Original subtitles

Four generations of one family.

Their lives and causes reveal 150 years of American history.

1784. The village of Otoi near Paris.

John Adams representing the United States of America.

separated nearly five years from his family, has decided to rent a house

they may join him.

I rented this house from the Count de Rouault with the understanding that it

to be fully furnished and fit to live in.

Across the Channel, George III of Great Britain is slowly becoming reconciled to

the loss of his 13 American colonies.

Look at this room, sir.

And the floors, look at the floors. Where are the carpets?

Plating? The rugs, rugs.

Que veut dire votre excellence rags?

Rugs. Les tapis. Ah, les tapis. Oui.

Mais excellence is not a fashion in France to put the rags upon the floor.

And eating, has that also gone out of fashion? No table linen? No spoons and

forks? Not one piece of china?

Nous arrangerons cela, Excellence.

You have only to buy.

My good fellow, if you are to remain in my employ, there's one thing you must

understand. I am not some Spaniard of a diplomat. My pocket's lined with gold.

I represent America.

We are poor.

Comprends?

I have come to raise money, not throw it to the wind.

And if you think I am parsimonious, wait until you meet my wife.

Oh, no!

Excuse me.

Pardon. Il n 'y a pas de quoi.

Excellent.

There is a gentleman to see you, Monsieur Jefferson.

Oh, has he arrived? Thank you.

Mr. Jefferson!

Hello, Mr.

Adams. Welcome to France.

Oh, dear friend, I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you.

Well, you're looking well.

Am I? Well, that's most unlikely.

Ever since I set foot on this continent, I have been bedeviled by every illness

known to man. Poor Mr. Adams.

Scurvy, boils, fiery tumors, a horrendous fever that almost destroyed

Adams, how long have we known each other?

Since the Continental Congress. A long time.

And every time we meet, you're at death's door.

Yes, well, I have a sickly constitution.

Nonsense. You'll outlive us all.

Yes, this is a curious place.

Look at that.

Great sprawling hall.

Over a dozen bedrooms. Half of them looking as if they were about to cave in

one's head.

Still, it will keep my wife and daughter out of the stink of Paris.

What on earth is he doing?

Sometimes I think everyone in this country is a stark reading man.

Do you realize...

It's four and one half years since I've been home.

Thank you. Four and one half.

Lonely, sick, miserable, thankless years.

Scrambling across Europe, begging and borrowing.

Oh, I'm sick to death of politics.

All I dream of now is being back on my farm in Braintree.

How are things at home?

Disorder, discontent.

Money scarce, shipping at a standstill.

The peace is ruining more merchants than the war.

And the Congress?

Confusion, indecision, jealousy between the states.

Thirteen cats in a sack, spitting and scratching. How stupid.

Our future is hanging by a thread.

We will survive or perish on the answer to one question. Are we unified enough

to deal with foreign nations?

After all the bloodshed to win our independence, what an irony if we should

strangle for want of trade.

Have we any prospects?

Well, Prussia's interested.

And Denmark?

Spain? Cautious. Waiting to see which way England will move.

Well, at least we can count on France.

Can we?

The king is inept.

The queen is busy with amorous adventures.

It is their minister who pulls the strings.

Vigin. Yes, conceited ass. Takes a bath with his medals on. He's clever, so I'm

told. Oh, yes. He and Dr. Franklin are quite a pair.

Forever whispering, maneuvering, hatching plots behind my back. You have

much love for our fellow trade commissioner, hmm?

Franklin? The man is immoral.

Lazy, senile old mischief maker playing France's game.

Which is what? To keep us cut off from England.

Thomas, we must find a way to bind up the wounds of war. Sign a treaty of

and friendship.

If we are to survive, we must restore relations with the British crown.

Is this the same John Adams who helped to lead a revolution?

Well, resisting England's tyranny is one thing.

Dealing with her as an equal is quite another.

Jeanne would dearly love to monopolize our commerce.

Merci. C 'est tout beau, thanks a lot.

Ah, oui, merci.

But if we can establish relations with other countries, we could make... The

handsome wench.

His most enchanting smile.

Has she? I didn't notice.

