John Adams

John Adams:
Liberty will reign in America!

Edward Rutledge:
South Carolina, on behalf of its sister colonies...

John Adams:
STATES!

John Adams:
I will not voluntarily put on the chains of France while struggling to throw off those of Great Britain!

John Hancock:
[reluctantly] God save the King.

Samuel Adams:
God damn the King!

Benjamin Franklin:
[happily] God bless the King. Who else could've brought such a spirit of unity to the Congress?

Abigail Adams:
Half-fed slaves building our nation's Capitol. What possible good can come from such a place?

Benjamin Franklin:
You are a guest in Philadelphia. Fish, and guests, stink after three days.

John Adams:
Thomas Jefferson survives.

John Adams:
My thoughts are so clear to me... each one takes perfect shape within my mind. But when I speak, when I offer them to others, they seem to lose all definition.

John Adams:
I have seen a queen of France with 18 million livres of diamonds on her person, but I declare that all the charms of her face and figure added to all the glitter of her jewels did not impress me as much as that little shrub right there. Now your mother always said that I never delighted enough in the mundane, but now I find that if I look at even the smallest thing my imagination begins to roam the milky way!

John Dickinson:
One colony cannot be allowed to take its sister colonies headlong into the maelstrom of war. Parliament will be eager to call a halt to hostilities, as are we. They will seek conciliation. We must offer them an olive branch. I move this assembly consider a humble and dutiful petition be dispatched to his Majesty, one that includes a plain statement that the colony desires immediate negotiation and accommodation of these unhappy disputes, and that we are willing to enter into measures to achieve that reconciliation.

John Adams:
The time for negotiation is past. The actions of the British army at Lexington and Concord speak plainly enough. If we wish to regain our natural-born rights as Englishmen then we must fight for them.

John Dickinson:
I have looked for our rights in the laws of nature and can find them only in the laws of political society. I have looked for our rights in the constitution of the English government and found them there! Our rights have been violated, Mr. Adams, that is beyond dispute. We must provide a plan to convince Parliament to restore those rights! Do we wish to become aliens to the mother country? No, gentlemen, we must come to terms with the mother country. No doubt the same ship which carries forth our list of grievances will bring back their redress.

John Adams:
Mr. Dickinson. My wife and young children live on the main road to Boston, fewer than five miles from the full might of the british Empire. Should they sit and wait for Gage and his savages to rob them of their home, their possessions, their very lives? No, sir! Powder and artillery are the surest and most infallible conciliatory measures we can adopt!

John Dickinson:
If you explode the possibility of peace, Mr. Adams, and I tell you now, you will have blood on your hands!

John Adams:
And I tell you, Mr. Dickinson, that to hold out an olive branch to Britain is a measure of gross imbecility.

John Dickinson:
If you New England men continue to oppose our measures of reconciliation, you will leave us no choice but to break off from you entirely and carry on the opposition in our own way.

John Adams:
I sit in judgment of no man's religion, Mr. Dickinson, but your quaker sensibilities do us a gross disservice, sir. It is one thing to turn the other cheek, but to lie down in the ground like a snake and crawl toward the seat of power in abject surrender, well, that is quite another thing, sir. And I have no stomach for it, sir! No stomach at all!

John Dickinson:
We will exhaust all peaceful approaches, Mr. Adams. And we will do it with or without the approbation of you and your Boston insurrectionists!

John Adams:
Mr. Duane well knows that reconciliation would be as agreeable to my inclinations, and as advantageous to my interests as to any man's! But, I see no prospect for it, no probability, no possibility! And I cannot abide the hypocritical heart that pretends to expect peace when in truth it does not.

James Duane:
This congress has no more right to pass such a resolution than parliament has! We must beware of overreaching!

John Adams:
When Demosthenes... When Demosthenes traveled as ambassador through Greece, to incite a confederacy against the tyrant Philip of Macedon, he did not go, mr. President...

