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General Washington
secured for the evening?
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00:00:52,761 --> 00:00:54,094
Yes, sir.
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00:00:54,095 --> 00:00:55,554
Stay alert.
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00:01:08,902 --> 00:01:11,070
How're you men doing?
- Doing well, sir.
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00:01:11,071 --> 00:01:12,613
A little cold, sir.
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00:01:12,614 --> 00:01:14,323
You're cold?
Get to the fire now.
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- Yes, sir.
- Yes, sir.
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00:04:08,164 --> 00:04:10,374
One!
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Two!
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It was the
4th of July, 1826,
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00:04:20,009 --> 00:04:21,718
the 50th anniversary of
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00:04:21,719 --> 00:04:24,388
the signing of the Declaration
of Independence,
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00:04:24,389 --> 00:04:29,559
the de facto 50th anniversary
of the United States of America.
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00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:31,603
Three!
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00:04:33,189 --> 00:04:35,983
Four!
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Five.
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I am so proud of you.
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00:04:45,493 --> 00:04:47,577
Do you have the letter, dear?
- Yes, dear.
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00:04:50,248 --> 00:04:52,666
Six.
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Seven!
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00:05:07,765 --> 00:05:09,392
Eight, Grandpapa.
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Nine!
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00:05:12,186 --> 00:05:13,729
Ten!
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Eleven!
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Twelve.
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Thirteen.
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One for each of the Thirteen Colonies
of the Declaration.
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00:05:31,122 --> 00:05:33,623
50 years ago, Thomas.
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00:05:33,624 --> 00:05:35,668
50 years.
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00:05:40,923 --> 00:05:45,344
Even now, after some two
centuries of turbulent history,
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00:05:45,345 --> 00:05:48,680
recollections
of that glorious Fourth
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00:05:48,681 --> 00:05:51,683
can compel
the most skeptical scholars
35
00:05:51,684 --> 00:05:55,354
to acknowledge weird,
wonderful aspects
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00:05:55,355 --> 00:05:57,689
in the rise of the Republic
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00:05:57,690 --> 00:06:01,693
and to reconsider
that once very popular idea
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00:06:01,694 --> 00:06:04,696
that God shows
special tenderness
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00:06:04,697 --> 00:06:06,823
toward the American experiment.
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00:06:28,137 --> 00:06:31,515
Though he wished he
could have been here in person,
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00:06:31,516 --> 00:06:35,894
my father's beloved friend,
Thomas Jefferson,
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00:06:35,895 --> 00:06:40,732
has instead sent these words
to all of us.
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00:06:40,733 --> 00:06:43,610
You may have read them
in the papers.
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00:06:46,906 --> 00:06:50,283
"I should indeed
have met personally
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00:06:50,284 --> 00:06:53,078
“with the remnant
of that host of worthies
46
00:06:53,079 --> 00:06:55,539
who joined with us
on that day..."
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00:06:55,540 --> 00:06:59,334
"...in the
bold and doubtful election
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00:06:59,335 --> 00:07:02,003
“we were to make for our country
49
00:07:02,004 --> 00:07:06,258
“between submission
and the sword,
50
00:07:06,259 --> 00:07:10,220
“and to have enjoyed with them
the consolatory fact
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“that our fellow citizens,
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00:07:12,765 --> 00:07:18,437
“after half a century
of experience and prosperity,
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00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:24,025
continue to approve
the choice we made."
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00:07:24,026 --> 00:07:28,655
Nicholas, send this to
the Federal City by the Fourth.
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The Fourth.
- Right away, Grandfather.
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00:07:35,621 --> 00:07:37,747
To the mayor of Washington.
- Yes, sir.
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00:07:37,748 --> 00:07:39,499
It must arrive
before the Fourth.
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00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:40,668
Yes, sir.
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00:07:43,671 --> 00:07:47,466
"May it be to the world,
what I believe it will be--
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00:07:47,467 --> 00:07:52,679
“to some parts sooner, to others
later, but finally to all--
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00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,517
“the signal of arousing men
to burst the chains
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00:07:57,518 --> 00:08:01,521
“under which monkish ignorance
and superstition
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00:08:01,522 --> 00:08:04,900
“had persuaded them
to bind themselves,
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00:08:04,901 --> 00:08:08,945
“and to assume the blessings
and the security
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00:08:08,946 --> 00:08:11,490
of self-government..."
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00:08:11,491 --> 00:08:16,036
"These are grounds
of hope for others.
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00:08:16,037 --> 00:08:19,998
“For ourselves, let the
annual return of this day
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00:08:19,999 --> 00:08:23,960
“forever refresh our
recollection of these rights,
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00:08:23,961 --> 00:08:28,173
and an undiminished
devotion to them."
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Thomas Jefferson!
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00:08:37,934 --> 00:08:40,268
At a time
when male life expectancy
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00:08:40,269 --> 00:08:43,146
barely reached 40 years,
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00:08:43,147 --> 00:08:45,106
John Quincy's father,
John Adams,
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00:08:45,107 --> 00:08:47,275
the “Atlas of Independence”
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00:08:47,276 --> 00:08:49,778
and the second president
of the United States,
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00:08:49,779 --> 00:08:53,281
had already passed
his 90th birthday,
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00:08:53,282 --> 00:08:57,744
with his faculties and
his health remarkably intact.
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00:09:01,082 --> 00:09:04,459
Do you know what day it is
today, John?
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00:09:04,460 --> 00:09:06,294
It's the Fourth.
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00:09:06,295 --> 00:09:08,172
The Fourth of July.
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00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:14,345
It's a great day.
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00:09:16,973 --> 00:09:18,765
It's a good day.
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00:09:23,020 --> 00:09:26,439
500 miles to the south
on the same day,
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00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,860
Thomas Jefferson stubbornly
clung to life at Monticello.
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00:09:40,413 --> 00:09:42,581
Doctor, sir.
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00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:44,000
Grandpapa's awake.
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00:09:51,966 --> 00:09:54,093
Another draft of laudanum?
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00:09:54,844 --> 00:09:56,971
It will ease your discomfort.
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No.
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00:10:00,933 --> 00:10:02,768
No more.
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00:10:04,604 --> 00:10:10,025
Thomas Jefferson uttered
no further comprehensible words,
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00:10:10,026 --> 00:10:13,445
but he had unequivocally
achieved his ardent desire--
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00:10:13,446 --> 00:10:15,989
living through more than half
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00:10:15,990 --> 00:10:19,034
of his cherished nation's
sacred day,
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00:10:19,035 --> 00:10:23,496
finally expiring on Tuesday,
the Fourth of July,
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00:10:23,497 --> 00:10:27,000
at 10 minutes before one o’clock
in the afternoon.
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00:10:29,253 --> 00:10:33,173
John Adams was clinging
to the final breaths of his life
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00:10:33,174 --> 00:10:35,967
as well on that very same day.
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00:10:35,968 --> 00:10:37,677
He had no way of knowing
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00:10:37,678 --> 00:10:42,057
that Jefferson had died
just before one o’clock.
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00:10:42,058 --> 00:10:45,977
Toward evening,
with a gentle rain falling,
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00:10:45,978 --> 00:10:50,358
Adams breathed his
astonishing last words.
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00:10:54,904 --> 00:10:58,699
Thomas Jefferson...
survives.
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00:11:07,375 --> 00:11:11,920
His breathing stopped
shortly after six o’clock.
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00:11:11,921 --> 00:11:15,006
With a resounding clap
of thunder
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00:11:15,007 --> 00:11:18,635
at the very moment
of the great man's passing,
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00:11:18,636 --> 00:11:22,681
witnesses insisted
that at that same instant,
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00:11:22,682 --> 00:11:26,518
a sudden burst of light
from the declining sun
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00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:28,520
pushed through
the looming clouds
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00:11:28,521 --> 00:11:33,692
and spilled into the upstairs
room like a benediction.
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00:11:40,032 --> 00:11:42,325
To this day,
Adams and Jefferson
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00:11:42,326 --> 00:11:45,954
remain the only two presidents
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00:11:45,955 --> 00:11:48,707
to have expired on the same day.
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00:11:48,708 --> 00:11:51,459
And of all days
it was the Fourth of July!
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00:11:51,460 --> 00:11:53,753
And not just
an ordinary Fourth of July.
116
00:11:53,754 --> 00:11:58,633
It was the 50th anniversary
of the nation's founding.
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00:11:58,634 --> 00:12:02,971
Now, the chances against
such a pattern recurring
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00:12:02,972 --> 00:12:08,643
stand at approximately
50 million to 1.
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00:12:08,644 --> 00:12:12,313
So many of our countrymen,
including many of the founders,
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00:12:12,314 --> 00:12:15,817
they said, "Well, that's
got to be the hand of God.
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00:12:15,818 --> 00:12:17,610
“That can't just be coincidence.
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00:12:17,611 --> 00:12:19,320
Yeah, that's Providence."
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00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:31,584
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
are no more.
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00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,170
The public mind had never
been so powerfully affected
125
00:12:35,171 --> 00:12:39,674
by any similar event
as by the death of John Adams
126
00:12:39,675 --> 00:12:43,596
on the Fourth of July, 1826.
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00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:47,724
When you look back
at the newspapers,
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00:12:47,725 --> 00:12:50,643
there's just wall-to-wall
coverage of eulogies
129
00:12:50,644 --> 00:12:52,604
from all across the nation.
130
00:12:52,605 --> 00:12:56,691
Now, the news reached Boston
in the evening of that day.
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00:12:56,692 --> 00:13:00,069
It acquired a singular interest
from the year and the day
132
00:13:00,070 --> 00:13:02,864
on which it took place...