You never notice anyone but Mrs. Adams.

After all these years, at the thought of seeing her again, I burn

with impatience.

Adams, Adams, you really are a wonder.

Who would believe that beneath that staid New England breast there beats the

heart of a Romeo?

And that sort of thing, I'm not sure that's altogether suitable for Mrs.

and Nabby. Oh, I imagine Mrs. Adams will manage to survive the shock, and as for

your daughter, well, how old is she now?

Nineteen. It's hardly a child.

When will you see them?

They've already arrived in London. I've sent John Quincy to be with them. I'm

going to fetch them in the morning.

Oh, Papa.

Sweet Princess Nanny.

Mrs.

Adams.

Mr. Adams.

You wrote you had been ill.

How are you now?

Twenty years younger than I was yesterday.

I had it all planned.

What I would wear to greet you.

How I would do my hair.

Oh, Mr. Adams.

How I have... I've missed you.

Good morning.

Good morning, Papa.

Are you enjoying London?

Yes, Papa.

Looking forward to Paris?

Yes, Papa.

Nabi, what is it?

I've thought so much of seeing you again.

Now that it's come about...

Say it, child.

Shall I guess what you're feeling?

Resentment at my opposition to your wish to marry Royal Tyler?

I love him.

Because he's gay and handsome and writes verses?

One may dance and sing and scribble poetry and not be very good for much.

Papa, you don't know him.

I opposed the marriage because he squandered his inheritance and had no

support you.

And because you were too young.

Yes, I was a child when you left home.

I am a woman now, yet you still see me as a child.

I wrote that if you truly wished to marry Mr. Tyler, I would give my

So you wrote, Papa, but I knew how you felt.

Well, what is it you want?

I want you to trust my judgment and respect my feelings.

All your father asks is one year of your time.

A year.

If love is real, it will not fade that quickly.

When you were a child, if I was gone for just a day,

you would wait outside the gate, and when I got down from my horse, you would

run and kiss me.

Morning. Good morning.

How is everyone this splendid morning?

Father, how long do we have in London?

Oh, a few days only, then I must return to Paris. With your permission, sir, I

shall continue in my effort to improve the character and moral of my wretched

sister. Oh, that sounds exhausting.

What do you two plan to do today?

Visit to the exhibition of Mr. Copley's paintings. Oh.

And to the wax work.

Finally, a brief stop at the hospital for fallen women to hear those unlucky

creatures sing their hymns.

From all accounts, the melancholy melody of their voices would wring tears from

a stone.

Johnny is studying for a career in politics.

He never says in two words what he can say in 20.

Well, that should prepare him for Congress. My sole purpose is to enlarge

darling sister's education.

And to avoid studying your algebra. It will not do to have an ignorant village

life daughter to the First Minister to England.

But what?

I had it yesterday for Mr. Copley.

He has received a letter telling him it is rumored we are to have a minister to

the court of St. James.

Mr. Copley feels certain it will be you, Father.

You seem disturbed.

I should think it would please you.

Please me?

It fills my heart with dread. That is not a life for which I am prepared.

Nor I.

I'm not trained to shine at court.

I cannot dance or drink or make small talk.

Lie, flatter, flirt with ladies, drink with gentlemen.

Do not worry.

I would refuse the post if it were offered.

My dearest sister, I have been occupied since our arrival here in France with

trying to put our domicile in order.

Table linen to make, bed linen to purchase.

I am a little put out with my husband.

He loves to have everything as it should be, but does not wish to be troubled by

domestic matters.

A thousand tasks I must attend to.

Spoons and forks to be made of silver, china to be bought.

Everything that will bear the name of elegant is imported from England.

And if you will have it, you must pay for it.

And all this at a time when Congress has cut our allowance by 500 guineas.

We are obliged to keep a regiment of servants, a coachman and a gardener,

chambermaid, valet and cook, and a majordomo, butler, maitre d 'hôtel, or

whatever he is called, whose business is to purchase articles for the family and

see that no one cheats us but himself.

Beloved Royal, my dearest.

Here, outside Paris, the trees are touched with autumn.

