In trying to determine whether John Hancock’s signature was too big, there are two important questions we need to address. In what order did the men sign the document? And how many men did Hancock think would ultimately sign?

The first is easy. The consensus view among historians is that John Hancock, in his capacity as president of the congress, would have been the first to sign. For the purposes of our thought experiment, I am going to assume that Hancock was the first signer and was setting the tone for the men who would follow.

The second question is trickier. It turns out that many of the most basic facts surrounding the signing are disputed by historians. Did Hancock know that 56 men would ultimately sign the document when he put pen to paper? Or might he have assumed fewer signatories, and thus more space for signing?