- Daniel Webster was
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00:13:02,865 --> 00:13:05,450
one of the most gifted orators
of the time.
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00:13:05,451 --> 00:13:07,494
He was a congressman.
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00:13:07,495 --> 00:13:10,789
And there were many eulogies
given, published in newspapers,
136
00:13:10,790 --> 00:13:13,875
but Webster's stood out
because it was just so eloquent.
137
00:13:13,876 --> 00:13:16,836
Patriotic emotions
of the country at large
138
00:13:16,837 --> 00:13:21,883
were touched beyond all example.
139
00:13:21,884 --> 00:13:26,763
The occurrence was justly deemed
without a parallel in history.
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00:13:26,764 --> 00:13:29,474
On our 50th anniversary,
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00:13:29,475 --> 00:13:32,644
the great day
of national jubilee,
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00:13:32,645 --> 00:13:34,979
in the very hour
of public rejoicing,
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00:13:34,980 --> 00:13:36,606
in the midst of echoing
144
00:13:36,607 --> 00:13:39,484
and re-echoing voices
of thanksgiving,
145
00:13:39,485 --> 00:13:42,320
while their own names were
on all tongues,
146
00:13:42,321 --> 00:13:45,740
they took their flight together
147
00:13:45,741 --> 00:13:48,993
to the world of spirits.
148
00:13:51,872 --> 00:13:55,291
What a miraculous blessing,
that on the day
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00:13:55,292 --> 00:13:57,752
which had fast linked
forever their own fame
150
00:13:57,753 --> 00:14:00,255
with their country's glory...
151
00:14:00,256 --> 00:14:05,719
the heavens should open
to receive them both at once.
152
00:14:07,513 --> 00:14:10,473
As their lives themselves
were the gifts of Providence,
153
00:14:10,474 --> 00:14:14,853
who is not willing to recognize
in their happy termination,
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00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:16,980
as well as
in their long continuance,
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00:14:16,981 --> 00:14:20,817
proofs that our country
and its benefactors
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00:14:20,818 --> 00:14:24,737
are objects of His care?
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00:14:24,738 --> 00:14:26,781
It cannot be denied,
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00:14:26,782 --> 00:14:30,076
but by those who would dispute
against the sun,
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00:14:30,077 --> 00:14:33,538
that with America,
and in America,
160
00:14:33,539 --> 00:14:37,750
a new era commences
in human affairs.
161
00:14:46,427 --> 00:14:51,973
It seems to me that the
founders and their successors,
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00:14:51,974 --> 00:14:54,517
who perceived
a providential role
163
00:14:54,518 --> 00:14:56,352
in the nation that they shaped,
164
00:14:56,353 --> 00:15:00,023
weren't ignorant simpletons
with delusions of grandeur.
165
00:15:00,024 --> 00:15:03,026
In fact,
all of the most significant
166
00:15:03,027 --> 00:15:04,611
leaders of the United States,
167
00:15:04,612 --> 00:15:07,822
from John Adams
to Abraham Lincoln,
168
00:15:07,823 --> 00:15:10,116
George Washington
to Woodrow Wilson,
169
00:15:10,117 --> 00:15:12,785
Theodore Roosevelt to
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
170
00:15:12,786 --> 00:15:18,207
have spoken movingly of
godly favor on their country.
171
00:15:18,208 --> 00:15:23,546
There is no effort here to
discern or describe God's face,
172
00:15:23,547 --> 00:15:26,090
but rather an attempt
to recognize
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00:15:26,091 --> 00:15:29,385
a well-established
national pattern
174
00:15:29,386 --> 00:15:32,138
over the course
of many generations,
175
00:15:32,139 --> 00:15:37,143
a pattern for which the
influence of some higher power
176
00:15:37,144 --> 00:15:41,814
remains
the most rational explanation.
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00:15:41,815 --> 00:15:44,400
And right up to today,
we retain
178
00:15:44,401 --> 00:15:49,739
the personal and communal choice
of how to respond
179
00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:56,329
to haunting, plentiful signs of
God's continued collaboration
180
00:15:56,330 --> 00:15:58,373
in the American miracle.
181
00:16:00,876 --> 00:16:03,294
George Washington is
appropriately known
182
00:16:03,295 --> 00:16:05,880
as the father of our country,
183
00:16:05,881 --> 00:16:10,426
a man unanimously chosen to be
our country's first president,
184
00:16:10,427 --> 00:16:13,429
and a man with
famously unparalleled
185
00:16:13,430 --> 00:16:15,264
leadership qualities.
186
00:16:15,265 --> 00:16:17,475
George Washington
was the singular figure
187
00:16:17,476 --> 00:16:20,269
in the American founding--
188
00:16:20,270 --> 00:16:22,606
the single most important
person.
189
00:16:24,149 --> 00:16:27,527
All the prominent founders--
190
00:16:27,528 --> 00:16:29,612
Franklin...
191
00:16:29,613 --> 00:16:31,406
Adams...
192
00:16:31,407 --> 00:16:33,658
Jefferson...
193
00:16:33,659 --> 00:16:35,702
Hamilton...
194
00:16:35,703 --> 00:16:37,370
Madison--
195
00:16:37,371 --> 00:16:41,541
all were asked to comment on
where they'd place him,
196
00:16:41,542 --> 00:16:43,584
and they all said
the same thing:
197
00:16:43,585 --> 00:16:45,753
"Above all of us."
198
00:16:45,754 --> 00:16:51,134
So he was regarded by his peers
as primus inter pares--
199
00:16:51,135 --> 00:16:52,677
first among equals.
200
00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:03,187
Young George had
a loving relationship
201
00:17:03,188 --> 00:17:05,690
with his older half-brother
Lawrence,
202
00:17:05,691 --> 00:17:08,276
someone he greatly admired.
203
00:17:08,277 --> 00:17:13,364
George Washington was somebody
who knew a lot about life.
204
00:17:13,365 --> 00:17:18,369
He grew up in a family
where he had lost, um...
205
00:17:18,370 --> 00:17:22,040
he lost his father when he was
eleven years old.
206
00:17:22,041 --> 00:17:26,919
His favorite older brother,
Lawrence, they were very close.
207
00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:28,504
- It's a good time.
- You should come visit
208
00:17:28,505 --> 00:17:30,631
more time, brother.
- My schedule seems open
209
00:17:30,632 --> 00:17:32,258
these days, so I sure will.
210
00:17:32,259 --> 00:17:33,760
You know, I don't have
a lovely bride
211
00:17:33,761 --> 00:17:35,344
pulling me down at the moment.
212
00:17:35,345 --> 00:17:37,346
When we look back
at Washington's life,
213
00:17:37,347 --> 00:17:42,393
we see a strange, inexplicable
pattern of cheating death
214
00:17:42,394 --> 00:17:44,729
time after time.
215
00:17:44,730 --> 00:17:48,441
This was widely viewed
in his own day
216
00:17:48,442 --> 00:17:51,278
as a sign of divine protection.
217
00:17:56,492 --> 00:17:58,993
In the fall of 1751,
218
00:17:58,994 --> 00:18:03,998
Lawrence's doctors advised him
to travel to Barbados...
219
00:18:03,999 --> 00:18:08,420
in hopes that the climate there
would ease his tuberculosis.
220
00:18:12,341 --> 00:18:15,384
19-year-old George
accompanied him
221
00:18:15,385 --> 00:18:21,224
and, while there, had his first
encounter with a deadly enemy.
222
00:18:36,365 --> 00:18:38,450
Open your mouth.
Let me see your tongue.
223
00:18:40,828 --> 00:18:43,162
Move him into quarantine
immediately.
224
00:18:43,163 --> 00:18:45,081
He has the smallpox.
225
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,634
Smallpox was a deadly disease
in this era.
226
00:18:56,635 --> 00:18:58,594
He probably should have died,
227
00:18:58,595 --> 00:19:01,764
and the brother ultimately
did die from tuberculosis.
228
00:19:01,765 --> 00:19:03,724
The benefit
of George Washington
229
00:19:03,725 --> 00:19:06,936
contracting smallpox
when he's only 19 years old
230
00:19:06,937 --> 00:19:08,646
is that he was immune to it.
231
00:19:08,647 --> 00:19:10,022
So when he becomes
232
00:19:10,023 --> 00:19:11,440
commander-in-chief
of the Continental Army,
233
00:19:11,441 --> 00:19:13,276
he doesn't have to worry
about getting sick
234
00:19:13,277 --> 00:19:15,486
from smallpox himself.
235
00:19:26,373 --> 00:19:30,042
George Washington wasn't
at the upper echelon of society,
236
00:19:30,043 --> 00:19:33,087
and so he became a surveyor
when he was 16 years old
237
00:19:33,088 --> 00:19:35,841
for one of the wealthiest men,
Lord Fairfax.
238
00:19:37,426 --> 00:19:40,137
A couple more paces
to the right, Mr. Abraham!
239
00:19:44,933 --> 00:19:46,518
Straighten out
the chain, Father.
240
00:19:48,645 --> 00:19:50,688
Perfect!
241
00:19:50,689 --> 00:19:53,232
That experience put him
into a position
242
00:19:53,233 --> 00:19:55,276
when he's in his early 20s
243
00:19:55,277 --> 00:19:57,195
that the lieutenant governor
of Virginia
244
00:19:57,196 --> 00:19:58,696
sends him on a mission
245
00:19:58,697 --> 00:20:02,033
to what's now
Western Pennsylvania.
246
00:20:02,034 --> 00:20:03,452
Mr. Washington.