My constant close companions are my brother and my bird.

The pretty creature, though cheerful, would I were the same.

For in a way we share captivity.

His cage is barred by breath, whilst I am caged by time.

I am the dutiful daughter with Mama and Papa and the merry sister with John

Quincy.

But it is all a game.

Behind the mask, I hunger for the day when we are wed.

How slowly time drags by.

Will this year never end?

Sir, you will oblige me by striking my name from the list of those you are

presently considering for appointment as minister to England.

I have had my fill of foreign diplomats, receptions, balls, and dinners.

My health is fragile and causes me concern.

When my labors here are finished, it is my intention to return to Braintree,

breed my boys to business and the bar, cultivate my field, and leave diplomacy

to those who like it better.

Dear sister, it is with some trepidation that I prepare myself to enter society.

Fashion is the deity that everyone worships in this country.

To be out of fashion is more criminal than to be seen in a state of nature, to

which Parisians are not averse.

Oh, dear, it is provoking.

What is, Pauline?

Your daughter.

Mademoiselle, so pretty.

That's so lead.

Must give Madame happiness to have so handsome children.

Pauline, you are a lovely girl.

Be patient. In time, I'm sure you will have handsome children of your own.

But already I have babies.

You have a husband?

No, Madame.

Your children then were conceived out of wedlock?

Oui. Half the children born in Paris every year are bastards.

Where are they now, your children?

I give them away.

On the street there are boxes to put in the baby.

In the morning the nuns come to take them away.

Oh, Lord, save thy children.

I'm writing home regarding the qualities desirable in a minister to England.

Mr. Adams.

Oh, your hair.

Oh, I commend your powers of observation.

New gown?

Bravo.

We dine this evening at the Portuguese Ministry.

I hope not to disgrace you.

Oh, very nice.

Is that all?

I think it is bewitching.

Now then.

The post for which, believe me, I have no desire.

Calls for someone well -versed in the classics, Greek and Latin, Plato,

Cicero, etc.

Most aptly phrased. He must have knowledge of history, ancient and

be familiar with the laws of nature and of nations.

Yes, indeed.

A man of ripe years.

Dr. Franklin?

But not too old to undertake an arduous assignment.

Farewell, Dr.

Franklin. One with an upright heart and an independent spirit.

One who will bend his personal ambitions to the interests of his country.

Not an easy man to find.

I know of only one who fills the bill in all particulars.

Myself.

Bright -eyed Abigail, a Puritan in Paris.

Tell me, how are you faring in this wicked city?

Oh, it's a pity I don't have the language.

There was a lecture I should have liked to have attended yesterday.

Recent discoveries in the realm of physics.

Your range of intellect never ceases to amaze me.

Would it if I were a man?

Well put.

At any rate, I passed the lecture by and went instead to the ballet.

Did you enjoy it?

They were the flimsiest of gauze.

The music starts, they leap into the air, skirts flying.

I was ashamed to look.

Sinful, then, the exhibition of their bodies.

Oh, on the contrary, sir. I find the human body a marvel, with the sight of

their drawers and garters that dismayed me.

Well, it has arrived.

The invitation to serve as our minister to England.

A dubious honor.

Rather like an invitation to a hanging. Indeed.

I shall, of course, refuse the post. I should be slandered.

I would live the life of a man in a barrel spiked with nails.

The English are not famous for forgiveness.

And yet her English blood flows in my veins, English speech is on my tongue,

in my heart I love her.

For all her faults, she enjoys the finest constitution and the fairest laws

all the world.

When? What?

When will we? What? Go.

To London.

The thought of it. John Adams, rebel and traitor.

The thought of Mad Dog Adams, loathed in the dignity of a minister from a

sovereign state standing nose to nose with King George.

That is a temptation he cannot resist.

These are all your shirts?

The lot.

Fetch me your stockings.

Barely got used to being together again.

Suddenly we seem to be rushing off in all directions.

Me to Boston, and in a few days all of you to London.

Are you happy to be failing home?

Happy.

And a little frightened.

I'll miss you.

Oh, Johnny, I'll miss you.

You must... help me.

