQFBjA - A deck holds up to 3 copies of this card.
Questions about Hancock
Why did John Hancock sign the Declaration of Independence first?
He was president of the Continental Congress, and the National Park Service says he signed first to make the document official. Early printed copies showed only his name, and his name became closely tied to the Declaration.
Did John Hancock want to command the Continental Army?
Possibly. Mount Vernon notes he likely saw himself as a candidate and was deeply disappointed when John Adams and Samuel Adams backed George Washington instead.
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