247
00:20:06,622 --> 00:20:09,498
I need you to carry
this letter to the French.
248
00:20:09,499 --> 00:20:12,294
- Yes, Governor.
- They're trespassing.
249
00:20:19,635 --> 00:20:23,262
George Washington was asked to
deliver cease and desist letters
250
00:20:23,263 --> 00:20:26,724
because the French were building
forts on English territory.
251
00:20:26,725 --> 00:20:28,726
So this was a border dispute
252
00:20:28,727 --> 00:20:31,647
that he became
front and center of.
253
00:20:35,317 --> 00:20:37,401
On their way back,
they hired a Native
254
00:20:37,402 --> 00:20:39,571
to guide them
through the wilderness.
255
00:21:03,553 --> 00:21:05,138
He's leading us the wrong way.
256
00:21:07,224 --> 00:21:09,101
He's leading us the wrong way.
257
00:21:24,825 --> 00:21:26,994
No. No!
258
00:21:29,705 --> 00:21:31,039
Way.
259
00:21:36,169 --> 00:21:37,671
Keep watch.
260
00:21:43,176 --> 00:21:45,178
Put your gun
at the half ready.
261
00:22:09,536 --> 00:22:11,288
Aah!
262
00:22:14,374 --> 00:22:18,753
Washington decided not to kill
the guy, so they released him.
263
00:22:18,754 --> 00:22:22,048
But now he and Mr. Gist
would have to
264
00:22:22,049 --> 00:22:24,383
find a different route
back home,
265
00:22:24,384 --> 00:22:27,762
because the Native would
likely return with more warriors
266
00:22:27,763 --> 00:22:29,555
to capture or kill them.
267
00:22:34,686 --> 00:22:36,896
On the journey back
to Virginia,
268
00:22:36,897 --> 00:22:38,898
they needed to cross
the dangerous
269
00:22:38,899 --> 00:22:42,401
and icy waters
of the Allegheny River.
270
00:22:42,402 --> 00:22:45,196
- Another log, Mr. Gist.
- Lay it down with the others.
271
00:22:45,197 --> 00:22:46,281
Yep.
272
00:22:53,455 --> 00:22:55,165
Make sure you get them tight.
273
00:22:58,585 --> 00:22:59,960
Push through the rocks.
274
00:22:59,961 --> 00:23:02,797
Come on, Mr. Gist.
Straight ahead.
275
00:23:04,758 --> 00:23:07,843
Gist, watch the ice!
Mr. Gist, watch the--
276
00:23:07,844 --> 00:23:12,223
- George! Come on! Hold on!
- Mr. Gist!
277
00:23:12,224 --> 00:23:16,060
Mr. Gist!
278
00:23:16,061 --> 00:23:18,104
Unable to make
it to either shore,
279
00:23:18,105 --> 00:23:20,689
they spent a frigid night
on a small island
280
00:23:20,690 --> 00:23:22,733
in the middle of the river.
281
00:23:22,734 --> 00:23:26,612
Are you... getting warmer?
282
00:23:26,613 --> 00:23:29,241
My clothes are
completely frozen.
283
00:23:30,867 --> 00:23:33,869
We can't make a fire.
284
00:23:33,870 --> 00:23:35,372
They'll find us.
285
00:23:37,165 --> 00:23:41,210
I can... hold till morning.
286
00:23:41,211 --> 00:23:42,962
Till morning.
287
00:23:46,550 --> 00:23:48,342
The only way
they get across the next day--
288
00:23:48,343 --> 00:23:49,927
I don't know
how they didn't die overnight--
289
00:23:49,928 --> 00:23:51,971
was that the water froze
so they were able
290
00:23:51,972 --> 00:23:53,514
to walk across the water.
291
00:23:53,515 --> 00:23:55,599
And then somehow,
after all of that,
292
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,769
he eventually makes it back
to Virginia.
293
00:23:59,855 --> 00:24:02,773
When his higher-ups in
the military found out about it,
294
00:24:02,774 --> 00:24:05,526
they said,
"What?...That's miraculous.
295
00:24:05,527 --> 00:24:07,237
That doesn't make any sense."
296
00:24:08,405 --> 00:24:10,906
Washington wrote these
and other adventures
297
00:24:10,907 --> 00:24:12,742
down in his personal journal.
298
00:24:14,035 --> 00:24:16,996
When Virginia Lieutenant
Governor Robert Dinwiddie
299
00:24:16,997 --> 00:24:19,790
heard the tales, he insisted
300
00:24:19,791 --> 00:24:23,043
that this first-person account
be published
301
00:24:23,044 --> 00:24:25,880
for the purpose
of rousing public support
302
00:24:25,881 --> 00:24:28,967
for the military missions
against the French.
303
00:24:29,926 --> 00:24:33,179
This publication brought
Washington his first taste
304
00:24:33,180 --> 00:24:37,183
of renown beyond his
immediate circle of friends.
305
00:24:37,184 --> 00:24:40,561
His rise in fame
led to his invitation
306
00:24:40,562 --> 00:24:45,357
for a second expedition
in what became known in America
307
00:24:45,358 --> 00:24:47,527
as the French and Indian War.
308
00:24:49,613 --> 00:24:51,322
In the case of the British,
309
00:24:51,323 --> 00:24:55,826
they're going to initially
send out an ambush party,
310
00:24:55,827 --> 00:24:59,580
strangely led by
22-year-old George Washington.
311
00:24:59,581 --> 00:25:02,833
And that's going to be
the embryo of what will develop
312
00:25:02,834 --> 00:25:04,877
in the next
several hundred years
313
00:25:04,878 --> 00:25:07,464
into the great thing
we know as the United States.
314
00:25:14,471 --> 00:25:17,348
George Washington grew up
in his widowed mother's home
315
00:25:17,349 --> 00:25:19,266
under her tutelage.
316
00:25:19,267 --> 00:25:22,019
He knew the Bible
very, very well.
317
00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:24,021
They attended church,
318
00:25:24,022 --> 00:25:27,483
but I think he also came
to believe, you know,
319
00:25:27,484 --> 00:25:29,986
what he was taught
when he was growing up.
320
00:25:32,197 --> 00:25:34,907
George's mother,
Mary Ball Washington,
321
00:25:34,908 --> 00:25:39,078
pleaded with her son
not to go to war.
322
00:25:39,079 --> 00:25:42,582
I came to persuade you
to avoid these dangers.
323
00:25:54,010 --> 00:25:57,638
I do not see the moral
imperative in this conflict.
324
00:25:57,639 --> 00:25:59,683
Nor do I see
an immediate threat.
325
00:26:06,147 --> 00:26:07,815
Please.
326
00:26:07,816 --> 00:26:09,775
Stay here.
327
00:26:09,776 --> 00:26:11,944
Work this land.
328
00:26:11,945 --> 00:26:13,780
Grow the estate.
329
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:18,826
I believe that...
330
00:26:18,827 --> 00:26:23,455
God has set you aside
for great things.
331
00:26:23,456 --> 00:26:27,751
Mother, the same God
to whom you commended me
332
00:26:27,752 --> 00:26:31,380
when I set out
upon a more perilous errand
333
00:26:31,381 --> 00:26:33,882
defended me from all harm.
334
00:26:33,883 --> 00:26:36,719
I trust He will do so now.
335
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,138
Do not you?
336
00:26:41,057 --> 00:26:42,809
With His blessing...
337
00:26:45,770 --> 00:26:51,400
...you can be a useful man
in war or in peace.
338
00:26:51,401 --> 00:26:54,237
Without it,
you can expect nothing.
339
00:26:57,157 --> 00:26:58,742
You will be in my prayers.
340
00:27:00,535 --> 00:27:01,911
Yes, Mother.
341
00:27:16,551 --> 00:27:19,428
Covered in a
mother's prayers,
342
00:27:19,429 --> 00:27:24,808
George set out once again
on behalf of his king in 1755
343
00:27:24,809 --> 00:27:28,062
under British General
Edward Braddock.
344
00:27:30,649 --> 00:27:32,691
General Braddock
is a decent general.
345
00:27:32,692 --> 00:27:35,152
He obviously knows
some tactics and techniques,
346
00:27:35,153 --> 00:27:39,907
and he comes in with the fire
of determination to win.
347
00:28:01,846 --> 00:28:05,516
He makes an unforgivable mistake
militarily.
348
00:28:05,517 --> 00:28:10,188
He gets himself caught into a
position where he is surrounded.
349
00:28:44,806 --> 00:28:46,682
At the Battle of
Monongahela,
350
00:28:46,683 --> 00:28:51,061
Braddock and the king's men
were thoroughly routed.
351
00:28:51,062 --> 00:28:54,022
Mounted officers
were shot first.
352
00:28:56,025 --> 00:28:58,527
The general's been shot!
353
00:28:58,528 --> 00:28:59,987
Braddock is shot.
354
00:28:59,988 --> 00:29:04,158
From then on,
the British forces deteriorate.
355
00:29:06,035 --> 00:29:07,327
Get the surgeon!
356
00:29:07,328 --> 00:29:09,997
Where's Dr. Craik?
357
00:29:09,998 --> 00:29:14,001
Of the 70 mounted officers
who rode into battle that day,
358
00:29:14,002 --> 00:29:18,005
only one emerged unscathed.
- Turn about, Virginians!
359
00:29:18,006 --> 00:29:21,300
We know from
the Native American descriptions
360
00:29:21,301 --> 00:29:24,303
of the battle
that they were aiming at him,
361
00:29:24,304 --> 00:29:28,223
they were telling one another,
"Get that big guy on the horse,"
362
00:29:28,224 --> 00:29:31,310
and they missed
every single time.