For the last few months, I've had no word from Mr. Tyler.

Not a word, not one word.

When you get home, you must find out how the wind sets.

I will, Nabi.

I promise.

And I'll write you every day and tell you about all the characters I chance to

meet, including Mr. Tyler.

And I will do the same, Johnny, every little detail.

Yes, where?

I swear.

You're a fortunate young man to be able to attain an education.

If you ever utter one word of complaint, I will disinherit you.

Yes, sir.

At Harvard, you will breathe in the atmosphere of science and literature.

It is a temple of learning.

Also a sink of iniquity.

I shall be careful.

Write to us.

Learning is liberty, but it does not fall like the rain from heaven, Johnny.

must labor for it.

Well, be off, be off.

Study, you rogue, and be free.

It would be lonely here without you.

Godspeed.

You served in the War of Independence.

Yes, sir. Did you see much action?

Yes, sir. Harlem Heights, White Plains, Trenton.

Yes. Oh, excuse me. I did not know you were engaged.

My daughter, Abigail. This is the gentleman Congress has sent to be my

secretary, Colonel William Stephen Smith.

At your service, Miss Adams.

I came for the letters you wanted me to copy.

Oh, yes. They're on the table there.

They've sent me this report on you. Now, you go on.

I served at Valley Forge, and at Yorktown, I had the honor of serving on

staff of General Washington.

Oh, yes, here's his testimonial.

Bravery, good conduct, gallantry, etc.

Well, that's very impressive.

But hardly the qualities I require. What's needed here is discretion in an

amiable manner.

Those offended by my blunt speech, you will be expected to win back by your

charm. I'll do my best, sir.

Well, it remains to be seen if that will be enough.

And you sailed from Newport, you said?

I, uh, put in the Tilbury dock yesterday with half a cargo.

A little rice, a few bales of tobacco.

At that, I'm better off than most.

Their ships sit rotty in the harbor while British ships sail into Boston

loaded. Yes, from all reports, the whaling trade is at a standstill.

Our seaport towns are graveyards.

It's the damned English duties.

Yes, well, that's a matter I hope to negotiate, Captain, eh? Oh, I pray you

it, sir, and quickly.

Well, diplomacy takes time, I'm afraid.

The spirit of 76 is on the rise again.

It won't be long before the mobs start to gather.

Just so.

And now, sir, if you will kindly straighten up your shoulders.

Most elegant.

The sleeves?

Well, of course, sir. We like to leave them a little long until the final

stitching. I feel like a monkey on a stick.

There is too much fullness in the sleeve cap.

Oh, I agree entirely, madam. We shall, of course, take in the side body and

adjust the arm's eye.

Listen, I didn't have a chance to read the newspaper. Is there any mention of

the new minister?

I noticed that you are to have an audience with the king.

No more?

Another word or two.

Oh, madam, pray note the direction of the nap of the valour. Oh, yes.

Exquisite.

Well,

I don't see how King George can possibly resist you.

My compliments, Your Excellency. Let him.

I've noticed in the paper, no insults.

Come now, how do they call me this time?

A traitorous rogue.

Is that all?

A beggar and a scoundrel.

Now, you must not let it pain you.

Sir, when you are wounded, I bleed.

There is a gentleman to see you, sir.

From the palace?

Oh, yes, yes. Show him in.

Oh, it must seem strange.

All these years of crying defiance of the king.

His majesty damning our souls, sending his troops against us.

And now to meet.

All England will watch to see how he regards me.

How will he?

Contempt? Icy indifference? I will not tolerate humiliation.

Dear Mr. Adams.

Be courteous.

I bear no malice toward King George.

One revolution in a lifetime is enough.

Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Miss Adams, Sir Clement Cotterill Dormer.

Your Excellency, Madam Miss Adams.

How do you do?

Most honored.

Sir Clement, do sit down.

I assume you were here to... Instruct you in court etiquette. As royal master

ceremonies, I trust that I may... be of some

assistance. Well, I would be most obliged.

It is customary for foreign ministers to address His Majesty in terms as...

complimentary as possible.

Does one simply pay one's respects and leave, or does one have to make a

Some formal harangue is... Customary.

