The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding
Independence Hall
Peyton Randolph
Henry Middleton by Benjamin West
John Hancock
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John Hancock was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving president of the Continental Congress, having served as
President of the Continental Congress
…President Richard Henry Lee did not come to Congress, but instead instructed secretary Charles Thomson to forward any papers that needed his signature. John Hancock was elected to a second term in November 1785, even though he was not then in Congress, and Congress was aware that he was unlikely to attend. He never…
Portrait by John Singleton Copley, c. 1770–1772
Around 1772, Hancock commissioned John Singleton Copley to paint this portrait of Samuel Adams, Hancock's early political mentor.
A 1765 portrait of Hancock by John Singleton Copley
Paul Revere's 1768 engraving of British troops arriving in Boston was reprinted throughout the colonies.