363
00:29:33,772 --> 00:29:38,484
So he was an obvious target,
but he miraculously survived.
364
00:29:38,485 --> 00:29:41,028
There were four bullets
through his clothes.
365
00:29:41,029 --> 00:29:44,991
He lost two horses,
shot out from under him.
366
00:29:46,034 --> 00:29:50,871
He had his hat shot off,
and men died all around him.
367
00:29:50,872 --> 00:29:53,499
And yet he escaped
completely unscathed.
368
00:29:53,500 --> 00:29:55,959
A survivor of that battle said,
369
00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:00,464
"I expected every moment
to see him-- Washington-- fall.
370
00:30:00,465 --> 00:30:04,259
“Nothing but the superintending
care of Providence
371
00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:05,928
could have saved him."
372
00:30:17,190 --> 00:30:21,193
His name was on
a killed-in-action list,
373
00:30:21,194 --> 00:30:23,987
and he immediately wrote
his mother and brother letters
374
00:30:23,988 --> 00:30:26,782
to explain to them what
had happened on the battlefield.
375
00:30:26,783 --> 00:30:29,368
He said, "I take
the opportunity of assuring you
376
00:30:29,369 --> 00:30:31,995
“that I appear
in the land of the living
377
00:30:31,996 --> 00:30:34,665
“by the miraculous care
of Providence,
378
00:30:34,666 --> 00:30:39,044
which protected me
beyond all human expectation."
379
00:30:39,045 --> 00:30:43,090
Either God's on his side
or he's the luckiest man alive.
380
00:30:47,971 --> 00:30:50,848
Even the French-allied
Natives noticed.
381
00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:54,726
And years later,
at a council fire in the woods,
382
00:30:54,727 --> 00:30:59,356
they shared with Washington
what they had experienced.
383
00:30:59,357 --> 00:31:01,108
In 1770,
384
00:31:01,109 --> 00:31:03,777
George Washington took
a group to look at lands
385
00:31:03,778 --> 00:31:05,655
that he had, that he owned.
386
00:31:08,199 --> 00:31:10,952
A couple more paces
to the right, William.
387
00:31:11,411 --> 00:31:12,787
Perfect.
388
00:31:14,247 --> 00:31:18,000
And it just so happened
that one of the chiefs
389
00:31:18,001 --> 00:31:21,587
who had been part of the battle
that killed Edward Braddock
390
00:31:21,588 --> 00:31:24,798
had heard about George
Washington being in the region,
391
00:31:24,799 --> 00:31:26,843
and he asked to see him.
392
00:31:30,096 --> 00:31:33,557
The majority of the land
that we've been viewing now--
393
00:31:33,558 --> 00:31:36,560
Ah, thank you, William.
- Thank you.
394
00:31:36,561 --> 00:31:38,186
I'm very sorry to say that, uh,
395
00:31:38,187 --> 00:31:40,773
I was hoping
that the people would have a...
396
00:31:44,402 --> 00:31:46,654
Please, sit.
397
00:31:49,073 --> 00:31:51,116
When he came
to George Washington,
398
00:31:51,117 --> 00:31:52,784
he didn't want to eat
or drink anything.
399
00:31:52,785 --> 00:31:54,411
He was very serious.
400
00:31:54,412 --> 00:31:57,289
He had something
he really wanted to say.
401
00:31:57,290 --> 00:32:02,544
I am chief of many tribes.
402
00:32:02,545 --> 00:32:05,672
It was on that day
when the white man's blood
403
00:32:05,673 --> 00:32:09,968
mixed with the streams
of our forests...
404
00:32:09,969 --> 00:32:13,097
that is when I heard of
this great white warrior.
405
00:32:14,474 --> 00:32:17,809
You were at Monongahela?
406
00:32:17,810 --> 00:32:19,270
I was there.
407
00:32:21,356 --> 00:32:27,528
I told my warriors, "Let your
aim be certain, and he dies."
408
00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:32,824
Our rifles were leveled.
409
00:32:32,825 --> 00:32:37,704
Rifles which, but for you,
knew not how to miss.
410
00:32:40,959 --> 00:32:42,751
‘Twas all in vain.
411
00:32:42,752 --> 00:32:46,380
Power mightier far than we
412
00:32:46,381 --> 00:32:48,299
shielded you from harm.
413
00:32:51,386 --> 00:32:53,680
You cannot die in battle.
414
00:32:57,475 --> 00:33:03,398
There is something bids me speak
in the voice of prophecy.
415
00:33:06,526 --> 00:33:07,777
Listen.
416
00:33:09,654 --> 00:33:14,701
The Great Spirit protects
that man and his destinies.
417
00:33:15,994 --> 00:33:20,080
He will become
the chief of nations,
418
00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:22,249
and the people yet unborn
419
00:33:22,250 --> 00:33:23,834
will hail him
420
00:33:23,835 --> 00:33:27,588
as the founder
of a mighty empire.
421
00:33:36,305 --> 00:33:38,473
This is five years
before the first shots
422
00:33:38,474 --> 00:33:40,851
of the American Revolution
rang out,
423
00:33:40,852 --> 00:33:44,730
and you can see
how that prophecy came true.
424
00:33:44,731 --> 00:33:47,816
It's an amazing story,
apocryphal, if you will,
425
00:33:47,817 --> 00:33:52,070
true, that he was clearly
a protected figure.
426
00:33:52,071 --> 00:33:54,031
Washington felt that way, too.
427
00:33:54,032 --> 00:33:57,159
It’s the only explanation
he could think of as to
428
00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,369
why he was still alive,
429
00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:01,246
and throughout his life
430
00:34:01,247 --> 00:34:02,748
there's one instance
after another
431
00:34:02,749 --> 00:34:04,958
of that kind of thing happening.
432
00:34:07,795 --> 00:34:10,255
The root cause
of the American Revolution
433
00:34:10,256 --> 00:34:14,009
was that the Americans
were denied representation
434
00:34:14,010 --> 00:34:16,011
in the English Parliament.
435
00:34:16,012 --> 00:34:20,849
Between 1761 and 1775,
436
00:34:20,850 --> 00:34:23,727
Parliament passed nearly 30 laws
437
00:34:23,728 --> 00:34:27,105
that restricted the
American economy, governance,
438
00:34:27,106 --> 00:34:29,024
and social structure.
439
00:34:29,025 --> 00:34:31,777
At the outset,
Americans simply wanted
440
00:34:31,778 --> 00:34:34,112
to be treated equally
as British citizens
441
00:34:34,113 --> 00:34:38,617
under the unwritten
British constitution.
442
00:34:38,618 --> 00:34:41,953
But the continuing unjust
treatment of the Americans
443
00:34:41,954 --> 00:34:45,832
soon came to a head
around the city of Boston.
444
00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:48,376
Many Americans,
regardless of their color
445
00:34:48,377 --> 00:34:51,798
or their origins,
longed for freedom.
446
00:34:53,382 --> 00:34:57,636
Peter Salem was a slave living
in Framingham, Massachusetts.
447
00:34:57,637 --> 00:35:00,472
He was sold in 1774,
448
00:35:00,473 --> 00:35:03,600
and then his new master gives
him a musket.
449
00:35:03,601 --> 00:35:06,645
Slaves were not allowed
legally to carry muskets,
450
00:35:06,646 --> 00:35:10,357
but his new owner encouraged him
to be part of the Minutemen,
451
00:35:10,358 --> 00:35:12,776
to be ready
at a minute's notice.
452
00:35:14,612 --> 00:35:17,907
I loved marching
in rhythm, being a soldier.
453
00:35:24,247 --> 00:35:26,707
Soon I slept with my musket.
454
00:35:28,543 --> 00:35:33,380
And that minute's notice came
in April of 1775
455
00:35:33,381 --> 00:35:36,175
with the Battles of
Lexington and Concord.
456
00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,929
The signal
came at midnight.
457
00:35:40,930 --> 00:35:44,766
I grabbed my musket,
put on my shoes...
458
00:35:44,767 --> 00:35:47,394
and ran 12 miles to Concord,
459
00:35:47,395 --> 00:35:50,939
where I first encountered
the British in battle.
460
00:35:55,319 --> 00:35:59,865
It was on my own accord
as a free man...
461
00:35:59,866 --> 00:36:03,828
that I enlisted in
Colonel John Nixon's regiment.
462
00:36:06,998 --> 00:36:13,337
We arrived to fight the British
at Breed's Hill, June 1775,
463
00:36:13,754 --> 00:36:15,506
in what they now call...
464
00:36:16,549 --> 00:36:18,426
the Battle of Bunker Hill.
465
00:36:19,886 --> 00:36:22,929
About 2,000 British soldiers
466
00:36:22,930 --> 00:36:28,186
landed on Charleston Peninsula
June 17th.
467
00:36:36,277 --> 00:36:38,821
Because there was
so little gunpowder,
468
00:36:39,614 --> 00:36:41,781
we were told not to fire at them
469
00:36:41,782 --> 00:36:43,910
until we see the white
of their eyes.
470
00:36:46,579 --> 00:36:50,415
As the British reached
our redoubt,
471
00:36:50,416 --> 00:36:53,251
one of their officers
yelled out,
472
00:36:53,252 --> 00:36:55,129
"The day is ours!"
473
00:36:56,589 --> 00:36:58,840
Then I fired with the volley
474
00:36:58,841 --> 00:37:00,258
and struck this officer.
475
00:37:02,929 --> 00:37:04,596
I learned after the battle
476
00:37:04,597 --> 00:37:07,390
that the man's name
was Major Pitcairn,
477
00:37:07,391 --> 00:37:09,559
the British officer responsible
478
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:12,062
for firing the first shots
in the war
479
00:37:12,063 --> 00:37:14,814
in the Battle of Lexington.