Usual.

His Majesty is in the habit of rising early.

Oh, yes, yes, yes. He actually lights his own fire and cooks his breakfast

early.

so that by late morning he grows hungry, impatient

for his luncheon.

So whatever you may wish to say, it would be wise to make it brief.

Where was I?

You will be escorted to the royal closet by the most noble, the Marquess of

Carmarthen, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Lord Carmarthen will then present you to His Majesty.

Your Majesty, I beg leave to present His Excellency, Mr. John Adams, Minister

from the United States.

Mr. Adams.

Sir, I consider myself to be more fortunate than all my fellow citizens to

the first to stand in your majesty's royal presence in a diplomatic

It is my sincerest wish to restore an entire esteem, confidence, and

Or in better words, the old good nature and good humor between people who,

though separated by the ocean and under different governments,

have the same language and a kindred blood.

Mr. Adams, the circumstances of this audience are so extraordinary,

and the language you have held so entirely proper, and the feelings you've

discovered so justly adapted to the occasion, that I must say...

I am very glad that the choice has fallen upon you to be minister.

I will be frank with you.

I was the last to consent to separation.

But the separation having become inevitable, I have always said I would

first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power.

You have recently come from France.

Yes, Your Majesty.

There is an opinion among some people that you are not the most detached of

countrymen to the manners of that nation.

I must avow you, Majesty, I have no attachment but to my own country.

An honest man will have no other.

Do have a glass of wine.

Thank you.

Regarding the frontier post still occupied by British troops... Do you pay

patience?

No, Your Lordship.

Oh, pities. Most amusing game.

The presence of your soldiers in our western lands is interfering with the

trade. An excellent vedere, don't you think?

Yes.

His Majesty was very taken with you.

Well, he was most gracious.

I trust it is a sign that England is going to cease trying to punish us.

Punish you?

The customs duties on our whale oil are... fish and timber. Why, no doubt a

nuisance. They're more than a nuisance, sir. They're unfair, unjust, unwise.

Damn it, where's my snuffbox? On the side table, my lord. Well, don't damn

like an idiot. Get it.

Dear Adams, if I recommended repeal of the duties, it would raise an uproar

would send me tumbling out of office.

Uproar, my lord?

From bankers, merchants, peers of the realm, to whom a goodly number of your

fellow citizens owe money.

They must be paid, sir.

They will be paid, sir. Before we sign the treaty.

But that's impossible.

The men who owe you have not the means to meet their obligations while you

restrict our trade.

That does present a problem.

I believed that England was prepared to make concessions.

What gave you that impression?

His Majesty's behavior.

Kings can indulge in whims really as immortals cannot afford.

Ah.

America is a vast continent, my lord.

Strike the shackles from our exports and you will be the richer for it.

You've really much learned patience.

When I was a lad, that's how I regarded women, as freaks of nature.

Did you really?

Females were oddities. They were mysterious and distant.

And later?

All my attempts at wooing were disaster.

I do not believe you. It's true, I swear. I had so many failures.

But the first time a lady gave me signs she found me not displeasing, I took it

for rejection.

That reminds me of an old aunt of mine who was ill for so long that when she

finally got well, she took it for another sickness.

And at present, sir, what is your opinion of us?

I am disappointed to find that so many women are vain and shallow.

They seem to think it beneath them to do anything but dance and whisper scandal.

It is their education, or lack of it, that makes them so.

Unhappily, we are too often what we think men wish us to be.

It is you, the gentleman, who are at fault.

Not I.

Oh? And what is it you look for in a woman?

A muse to lead me out of my ignorance.

I want to walk together with a woman, not simply lead her by the hand.

So many years in the army have given me a profound knowledge of the vagaries of

the cavalry horse, but they have taught me nothing of the arts.

Command me to navigate an unknown river, I will do it. But do not ask me to

chart the mysterious currents of a lady's heart.

What?

Nothing.

Just surprise, that's all.

When we first met, you struck me as, uh...

Oh, handsome, yes.

But just another officer.

And now?

Sir.

Forgive me.

You have amazing skin.

Thomas Jefferson, Paris, dear sir.

