Here is something history class never told you.
On the night before the Declaration of Independence was signed, John Hancock — president of the Continental Congress, wealthiest man in Philadelphia, owner of more waistcoats than any man arguably needed — sat at the head of a very important table and noticed the one woman in the room who had not noticed him.
History did not record what happened next.
Buck Freedman did.
John Hancock’s Signature Move is the second book in the Patriotica Romance Series, and it answers the question that historians have somehow overlooked for two hundred and fifty years — what if the most confident man in American history met the one woman who critiqued his paperwork?
Her name is Constance Clarke. She organizes documents for the Continental Congress. She has opinions about formatting. She is not particularly impressed by important men.
Hancock, for possibly the first time in his adult life, is completely fascinated.
What follows is a drawing room romance set in the hours before the most important document in American history was signed — a story of bold declarations, quill pens, and one man whose signature was, by all historical accounts, significantly larger than strictly necessary.
The line that will make you laugh and then think about it for the rest of the day: Constance tells Hancock the content of the Declaration is extraordinary. Then she tells him the formatting is uneven. Hancock, who has faced down the British Empire, is briefly at a loss for words.
She was right, by the way. About both things.
John Hancock’s Signature Move includes the complete short patriotic romance story plus 100+ lined journal pages with prompts about bold declarations, leaving your mark, and what you want history to remember about you. Prompts like “If I could write a declaration for my own life it would say…” and “The boldest thing I’ve ever done is…” and “Today I am making history by…”
This book makes the perfect funny gift for history buffs, an ideal gag gift for the person in your life who signs their name too large, a great white elephant gift, and an absolutely essential addition to any patriotic book collection.
John Hancock’s Signature Move is available now on Amazon. Part of the Patriotica Romance Series by Buck Freedman, available at PatrioticaBooks.com.
He signed his name large enough for King George to read without his spectacles.
She told him the formatting was uneven.
It was the beginning of something extraordinary.