480
00:37:14,815 --> 00:37:17,984
There's like 128 or 138,
whatever it is,
481
00:37:17,985 --> 00:37:22,697
African Americans actually
fighting alongside regulars--
482
00:37:22,698 --> 00:37:25,116
not just in separate units--
in the Army.
483
00:37:25,117 --> 00:37:28,495
The next time
that's gonna happen is 1951,
484
00:37:28,496 --> 00:37:30,580
in the Korean War.
485
00:37:30,581 --> 00:37:34,167
We lost that battle because
the British took the hill,
486
00:37:34,168 --> 00:37:36,836
but they lost more men.
487
00:37:36,837 --> 00:37:40,674
And then when the men realized
that it was Peter Salem...
488
00:37:40,675 --> 00:37:41,883
General.
489
00:37:41,884 --> 00:37:43,760
...he was a folk hero
at that point.
490
00:37:43,761 --> 00:37:45,011
This is Peter Salem,
491
00:37:45,012 --> 00:37:50,142
the man responsible for bringing
down Pitcairn at Bunker Hill.
492
00:37:52,270 --> 00:37:53,728
After that,
493
00:37:53,729 --> 00:37:57,148
General Washington
convinced Congress
494
00:37:57,149 --> 00:38:00,194
that Black soldiers
could fight in the Army.
495
00:38:02,071 --> 00:38:03,989
George Washington realized,
496
00:38:03,990 --> 00:38:06,950
"We need to have every man
that we can in this army,
497
00:38:06,951 --> 00:38:08,576
regardless of their skin color,"
498
00:38:08,577 --> 00:38:11,329
and he defied
the southern politicians
499
00:38:11,330 --> 00:38:13,081
in South Carolina and Georgia,
500
00:38:13,082 --> 00:38:15,334
and he allowed Black men
to serve in the army.
501
00:38:17,336 --> 00:38:20,088
Another notable
Black American in the Revolution
502
00:38:20,089 --> 00:38:23,508
was Washington's valet,
William Lee.
503
00:38:23,509 --> 00:38:25,844
The general,
he had them boys on the run.
504
00:38:25,845 --> 00:38:27,345
I do believe he called
it a fox hunt.
505
00:38:27,346 --> 00:38:29,222
George Washington
506
00:38:29,223 --> 00:38:34,394
had a close relationship
with his valet, William Lee.
507
00:38:34,395 --> 00:38:36,646
When he was a young boy,
a young man,
508
00:38:36,647 --> 00:38:38,106
he was referred to as Billy.
509
00:38:38,107 --> 00:38:40,525
And then when he became of age,
510
00:38:40,526 --> 00:38:43,570
George Washington
insisted on calling him William.
511
00:38:43,571 --> 00:38:46,781
And so there was
a warm relationship.
512
00:38:46,782 --> 00:38:50,827
Billy walks out the door
with him in 1775,
513
00:38:50,828 --> 00:38:53,204
just after Lexington
and Concord.
514
00:38:53,205 --> 00:38:55,081
And when they do that,
515
00:38:55,082 --> 00:38:57,751
when Washington knows
he's liable to lose everything,
516
00:38:57,752 --> 00:39:00,628
Billy's with him then,
517
00:39:00,629 --> 00:39:03,214
and Billy's with him
throughout every battle,
518
00:39:03,215 --> 00:39:05,300
and every war.
519
00:39:05,301 --> 00:39:07,469
In Washington's will,
520
00:39:07,470 --> 00:39:12,098
he declared
that Lee was to be freed
521
00:39:12,099 --> 00:39:15,769
and given a pension for life.
522
00:39:15,770 --> 00:39:18,271
There's this group of people,
historians,
523
00:39:18,272 --> 00:39:20,190
who basically say
the American Revolution
524
00:39:20,191 --> 00:39:23,026
was a war to protect slavery.
525
00:39:25,029 --> 00:39:27,155
These people are
anti-American people.
526
00:39:27,156 --> 00:39:29,074
The war was not a war
to protect slavery.
527
00:39:29,075 --> 00:39:32,535
It was a war fought on
principles opposed to slavery.
528
00:39:32,536 --> 00:39:37,582
Notable Blacks fought early
in the American Revolution
529
00:39:37,583 --> 00:39:41,419
and throughout
the American Revolution.
530
00:39:41,420 --> 00:39:44,506
Eyewitness accounts of
newspapers across the continent
531
00:39:44,507 --> 00:39:46,841
had reported
that Blacks had participated in
532
00:39:46,842 --> 00:39:50,261
the Battles of Lexington
and Concord and Bunker Hill.
533
00:39:50,262 --> 00:39:52,013
Most American studies
programs at
534
00:39:52,014 --> 00:39:53,890
some of the best universities
and colleges
535
00:39:53,891 --> 00:39:56,476
are anti-American studies
programs.
536
00:39:56,477 --> 00:39:58,395
Obviously, I'm on
the other side of that.
537
00:39:58,396 --> 00:40:01,689
By the end of 1776,
538
00:40:01,690 --> 00:40:06,152
free Blacks
and soon-to-be-freed Blacks
539
00:40:06,153 --> 00:40:10,407
constituted roughly 1/10th
of the Continental Army.
540
00:40:13,369 --> 00:40:16,871
John Adams was a key member of
the First Continental Congress.
541
00:40:16,872 --> 00:40:20,041
He would become the second
president of the United States
542
00:40:20,042 --> 00:40:24,212
and later die
on its 50th anniversary.
543
00:40:24,213 --> 00:40:27,465
His wife, Abigail,
was his closest advisor
544
00:40:27,466 --> 00:40:30,677
and shared her ideas with him
in a stream of letters
545
00:40:30,678 --> 00:40:34,347
while he was away at Congress.
546
00:40:34,348 --> 00:40:38,309
John and Abigail exchanged
over 1,100 letters
547
00:40:38,310 --> 00:40:39,811
over their lifetime,
548
00:40:39,812 --> 00:40:42,355
including their
personal insights on politics,
549
00:40:42,356 --> 00:40:44,232
family, and life.
550
00:40:44,233 --> 00:40:46,025
Their correspondence shows
551
00:40:46,026 --> 00:40:49,779
that her revolutionary ideas
shaped John's own thoughts,
552
00:40:49,780 --> 00:40:52,240
including her belief
that all people,
553
00:40:52,241 --> 00:40:54,617
regardless of color or gender,
554
00:40:54,618 --> 00:41:00,123
should share equal rights
in the new American democracy.
555
00:41:00,124 --> 00:41:03,209
Abigail Adams really had
this understanding
556
00:41:03,210 --> 00:41:05,462
that freedom was for everyone.
557
00:41:05,463 --> 00:41:07,464
It's good to be
face to face again.
558
00:41:07,465 --> 00:41:09,799
It is so good to be home,
Abigail.
559
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,385
Here she was, a mother
with young children.
560
00:41:12,386 --> 00:41:15,388
She's having to worry
about soldiers in her backyard
561
00:41:15,389 --> 00:41:17,265
traipsing through.
562
00:41:17,266 --> 00:41:19,893
But she really stood out
in her ability
563
00:41:19,894 --> 00:41:22,770
to think through
the issues of the day
564
00:41:22,771 --> 00:41:26,733
and to give counsel and advice
to her husband, John Adams.
565
00:41:26,734 --> 00:41:29,777
She was just such a brilliant,
brave woman.
566
00:41:29,778 --> 00:41:31,488
I think of all the founders,
567
00:41:31,489 --> 00:41:34,033
and I consider Abigail Adams
to be one of them.
568
00:41:35,451 --> 00:41:38,620
George Washington
and his Continental Army
569
00:41:38,621 --> 00:41:43,208
experienced so many episodes
of danger and disaster
570
00:41:43,209 --> 00:41:45,710
during the eight years
of the Revolutionary War
571
00:41:45,711 --> 00:41:50,798
that it's difficult to select
a single, darkest moment.
572
00:41:50,799 --> 00:41:54,385
But as contemporaries on both
sides of the conflict suggested,
573
00:41:54,386 --> 00:41:57,972
the Continental Army
benefited from a series
574
00:41:57,973 --> 00:42:01,351
of unusual natural phenomena,
575
00:42:01,352 --> 00:42:06,397
and a pattern of illogical
but consistent good luck.
576
00:42:06,398 --> 00:42:11,319
That, in the painful
and eventful year of 1776,
577
00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:16,075
rescued the troops from
all but certain catastrophe.
578
00:42:20,287 --> 00:42:23,206
The hastily assembled
New England militias were
579
00:42:23,207 --> 00:42:28,128
able to drive the redcoats
back into the city of Boston.
580
00:42:30,047 --> 00:42:32,757
Stalemate ensued for months,
581
00:42:32,758 --> 00:42:36,135
with disorganized
colonial volunteers
582
00:42:36,136 --> 00:42:39,847
sleeping around their campfires
on the outskirts of the town,
583
00:42:39,848 --> 00:42:43,936
and the British forces
trapped inside the city.
584
00:42:48,524 --> 00:42:52,026
On the morning of March 2, 1776,
585
00:42:52,027 --> 00:42:57,365
Washington saw an opportunity
to deploy some new artillery
586
00:42:57,366 --> 00:42:59,951
that had been seized
from the British
587
00:42:59,952 --> 00:43:02,913
in a daring raid
on Fort Ticonderoga.