Is there a chance, do you suppose, that you could come to London?

It would be helpful to discuss with you in person.

The situation here.

Also the matter of Tripoli. Oh, tell him that Mrs. Adams has purchased, as

requested, five yards of white dimity for shirts, which she is sending under

separate cover.

Well, he did ask.

I have met several times with Lord... Julian, kindly remit for the dimity

pounds ten shillings. Are you quite finished?

Yes, thank you.

I've met several times with Lord... He remains polite...

but evasive.

I have learned, however, that his lordship is susceptible to pressure.

There are important Englishmen whose sympathies lie with us.

If we could rally them, cause them to make an outcry.

If I may venture a suggestion, sir?

Yes. Perhaps a dinner.

Dinner? Yes, stuff their stomachs, fill them with wine. At whose expense?

And in the casual talk, present them with our case and press them to action.

You're right.

More is accomplished on a social occasion than at a hundred meetings.

I learned that in France.

Yes, make a list.

The names that you think will be most helpful.

May I inquire, sir, how you plan to pay for this entertainment?

What we receive from that pinch -penny Congress barely does for the two of us

Nabi. Yes, make a list.

You and your dinners will dance us to the poorhouse.

Nabby, dear, you're up awfully late.

The letter from our Johnny?

Yes. How is he faring?

He does not care much for the country girls.

He says they're simple.

And Royal Tyler?

Goes with his head downcast as though his dog has died.

And the next moment...

Exuberant as a schoolboy.

Oh, dear.

He sounds quite mad.

Johnny says he goes about the town and reads my letters to anyone who will

listen.

What will you do?

I've done it.

I've asked that he return my locket and my letters.

Look at this.

Just look! Look at it. Oh, poor bird.

Dietary consumption.

And for this they had the audacity to charge me 13 shillings.

I don't know how we shall find enough to feed 12 people.

What's that?

A gift from Captain Hay.

What is it? A surprise.

I dislike surprises.

Very well, madam.

I'll open it.

Good Lord, deliver us.

And while you're at it, thank him for our dinner.

This is the first time I've ever met a real, live rebel.

From all the diverse things one reasons to possess, one hardly knows what to

expect. A savage from the wilderness.

A villain with a knife stuck in his belt.

I must confess, he really looks quite human.

My compliments. A sumptuous meal. The meat was most delicious.

Meat. I thought it was fish. It didn't taste like fish.

What was it?

Turtle.

Turtle?

Was it really?

I thought it apt for the occasion. A creature which upon close acquaintance

turns out to be quite different from what one expected.

Shall we join the ladies?

Interesting man, your husband.

Not at all what one imagines of the diplomat.

In his heart, he still considers himself the small -town lawyer and farmer he

was when we were wed.

How long ago?

More than 20 years.

And the torch still burns with unabating fur.

Owing in some part, I think, to the pains we have taken to avoid petty

Marriage squabbles put me in mind of an insect from the Indies. A tiny gnat,

which when it bites can cause an itching.

If scratched, it will raise an inflammation so malignant it can lead to

Tell that to my husband.

Yes.

She met another boy and made a new bouquet.

With speed, well, and traveler's joy to send me on my way.

With speed, well, and traveler's joy to send me on my way.

I must

apologize for these lamps, the way they smoke and sputter.

Our American whale oil burns with a clear and lovely light.

You would have the use of it were it not for the British duties.

What do you think of Lord Kumar?

An amiable fellow.

But cautious.

Quite. I've asked him to be merciful on us, but all he does is smile and offer

me a pinch of snuff.

In his pleasant way, he can be very stubborn.

You do agree that duty should be lowered.

Indeed. You would do us a great service if you would say so.

In the House of Commons.

If you light a fire under him, even a lord must move.

Well,

I thought it went well.

Oh, yes.

It was a great success.

A triumph.

Mr. Adams? Mrs. Adams? Yes!

I wish to tell you, sir, I hold your daughter in most high and fond regard,

I have reason to believe she looks upon me with some favor.

With your permission, sir, I should like to enter into courtship.

Well, uh... Well, this is most unexpected.