John Hancock:
Mr. Adams, you are taking us on a journey through time! If you plan on taking us to creation itself, I should like send word to my landlady, she should not waste any eggs for my breakfast!

John Adams:
He did not go, Mr. President, to propose a non-importation or non-consumption agreement.

Edward Rutledge:
Pray forgive me for not recognizing the worthy Demosthenes. I mistook you for a Massachusetts man.

John Adams:
Do you know, the conduct of some states from the beginning of this affair has given me reason to suspect that it is their settled policy to keep to the rear of our confederacy come what may, so as not to harm their future prospects? No, there are persons in Philadelphia to whom a ship is dearer than a city, and a few barrels of flour dearer than 1000 lives. Other men's lives.

John Dickinson:
That is an outrageous slander!

John Adams:
[Referring to Quincy] I shall rely on your judgment as to a proper school for him.

Benjamin Franklin:
Why, all of Paris is school, Master Adams, the young man need only avail himself of the lessons.

Benjamin Franklin:
There are times we must act against our inclination.

Benjamin Franklin:
We are all actors here, Mr. Adams, and so far my performance has been well received.

Benjamin Franklin:
[Angrily to Adams] What are you thinking of? A good diplomat, Mr. Adams, observes much, acts little, and speaks softly!

Young John Quincy Adams:
[John Quincy is preparing to travel to Russia as Francis Dana's secretary] Will it be very cold there, Father?

John Adams:
Good heavens, no. Not for a Massachusetts man.

John Adams:
[to his son as he manually mixes the ingredients for fertilizer] Manure is an art, and I consider myself an accomplished arist.

Edward Rutledge:
Must you be so extreme, Dr. Franklin?

Benjamin Franklin:
[Wryly] I'm an extreme moderate, Mr. Rutledge. I believe anybody not in favor of moderation and compromise ought to be castrated and that all this should be sent down to the... the Parliament for they seem to need - how should I put it? - stones. [He smiles broadly]

Benjamin Franklin:
Dr. Rush has been telling me... [Rush agrees]... that he has bled most of Philadelphia. He quite swears by the regenerative powers of desanuinization.

John Adams:
Do you not believe in saying what you think?

Benjamin Franklin:
No, I'm very much against it. Thinking aloud is a habit responsible for much of mankind's misery.

Benjamin Franklin:
Diplomacy is seduction in another guise, Mr. Adams. One improves with practice.

Benjamin Franklin:
[to Adams] I beg you to go gently. You are a guest in Philadelphia. Fish and guests stink after three days.

John Dickinson:
Gentlemen. The consequences involved in the motion now lying before us are of such magnitude that I tremble at the oppressive honor of sharing in its determination. My conduct this day, I expect, will give the finishing blow to my once great and now much-diminished popularity. Yet I had rather forfeit popularity forever than vote away the blood and happiness of my countrymen. Independence will not strengthen us by one man! Nor by the least supply. But it may expose our soldiers to additional cruelties and outrages. The full fury of British wrath will be unleashed. Indians will be loosed on the frontier. Negroes will rise up to slaughter us. New York may well be destroyed. By their own admission, the advocates of separation say foreign assistance will be necessary. At what cost? Let us imagine a war without victors. When the guns fall silent, many will have bled and sacrificed, only to have exchanged the light yoke of Great Britain for the heavy dominion of an alien power. Some have argued that America will become one great commonwealth. But what is to keep 13 unwieldy colonies from splitting asunder? I have a strong impression in my mind that this will take place. No, gentlemen. To escape the protection of Great Britain by declaring independence, unprepared as we are would be to brave a storm in a skiff made of paper.