588
00:43:04,832 --> 00:43:08,710
To me, the interesting story
about Dorchester Heights
589
00:43:08,711 --> 00:43:10,713
is how he gets the cannon.
590
00:43:15,217 --> 00:43:19,721
Henry Knox, with a bunch
of others and some cattle,
591
00:43:19,722 --> 00:43:24,726
dragged these huge weapons
across the snow
592
00:43:24,727 --> 00:43:28,062
from upstate New York.
593
00:43:28,063 --> 00:43:29,606
Tell Knox to place
his cannon there.
594
00:43:29,607 --> 00:43:32,108
I will want two redoubts
in the center,
595
00:43:32,109 --> 00:43:36,362
with smaller defenses
made of fascines and gabions
596
00:43:36,363 --> 00:43:38,865
to either flank.
597
00:43:38,866 --> 00:43:41,284
Within two weeks time,
we shall give quite a surprise
598
00:43:41,285 --> 00:43:42,827
to the British.
599
00:43:42,828 --> 00:43:45,788
There will be a full moon, sir.
600
00:43:45,789 --> 00:43:48,375
I-I'm afraid that we'll be seen.
601
00:43:50,044 --> 00:43:53,254
If I shall be able to rise
superior to these,
602
00:43:53,255 --> 00:43:56,759
I shall most religiously
believe...
603
00:43:57,593 --> 00:44:00,219
the finger of Providence
is in it
604
00:44:00,220 --> 00:44:02,388
to blind the eyes
of our enemies.
605
00:44:11,357 --> 00:44:13,316
Washington's trust
seemed to be answered
606
00:44:13,317 --> 00:44:16,277
when a thick fog moved in
to completely shroud
607
00:44:16,278 --> 00:44:18,196
the Continental Forces.
608
00:44:18,197 --> 00:44:21,366
They moved 20 cannons
and 2,000 men into positions
609
00:44:21,367 --> 00:44:22,992
throughout the night,
610
00:44:22,993 --> 00:44:26,120
right over the heads
of the unsuspecting British.
611
00:44:26,121 --> 00:44:28,039
It's to Washington's credit
612
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:31,376
that he recognizes the tactical
advantage this provides
613
00:44:31,377 --> 00:44:35,088
and that this will end this
what apparently is an endless game
614
00:44:35,089 --> 00:44:37,840
of just staring at each other
across the abyss
615
00:44:37,841 --> 00:44:39,968
in the Boston siege.
616
00:44:42,137 --> 00:44:45,223
The next morning,
His Majesty's troops awoke
617
00:44:45,224 --> 00:44:48,685
and looked up in horror
to see formidable,
618
00:44:48,686 --> 00:44:51,354
newly constructed
rebel fortifications
619
00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:53,190
glaring down at them.
620
00:44:54,942 --> 00:44:56,318
Washington!
621
00:44:59,113 --> 00:45:00,614
Out of my way!
622
00:45:02,282 --> 00:45:05,284
It didn't take long
for the British commander,
623
00:45:05,285 --> 00:45:09,455
General William Howe,
to assess his options:
624
00:45:09,456 --> 00:45:12,834
either drive the rebels
off that hill
625
00:45:12,835 --> 00:45:14,211
or desert Boston.
626
00:45:15,879 --> 00:45:18,298
Gentlemen, we attack tonight.
627
00:45:19,717 --> 00:45:23,177
You take the hill.
- Yes, Lord Howe.
628
00:45:23,178 --> 00:45:28,224
- You hold the flank.
- Right, general.
629
00:45:28,225 --> 00:45:32,562
He quickly decided
to choose the course of honor.
630
00:45:32,563 --> 00:45:34,230
He would attack.
631
00:45:34,231 --> 00:45:37,483
He decided to send
his 9,000 troops out
632
00:45:37,484 --> 00:45:40,611
in an overwhelming
nighttime surprise assault.
633
00:45:42,531 --> 00:45:44,824
But as evening approached...
634
00:45:44,825 --> 00:45:48,411
the weather changed
dramatically...
635
00:45:48,412 --> 00:45:51,998
and, in the eyes of many, miraculously.
636
00:46:17,024 --> 00:46:18,442
Blizzard.
637
00:46:26,575 --> 00:46:29,243
General, are you alright?
638
00:46:29,244 --> 00:46:33,331
- No, I'm not alright!
- Are you cut?
639
00:46:33,332 --> 00:46:35,917
How can we move in this?!
640
00:46:35,918 --> 00:46:38,295
Don't answer me. We can't!
641
00:46:46,720 --> 00:46:50,848
The ferocious storm of early
March prevented the British
642
00:46:50,849 --> 00:46:54,477
from attacking Washington's
artillery on the hills
643
00:46:54,478 --> 00:46:57,606
of Dorchester Heights,
above Boston.
644
00:46:59,817 --> 00:47:02,568
The delay afforded
the Americans time
645
00:47:02,569 --> 00:47:05,447
to fortify their position
even more.
646
00:47:19,419 --> 00:47:21,045
The next morning,
647
00:47:21,046 --> 00:47:22,964
General Howe was hesitant
648
00:47:22,965 --> 00:47:25,216
after the embarrassment
of Bunker Hill
649
00:47:25,217 --> 00:47:28,719
to once again march
up a hill to an enemy
650
00:47:28,720 --> 00:47:32,683
who was firmly dug in
and occupying high ground.
651
00:47:41,817 --> 00:47:45,611
Take this
to General Washington.
652
00:47:45,612 --> 00:47:47,364
At once.
653
00:47:55,455 --> 00:47:58,624
So, under the white flag
of truce,
654
00:47:58,625 --> 00:48:01,587
Howe sent an offer
to Washington.
655
00:48:10,304 --> 00:48:12,138
Mr. Washington?
656
00:48:12,139 --> 00:48:13,724
General Washington.
657
00:48:15,601 --> 00:48:17,602
A message from General Howe.
658
00:48:17,603 --> 00:48:20,856
Thank you.
You'll kindly await my reply.
659
00:48:24,318 --> 00:48:28,237
If the colonials allowed
His Majesty's forces to depart
660
00:48:28,238 --> 00:48:31,157
from the city
without firing on them
661
00:48:31,158 --> 00:48:33,451
or impeding their departure,
662
00:48:33,452 --> 00:48:38,456
they would leave Boston without
burning the town to the ground.
663
00:48:38,457 --> 00:48:44,045
This surprising good fortune
was not lost on Abigail Adams,
664
00:48:44,046 --> 00:48:45,797
John Adams' wife.
665
00:48:46,965 --> 00:48:48,841
The more I think of it,
666
00:48:48,842 --> 00:48:55,056
the more amazed I am that they
should leave such safe harbor,
667
00:48:55,057 --> 00:48:57,183
such entrenchments,
668
00:48:57,184 --> 00:49:00,603
and that we should be in
peaceable possession
669
00:49:00,604 --> 00:49:05,108
of a town which we expected
would cost us a river of blood.
670
00:49:17,204 --> 00:49:22,416
The British have no tactical
alternative but to retreat.
671
00:49:22,417 --> 00:49:24,168
Howe recognizes that.
672
00:49:24,169 --> 00:49:27,088
Otherwise his troops just sit
under a siege bombardment
673
00:49:27,089 --> 00:49:29,882
until they're decimated.
674
00:49:29,883 --> 00:49:32,468
The ships leave.
675
00:49:32,469 --> 00:49:35,429
Abigail says it looked like
a forest moving.
676
00:49:39,101 --> 00:49:41,686
George Washington could
not concoct a storm
677
00:49:41,687 --> 00:49:44,146
to prevent the British
from getting over
678
00:49:44,147 --> 00:49:47,316
and doing a landing of their men
and going up the hill.
679
00:49:47,317 --> 00:49:49,902
But when he saw something
like that happen,
680
00:49:49,903 --> 00:49:52,989
he credited Providence.
681
00:49:52,990 --> 00:49:56,033
Washington is another figure
from our founding generation
682
00:49:56,034 --> 00:49:59,704
who skeptics say was
not really a believer
683
00:49:59,705 --> 00:50:03,749
or was at most a deist,
or at best a deist.
684
00:50:03,750 --> 00:50:06,752
The record doesn't support that.
685
00:50:06,753 --> 00:50:09,296
Washington called upon God.
686
00:50:09,297 --> 00:50:12,883
He attributed developments,
including in battles,
687
00:50:12,884 --> 00:50:15,720
to Divine Intervention,
to Divine Providence.
688
00:50:15,721 --> 00:50:18,431
He was certainly a man
689
00:50:18,432 --> 00:50:20,975
who believed in
the importance of God
690
00:50:20,976 --> 00:50:22,893
and in God's role
in human affairs
691
00:50:22,894 --> 00:50:27,606
and in the importance
of us trying to do God's will.
692
00:50:27,607 --> 00:50:30,693
In March 1776,
693
00:50:30,694 --> 00:50:33,946
copies of the London newspapers
reached America
694
00:50:33,947 --> 00:50:37,533
with word of King George's
address to Parliament,
695
00:50:37,534 --> 00:50:40,953
revealing that he would
not force Parliament
696
00:50:40,954 --> 00:50:45,791
to retract the odious laws
that had led to open warfare.
697
00:50:45,792 --> 00:50:50,087
American minds turned to
other solutions for liberty--
698
00:50:50,088 --> 00:50:55,843
independence and the formation
of a self-governing nation.
699
00:50:55,844 --> 00:50:59,805
John Adams was heading
to Philadelphia.
700
00:50:59,806 --> 00:51:01,683
It is almost...
701
00:51:02,893 --> 00:51:06,562
as if I am not needed here.