Uh... I will have to discuss it with her mother.

Thank you.

With your leave, sir, I will say good night.

Well, you don't look very surprised.

Oh, my dear, I have known about it for a month.

And therefore is not by any to be enterprised nor taken in hand

lightly or wantonly to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites like

brute beasts that have no understanding, but reverently,

discreetly, advisedly.

soberly, and in the fear of God.

I require and charge you both, as he will answer at the dreadful day of

when the secrets of all hearts will be disclosed, that if either of you know of

any impediment why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony,

now confess it.

Dear sister,

I can only pray that our Nabi and her colonel will never endure the lonely

separations my husband and I have been forced to undergo.

Deprived of the beloved, the blossom falls, the fruit withers and decays.

Who shall give me back that lost time?

Who shall compensate me for those years?

Those whom God has joined together.

Let no man put asunder.

Sparhawk's the name, Sparhawk, sir. Oh, yes.

Purveyor of fine linen, canvas goods, and muslin in the town of Boston.

And you wish to relinquish your American citizenship and become a subject of the

crown? Exactly.

May I inquire your reason?

The reason, sir?

There is no way in America these days an honest merchant can earn a living, what

with the English shipping duties and our damned insufferable taxes.

And you think that's sufficient cause to alter your allegiance?

Well, every time I turn around, that idiot Congress or some thieving state

its hand in my pocket. Ship my goods to New York, there's a tax.

Ship them to New Jersey, there's another tax.

The people of the United States are worse exploited than the British.

Give me leave to tell you, sir, that upon that subject you betray a total

ignorance. I beg your pardon? Travel the roads of England and you will see such

wretchedness that it is enough to make a wise man mad.

And you have the audacity to say Americans are worse exploited? Yes, sir,

sir. Do our farmers perish in the midst of plenty? Are our fishermen starving,

our mechanics unable to earn their daily bread? No, sir.

It is the reckless, greedy merchants who expect to make a living off the labors

of others who are whining and complaining.

As to this, sir, I will have none of it.

Present it to the English, if you wish, with my compliment.

So, knowing you from the old days back home, I figured I'd stop by and give you

a first -hand story on it all.

And your leader was who?

Chase.

Daniel Shays.

He was my captain of the Continentals.

Well, sirs, madam, you know, 22 cents a day was all we was getting for our

services. And that's in paper.

Time we was mustered out, the stuff was worthless.

What I mean, I couldn't pay my rent.

I lost my home.

And there was others in my regiment.

Went to prison.

Count what they owed.

And this Captain Shays?

Got us together.

Went down to the courthouse.

Grabbed the judges.

Knocked them around a bit.

Made them quit foreclosing on our debts.

You assaulted the judges? Yeah.

And then we attacked the arson at Springfield.

And we took a beating.

That was when I run away, stowed aboard a ship to England.

But it ain't over yet.

There's others hiding in the woods.

just waiting for the chance to have another go.

You expect me to approve your actions?

Why not?

Would you approve them?

God forbid we should be 20 years without such a rebellion.

The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred

the laws of God, then anarchy commences.

Well, I'd best be going.

Thanks for the refreshment.

There's too much government.

That's the trouble.

And now there's all this talk of a constitution.

The Congress asking for more power.

And what will that bring us?

More tax collectors, more clerks, more judges.

Well, you are mistaken if you think there is anything to be gained by the

breaking of head.

Oh, come now.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed.

from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

What country can have liberty if its rulers are not reminded from time to

that the people preserve the spirit of resistance?

Let them take arms.

What signify a few lives?

That is an appalling thing to say.

After all these years, our first disagreement.

No great matter.

Come, finish your tea before it gets cold.

I hear problems like that, and I feel more strongly than ever that we must

a national constitution. Indeed.

To show that every man must possess the right of self -government.

The government degenerates when left to rulers alone. The people are its only

safe depository. Yes, but to make them fit for that responsibility, they must

taught.

Our young men suffer from a neglect of education. Then the constitution must

provide for public education.

If you speak of the neglect of young men, John, what shall we say in regard

young women?

It really is mortifying when one considers the difference in education

the male and the female.

