addie2’s Blog

” Was second to none in Spoon River, In my Devotion to the cause of Liberty?”

At first when I read this poem, I thought the title was just a coincidence in relation to the famous John Hancock, but as I read the poem all the way through it made more sense to me that John Hancock Otis might actually be the John Hancock who’s signature is so famous on the Declaration of Independence. It make sense when he says things like ” who inhereted riches and was to the manor born” meaning he was born into wealth and never had to work for anything. The people who were involved in the declaration of independence were mostly white elitists, like John Hancock. So, I just found it rather interesting to know that John Hancock might actually be from Spoon River.