702
00:51:06,563 --> 00:51:09,899
You are needed here and
elsewhere, John.
703
00:51:09,900 --> 00:51:11,901
It's been a labor of love
704
00:51:11,902 --> 00:51:16,238
the children and I have taken
to well enough, I suppose.
705
00:51:16,239 --> 00:51:18,657
My dear Portia...
706
00:51:18,658 --> 00:51:22,703
I endeavor to remain
in your good graces.
707
00:51:22,704 --> 00:51:26,832
John, I think you know
that to remain in my good graces
708
00:51:26,833 --> 00:51:29,919
you would remember the ladies.
709
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:34,965
As it will become necessary for
you to write a new code of laws,
710
00:51:34,966 --> 00:51:36,967
please...
711
00:51:36,968 --> 00:51:39,553
be more generous
and favorable to us
712
00:51:39,554 --> 00:51:41,555
than your ancestors.
713
00:51:41,556 --> 00:51:46,102
Do not put such unlimited power
into the hands of husbands.
714
00:51:46,103 --> 00:51:50,898
Remember that all men
would be tyrants if they could.
715
00:51:50,899 --> 00:51:54,778
- I shall do my best.
- I know that you will.
716
00:51:58,907 --> 00:52:01,283
All the great pagan empires
were characterized
717
00:52:01,284 --> 00:52:03,869
by abject cruelty and tyranny.
718
00:52:03,870 --> 00:52:06,163
And you had this pattern
in human history
719
00:52:06,164 --> 00:52:09,708
where the king would
subjugate his subjects.
720
00:52:09,709 --> 00:52:12,044
And if people were abused
by a king,
721
00:52:12,045 --> 00:52:15,464
by a ruler,
they really had no recourse.
722
00:52:15,465 --> 00:52:19,260
And so you get this idea
emerging in the Christian West
723
00:52:19,261 --> 00:52:20,719
in the late medieval period,
724
00:52:20,720 --> 00:52:22,513
even the king is
under the law of God,
725
00:52:22,514 --> 00:52:24,974
and therefore the king is
accountable to God
726
00:52:24,975 --> 00:52:26,725
and to a higher moral law,
727
00:52:26,726 --> 00:52:29,854
which they call
the natural law, for his actions
728
00:52:29,855 --> 00:52:31,647
and how he treats his subjects.
729
00:52:35,318 --> 00:52:39,780
The unanimous Declaration of
the thirteen United States of America.
730
00:52:39,781 --> 00:52:42,658
...and equal station
to which the Laws of Nature
731
00:52:42,659 --> 00:52:45,119
and of Nature's God
entitle them.
732
00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:48,080
...for one people
to dissolve the political bands
733
00:52:48,081 --> 00:52:50,583
which have connected them
with another,
734
00:52:50,584 --> 00:52:54,420
and to assume among them
the powers of the earth,
735
00:52:54,421 --> 00:52:56,714
a separate and equal station
736
00:52:56,715 --> 00:53:01,552
to which the Laws of Nature
and Nature's God entitle them.
737
00:53:01,553 --> 00:53:03,679
Who is that man?
738
00:53:03,680 --> 00:53:07,183
Colonel Neilsen, I believe.
739
00:53:07,184 --> 00:53:08,684
From the British
point of view,
740
00:53:08,685 --> 00:53:11,812
the Declaration of Independence
in July 1776
741
00:53:11,813 --> 00:53:14,732
was a very unwelcome
and very alarming development
742
00:53:14,733 --> 00:53:16,400
for one very clear reason,
743
00:53:16,401 --> 00:53:19,028
which was that it meant
from that point forward,
744
00:53:19,029 --> 00:53:20,905
America could start
to get support
745
00:53:20,906 --> 00:53:24,241
from the continental powers, and
particularly France, of course.
746
00:53:24,242 --> 00:53:27,661
We hold these truths
to be self-evident,
747
00:53:27,662 --> 00:53:31,624
that all men
are created equal...
748
00:53:31,625 --> 00:53:34,793
that they are endowed
by their Creator
749
00:53:34,794 --> 00:53:38,255
with certain unalienable rights,
750
00:53:38,256 --> 00:53:41,675
that among these are Life,
Liberty,
751
00:53:41,676 --> 00:53:43,969
and the pursuit of Happiness.
752
00:53:43,970 --> 00:53:47,097
They believed that
liberty was a gift from God.
753
00:53:47,098 --> 00:53:49,266
So there is an implicit
understanding there,
754
00:53:49,267 --> 00:53:51,268
an affirmation,
that human beings are made
755
00:53:51,269 --> 00:53:53,145
in the Imago Dei,
in the image of God,
756
00:53:53,146 --> 00:53:55,315
and God intends
for us to be free.
757
00:53:55,607 --> 00:53:58,692
Jefferson writes, "We hold
these truths to be self-evident,
758
00:53:58,693 --> 00:54:02,655
“that all men are created equal
and endowed by their Creator
759
00:54:02,656 --> 00:54:04,490
with certain
inalienable Rights."
760
00:54:04,491 --> 00:54:05,908
Notice he doesn't say
761
00:54:05,909 --> 00:54:07,785
that rights are granted
by government.
762
00:54:07,786 --> 00:54:10,537
The job of government
is to protect those rights.
763
00:54:10,538 --> 00:54:12,331
It's not to grant them.
764
00:54:12,332 --> 00:54:14,792
The rights are granted by God
at birth.
765
00:54:14,793 --> 00:54:17,253
That to secure these rights,
766
00:54:17,254 --> 00:54:19,713
Governments are implemented
among men,
767
00:54:19,714 --> 00:54:26,095
deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed,
768
00:54:26,096 --> 00:54:28,097
that whenever any
form of government
769
00:54:28,098 --> 00:54:30,724
should become destructive
of these ends,
770
00:54:30,725 --> 00:54:36,105
it is the right of the People
to alter or to abolish it,
771
00:54:36,106 --> 00:54:39,108
and to institute
new government...
772
00:54:39,109 --> 00:54:42,736
I would say that the American
experiment represents an attempt
773
00:54:42,737 --> 00:54:46,365
to implement the core values
of the Enlightenment
774
00:54:46,366 --> 00:54:48,242
in a real society.
775
00:54:48,243 --> 00:54:52,705
It's an attempt to find out
whether these values
776
00:54:52,706 --> 00:54:56,041
that are so elevated
and so attractive
777
00:54:56,042 --> 00:54:58,711
are compatible
with political reality.
778
00:54:58,712 --> 00:55:00,337
"We, therefore,
779
00:55:00,338 --> 00:55:05,259
“the Representatives
of the United States of America,
780
00:55:05,260 --> 00:55:07,052
“in General Congress, Assembled,
781
00:55:07,053 --> 00:55:09,263
“appealing to the Supreme Judge
of the world
782
00:55:09,264 --> 00:55:12,182
for the rectitude
of our intention, do..."
783
00:55:12,183 --> 00:55:14,143
The founders
themselves believe
784
00:55:14,144 --> 00:55:17,354
that every human being
has rights, basic rights,
785
00:55:17,355 --> 00:55:19,565
simply in virtue
of their humanity.
786
00:55:19,566 --> 00:55:22,609
Now where did they get
that idea?
787
00:55:22,610 --> 00:55:24,320
Not hard to guess.
788
00:55:24,321 --> 00:55:26,780
It's not just from Plato
and Aristotle and Cicero
789
00:55:26,781 --> 00:55:29,241
and the great Roman
and Greek thinkers.
790
00:55:29,242 --> 00:55:33,162
It's also from Genesis 1--
791
00:55:33,163 --> 00:55:34,788
that human beings,
792
00:55:34,789 --> 00:55:37,416
though fashioned from
the mere dust of the earth--
793
00:55:37,417 --> 00:55:39,418
material stuff--
794
00:55:39,419 --> 00:55:43,715
are nevertheless made in the
very image and likeness of God.
795
00:55:45,884 --> 00:55:48,260
That's where our
basic dignity comes from.
796
00:55:48,261 --> 00:55:51,055
That's where our rights
are anchored,
797
00:55:51,056 --> 00:55:54,933
and they wrote those principles
into our founding documents,
798
00:55:54,934 --> 00:55:57,770
into the Declaration
and into the Constitution.
799
00:55:57,771 --> 00:56:00,397
“...and that all political
connection between them
800
00:56:00,398 --> 00:56:01,940
“and the State of Great Britain,
801
00:56:01,941 --> 00:56:06,820
“is and ought to be
totally dissolved;
802
00:56:06,821 --> 00:56:09,531
“and that as Free
and Independent States,
803
00:56:09,532 --> 00:56:11,742
“they have full Power
to Levy War,
804
00:56:11,743 --> 00:56:14,453
“conclude Peace,
contract Alliances,
805
00:56:14,454 --> 00:56:16,038
“establish Commerce,
806
00:56:16,039 --> 00:56:18,374
“and to do all other Acts
and Things
807
00:56:18,375 --> 00:56:22,294
which Independent States
may of right do."
808
00:56:22,295 --> 00:56:25,672
“And in support of
this Declaration,
809
00:56:25,673 --> 00:56:28,717
“with a firm reliance
on the protection
810
00:56:28,718 --> 00:56:30,552
“of divine Providence,
811
00:56:30,553 --> 00:56:33,305
“we mutually pledge to each other
812
00:56:33,306 --> 00:56:37,142
“our Lives, our Fortunes
813
00:56:37,143 --> 00:56:39,061
and our sacred Honor.”
814
00:56:39,062 --> 00:56:41,146
Three cheers for independency!