Every advantage is lavished on a son, whilst we are expected to count

privileged if we are taught to read and write.

We give primary consideration to the education of the male, dear madam, only

because it is men who hold the seats of power.

The education of children falls to our share, and we are told that the early

impressions are the most durable.

Now, you be careful, Mr. Jefferson. You're entering dangerous waters. In my

defense, madam, let me maintain that I have never held women to be a lesser

breed.

Then why, when you wrote the Declaration of Independence, did you hold that

truth to be self -evident that all men are created equal?

That was a manner of speaking, a literary phrase.

Ah.

Well, let us hope that the gentlemen who frame our constitution are sensible

that if care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to

foment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by laws in which we have

had no voice nor representation.

It seems we may face another revolution.

Well,

it is beyond me why your sex with such disparity in those whom you choose for

life companions.

If we are ignorant, you suffer.

Tell me.

Do you find married life a misery? Oh.

If Mr. Adams is happy, it is because he has relinquished the harsh title of

tyrant for the more tender and endearing one of friend.

You see, Mr. Jefferson, whilst you are proclaiming peace and goodwill to men,

you insist on maintaining absolute power over your wives.

Well, we have all had some experience with arbitrary power.

Like most things which are hard, it is very liable to be broken.

More tea?

You are supposed to be at rest.

What are you doing?

Attending to my correspondence.

This letter I had from home this morning.

From Braintree? Yes.

It says the widow Boyland has her house for sale.

What's she asking?

600 pounds.

Lovely house.

After Paris and London, our little farm will seem dim and cramped.

Well, there's no law that binds us to stay there for life.

The Borland house.

Would you like to live there?

Would you?

Write and see if we can buy it.

Tomorrow.

Drink

this.

Oh, do you think this old wives' brew does any good?

Oh, to paraphrase the poet, your ignorance almost subdues my patience.

I roll over.

There's no need. Be quiet and roll over.

Oh.

I have decided to arrange one... Oh.

One last meeting with Lord Carmarthen.

If that fails, I will go home.

Sweet Abigail.

How I have cheated you.

We've had so little time for pleasure.

I have somewhat disturbing news from Boston.

One of our sea captains attacked by American sailors.

A British customs agent manhandled by a mob.

Yes, so I understand.

And you condone it? I don't approve the violence, but I understand the anger.

America is out of patience with England.

If you will not lift the duties, we have no choice but to reply in kind. We

shall impose equal duties on your shipping. Nonsense.

The United States is not a nation.

It's 13 separate, squabbling states.

They cannot agree that two and two make four, much less adopt a common policy

for trade.

Lord Carmarthen, two years we've circled around this business without coming one

step closer to settlement.

If you persist in this policy, it would only serve to drive us into greatness.

Greatness? Rather than import from England an axe, a plow, a bolt of cloth,

single button, we will do without until such time as we can make them for

ourselves.

The day will come, sir, when the glory of England will be that she spawned

America.

Let it be settled, then.

We leave for home.

As soon as I can arrange our affairs.

Oh, how lovely it will be to walk the paths of Braintree again.

Settle in our new house.

Work in my garden, make my cheese and butter.

Yes, almost 30 years of public life. Thank God it is over.

Thirty years rolling like a stone. Never three years in the same place.

Holland, Paris, London.

And much to show for it.

What? Win a battle and your name goes down in history. Draw a treaty and

at most a footnote.

I was not even there when they drew the Constitution.

You have played your part, sir.

More than your part.

Enough for ten.

Well, there's a whole new generation now.

They do not care what went before.

It's the surface of things that draws their attention.

The flamboyant speech, the striking appearance.

General Washington is significant, and he looks it, as does Mr.

Jefferson.

While I am short and plump and balding.

No. My moment in the course of events is finished.

Nonsense. Yes.

Done and finished.

Is it?

John Adams,

one of the founding fathers of his nation.

But while the country is taking its first few faltering steps, Adams has

abroad. His years in London have been barren.

and now he fears there may be no place for him in the future of his nation.

But for the next dozen years, the destinies of John Adams and the United

will be intertwined.