Browsing: Papers of John Adams, Volume 3

1. In JA's eyes, Hancock's tenure as president was temporary in that he had been elected to fill the vacancy Peyton Randolph made by returning to Virginia to preside as speaker over a session of the House of Burgesses a few days after his re-election in May as president of the Continental Congress. JA's criticism of Hancock suggests the hostility that had grown up between them ( JCC , 2:12, 58–59; Adams Family Correspondence , 1:323).