John Adams:
General Warren is fallen at Bunker Hill. Shot through the head. Bayoneted and stripped of his clothes. I knew him, gentlemen. He was my physician. The full measure of british atrocity is too terrible to relate. "400 patriots dead." Not professional soldiers, ordinary citizens of Massachusetts who willingly gave their lives to defend what was rightfully theirs. Their liberty. But they took with them more than 1,000 british soldiers and 100 of their officers. If this congress does not support the Massachusetts militia, it could very well dissolve, gentlemen! Should that happen... Should that happen, we will be left defenseless, gentlemen. I move that the congress adopt the Massachusetts militia immediately!

John Dickinson:
You are asking us to form an army, Mr. Adams. A force acting not for a single colony, but all 13! Now there's not a man here present who does not mourn the loss of the brave men of Massachusetts. But it is at such times that caution must prevail. It may be weeks before our last petion reaches the King, many weeks more before we may hope for a reply. While we await answer, we must avoid any escalation of the hostilities between us.

John Adams:
The situation is perilous! What is required now is one able man to build and to lead this new continental army.

Edward Rutledge:
And who do you propose of the Massachusetts delegates should lead this force?

John Dickinson:
Gentlemen, we move too quickly. We have not yet resolved the question of any continental army, much less who is to lead it.

John Adams:
I have but one gentleman in mind, known to all of us. Mr. President, I propose as commander in chief our most honorable and esteemed delegate... The good gentleman from Virginia, Colonel George Washington.

Benjamin Franklin:
Diplomacy is seduction in another guise Mr. Adams, one in brute practice.

[John Adams has agreed to defend Captain Thomas Preston and the Boston Soldiers]

Samuel Adams:
You haven't much of a case, John.

John Adams:
Do I not?

Samuel Adams:
No Boston Jury will ever vote for aquittal.

John Adams:
Thank you for your kind advice, Sam.

Samuel Adams:
This is not a time for showing how clever you are, cousin.

[Approaches John and hands him a pamphlet]

Samuel Adams:
This is a time for choosing sides.

John Adams:
I am for the law, cousin. Is there another side?

Samuel Adams:
[shouts to the crowd while John looks at the pamphlet depicting the Boston Massacre] There are those who fight for our rights as natural-born Englishmen, and those that would strip us of those rights!

John Adams:
I do not have the luxury of your birth or your purse, Sam, to spend my days fomenting dissension.

[Calls out to Samuel]

John Adams:
I intend to prove this colony is governed by law. Whatever you or your Sons of Liberty may say on the matter!

Samuel Adams:
We're all Sons of Liberty here.

[John Adams and Samuel Adams watch as a British Customs Official is being tarred and feathered by an angry Boston mob]

John Adams:
Do you approve of this?

Samuel Adams:
People are hurt when they fight for what is rightfully theirs!

John Adams:
Do you approve of brutal and illegal acts to enforce a political principle, Sam? Answer Me That, Can You?

John Adams:
[to Sam adams] I am for the law, cousin. Is there another side?

Abigail Adams:
[to John] You do not need to quote great men to show you are one.

John Adams:
Old age is dark and loveless.

John Adams:
[before King George III; softly] The United States of America... [pause] [harder] The United States of America have appointed me Minister plenipotentiary to your Majesty. I think myself more fortunate than all of my fellow citizens in having the distinguishing honor, to be the first to stand in your Majesty's presences in a diplomatic character. I shall esteem myself the happiest of men if I can be instrumental in restoring the confidence and affection, or in better words the good old nature and good old humour, between peoples who, though separated by an ocean and under different governments, have the same language, same religion and kindred blood. [steps forward] I beg your Majesty's permission to add that, though I have been before entrusted by my country, it was never in my whole life in a manner more agreeable to myself.

King George III:
The circumstances of this audience are so extraordinary, the language you have now held is so extremely proper and the feelings you have discovered so justly adapted to the occasion, that I not only receive with pleasure the assurance of the friendly disposition of the United States, but that I am very glad that the choice has fallen on you to be their Minister. [pause] I will be very frank with you: I was the *last* to consent to separation. But the separation having been made and having become inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power.

John Adams:
[emotionally touched] Thank you, your Majesty. [a brief exchange of smiles ensues]

King George III:
There is an opinion among some people, Mr. Adams, that you are not the most attached of all your countrymen to the manners of France?

John Adams:
[laughs] Yes, well, I avow to Your Majesty, that I have no attachment to any country but my own.

King George III:
An honest man will never have any other.

Thomas Jefferson:
If ever there was a city to distract us from our troubles, it wou;d be Paris.

Thomas Jefferson:
Paris is unique and best enjoyed in the company of women.

Benjamin Franklin:
Madame, I shall rise to apologize for not getting up.

John Adams:
[During an argument about monarchism] Where are you going?

Abigail Adams:
[Leaving the room] We'll finish this conversation when you've regained your senses.

John Adams:
I, uh... I was not aware that I have lost them.

Abigail Adams:
Well, you have.

Alexander Hamilton:
As I've heard said, if men were angels, no government would be necessary.

John Adams:
[Excusing himself from the cabinet room] Mr. President.

George Washington:
Mr. President and nothing more.

Abigail Adams:
Whoever follows General Washington inherits a hellish load.

Thomas Jefferson:
Impartiality is always partial, John.

Thomas Jefferson:
The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is a natural manure.

John Adams:
[to John Quincy as he leaves for Europe] You have more prudence at 27 than your father at 58. All my hopes are in you, both for our family and our country. Do not disappoint me.

George Washington:
[to Adams after he has been sworn in] I am fairly out, and you are fairly in. See which of us will be the happiest.

John Adams:
A mob is no less a mob because they are with you.

[as John Adams leaves the White House for the last time, he notices the people in the same carriage as him are staring at him]

John Adams:
Stop gawking. I'm plain John Adams. Just an ordinary citizen. Same as yourselves.

Abigail Adams:
He's dead, John. Our son is dead. Poor poor unhappy man.

John Adams:
Let silence reign over his tomb... forever.

John Adams:
Now, your immediate resignations will be accepted, gentlemen!

Timothy Pickering:
I don't feel it my duty to resign.

John Adams:
Oh? Excellent. Excellent. Then you leave me the far more satisfying remedy of removing you from office.

[John and Abigail Adams arrive at the unfinished White House for the first time and see that the workers ther consists of slaves]

Abigail Adams:
Half-fed slaves building our nation's capitol. What possible good can come from such a place?

[Inside the White House, John and Abigail Adams survey a portrait of the late former president George Washington]

John Adams:
Is the old man welcoming us or showing us the way out?

John Adams:
I am determined to control events, not be controlled by them.

Alexander Hamilton:
A national army binds the country much as a national bank does.

Abigail Adams:
[reading The Federalist Papers] "The reign of Mr. Adams has hitherto been one continued tempest of malignant passions. As president, he has never opened his lips without threatening or scolding. He is a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent, a hideous, hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."

John Adams:
It is beneath the President of the United States to take any notice of insinuations.

Abigail Adams:
In any other country, such filth would have been silenced long ago.

John Adams:
Mr. Hamilton takes equal pains to ensure that he Federalist Paper are filled with scurrilous attacks on Thomas Jefferson and his party.

Abigail Adams:
Think of all the vile falsehoods written about you-continue to be written about you. You may have patiently borne all the slanders, but I have not. "Before it is too late to retrieve our deranged affairs-"

John Adams:
For goodness sake.

Abigail Adams:
"-the people must demand the immediate resignation of old, querulous, bald, blind, crippled, toothless Adams."

[long pause]

John Adams:
I'm not crippled.

Abigail Adams:
I find no amusement in this. Waste of paper and ink.

John Adams:
Waste of time reading it, Abigail. Put it down.

Abigail Adams:
They would not say such a thing about Washington. They would not call George Washington hermaphroditical!

John Adams:
They could call him toothless, though. [John and Abigail laugh]