815
00:56:41,147 --> 00:56:45,401
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
816
00:56:45,402 --> 00:56:50,489
The fate of unborn millions
now depends, under God,
817
00:56:50,490 --> 00:56:52,992
upon the conduct and courage
of this army.
818
00:56:57,330 --> 00:57:00,624
England is a country that has
the greatest navy in the world,
819
00:57:00,625 --> 00:57:03,168
the greatest military might
in the world.
820
00:57:03,169 --> 00:57:05,880
We had farmers...
821
00:57:06,339 --> 00:57:09,508
15-, 16-year-old kids who had,
822
00:57:09,509 --> 00:57:12,010
you know, the musket that
they had kept up in the barn
823
00:57:12,011 --> 00:57:14,555
basically that they
were going fighting with.
824
00:57:14,556 --> 00:57:17,891
So it's brave. It really is.
825
00:57:17,892 --> 00:57:21,353
The American revolutionaries
in 1774 and 1775
826
00:57:21,354 --> 00:57:22,980
were really doing something
very dangerous.
827
00:57:22,981 --> 00:57:24,857
I mean, there is no doubt
that they were,
828
00:57:24,858 --> 00:57:27,401
from a British point of view,
committing treason.
829
00:57:27,402 --> 00:57:29,278
Technically,
if they had been captured,
830
00:57:29,279 --> 00:57:32,030
they could have been put
on trial and hanged in London.
831
00:57:32,031 --> 00:57:35,200
And Ben Franklin understood
that from the get-go.
832
00:57:35,201 --> 00:57:40,289
He famously says,
"If we do not hang together,
833
00:57:40,290 --> 00:57:43,459
“we individuals,
we states, we will hang--
834
00:57:43,460 --> 00:57:44,793
assuredly hang separately,”--
835
00:57:44,794 --> 00:57:46,336
that is, by the neck
until we're dead.
836
00:57:46,337 --> 00:57:48,423
“They will divide
and conquer us."
837
00:57:49,424 --> 00:57:55,137
What if the Revolutionary War
had ended as soon as it began?
838
00:57:55,138 --> 00:57:59,433
What if George Washington
had been captured or killed,
839
00:57:59,434 --> 00:58:01,143
the Continental Army destroyed
840
00:58:01,144 --> 00:58:06,440
and disbanded all before
the summer of 1776
841
00:58:06,441 --> 00:58:09,109
had even come to an end?
842
00:58:09,110 --> 00:58:12,279
It would be
more than seven years
843
00:58:12,280 --> 00:58:16,408
before the Revolution was won
and America was free.
844
00:58:16,409 --> 00:58:22,956
But if not for several timely
rescues from an unseen ally,
845
00:58:22,957 --> 00:58:25,919
America may never have
even been born.
846
00:58:29,464 --> 00:58:32,382
In late August of 1776,
847
00:58:32,383 --> 00:58:34,510
the Battle of Long Island
848
00:58:34,511 --> 00:58:36,595
was a one-sided
849
00:58:36,596 --> 00:58:40,474
and decisive British victory.
850
00:58:40,475 --> 00:58:44,311
I think it's the single most
important moment in the war,
851
00:58:44,312 --> 00:58:47,439
um, in the sense that...
852
00:58:47,440 --> 00:58:49,983
Washington has decided to defend
853
00:58:49,984 --> 00:58:52,694
New York, which is an
archipelago,
854
00:58:52,695 --> 00:58:55,781
which means it's indefensible
if you don't control the seas.
855
00:58:55,782 --> 00:58:57,741
In the Battle of Long Island,
856
00:58:57,742 --> 00:59:00,202
he's merely outflanked
857
00:59:00,203 --> 00:59:03,747
and he's up against the end
of Long Island now
858
00:59:03,748 --> 00:59:08,127
with a British force beneath him
of 30,000 troops.
859
00:59:08,586 --> 00:59:10,504
He's trapped.
860
00:59:10,505 --> 00:59:12,881
The troops are preparing
themselves to charge
861
00:59:12,882 --> 00:59:14,466
and lose their lives.
862
00:59:14,467 --> 00:59:15,759
Many of the British officers,
863
00:59:15,760 --> 00:59:17,594
particularly the
most senior officers,
864
00:59:17,595 --> 00:59:22,224
displayed a really bloodthirsty
attitude towards the colonists.
865
00:59:22,225 --> 00:59:24,393
They were apt to make
statements about the need
866
00:59:24,394 --> 00:59:26,562
for a bloodletting
on the colonial side,
867
00:59:26,563 --> 00:59:28,313
the wholesale hanging
and slaughter
868
00:59:28,314 --> 00:59:30,399
of the leaders
of the Revolution,
869
00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:33,527
and that would put an end
to the problem
870
00:59:33,528 --> 00:59:36,072
of unrest and disobedience
within the empire.
871
00:59:41,536 --> 00:59:45,539
Our powder and our cartridges
are soaked.
872
00:59:45,540 --> 00:59:46,999
And so are theirs.
873
00:59:49,877 --> 00:59:53,463
Then this weather is most...
providential.
874
00:59:53,464 --> 00:59:56,883
At least it's discouraged
Howe from coming at us again.
875
00:59:56,884 --> 00:59:58,051
At least.
876
00:59:58,052 --> 01:00:00,221
As it is, we couldn't take
another blow.
877
01:00:01,889 --> 01:00:03,640
Casualty report?
878
01:00:03,641 --> 01:00:06,435
Is it as bad as we feared?
879
01:00:06,436 --> 01:00:07,811
Yes, sir.
880
01:00:15,111 --> 01:00:17,947
Stirling and Sullivan
both captured.
881
01:00:19,949 --> 01:00:21,409
Says here more than...
882
01:00:23,911 --> 01:00:25,663
...300 dead.
883
01:00:28,625 --> 01:00:30,125
As best we can tell.
884
01:00:38,301 --> 01:00:40,469
We are here.
885
01:00:40,470 --> 01:00:43,430
Howe, here.
886
01:00:43,431 --> 01:00:46,099
Their ships cannot
sail up to us
887
01:00:46,100 --> 01:00:50,479
as long as this wind continues
from the northeast.
888
01:00:50,480 --> 01:00:52,397
That will not last.
889
01:00:52,398 --> 01:00:55,233
And once it shifts...
890
01:00:55,234 --> 01:00:56,569
we're trapped.
891
01:00:58,321 --> 01:01:00,907
What are your orders, sir?
892
01:01:12,835 --> 01:01:14,836
Send word to General Heath.
893
01:01:14,837 --> 01:01:18,674
Tell him to gather every boat
that he can muster.
894
01:01:18,675 --> 01:01:21,468
And then Colonel Glover,
send word
895
01:01:21,469 --> 01:01:26,348
that we will have need of
his fishermen and his sailors.
896
01:01:26,349 --> 01:01:29,685
Tonight we will cross the river...
897
01:01:29,686 --> 01:01:33,397
quiet as a mouse.
898
01:01:33,398 --> 01:01:36,817
Surely they will see us, sir.
899
01:01:36,818 --> 01:01:40,529
General Mifflin
will create the illusion
900
01:01:40,530 --> 01:01:42,823
that we are continuing
entrenchments
901
01:01:42,824 --> 01:01:46,077
and keeping fires burning
through the night.
902
01:01:48,538 --> 01:01:51,082
We may just be
able to steal some time.
903
01:01:55,962 --> 01:01:59,089
Washington actually
had to retreat.
904
01:01:59,090 --> 01:02:02,342
They were outmanned,
outgunned, overwhelmed,
905
01:02:02,343 --> 01:02:05,763
and so the only time was
an orderly retreat.
906
01:02:06,639 --> 01:02:09,725
A strategic retreat is
the most difficult maneuver
907
01:02:09,726 --> 01:02:11,601
of an infantry unit,
908
01:02:11,602 --> 01:02:14,688
because you have to hold ground
while you evacuate,
909
01:02:14,689 --> 01:02:18,233
and the last ones to leave
are the ones with the toughest--
910
01:02:18,234 --> 01:02:19,401
they might never get out.
911
01:02:22,697 --> 01:02:26,241
The nearby presence of
four fearsome enemy warships,
912
01:02:26,242 --> 01:02:29,286
with their formidable
complement of cannon,
913
01:02:29,287 --> 01:02:34,333
made escape across the water
unlikely, if not unthinkable.
914
01:02:37,336 --> 01:02:40,547
But a fog forms at this time.
915
01:02:40,548 --> 01:02:43,759
It was not weather for it.
It was not a day for it.
916
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:45,761
There's no reason
this fog should have rolled in,
917
01:02:45,762 --> 01:02:49,639
and yet, just when
it was needed, fog rolled in.
918
01:02:49,640 --> 01:02:51,183
Witnesses say
you couldn't see more
919
01:02:51,184 --> 01:02:53,143
than three feet in front of you.
920
01:02:53,144 --> 01:02:56,647
So the British don't know
the evacuation is occurring.
921
01:03:05,281 --> 01:03:07,657
It'll be dawn soon.
922
01:03:07,658 --> 01:03:10,702
- How many more?
- Hundreds.
923
01:03:10,703 --> 01:03:13,663
The British Navy
doesn't do anything.
924
01:03:13,664 --> 01:03:15,540
If they had three ships
out there,
925
01:03:15,541 --> 01:03:17,375
they could have sunk
every one of those vessels.
926
01:03:17,376 --> 01:03:19,545
They would have never made
it across.
927
01:03:24,050 --> 01:03:26,676
Many of the soldiers
who experienced this fog
928
01:03:26,677 --> 01:03:29,012
wrote letters back
to their local newspapers
929
01:03:29,013 --> 01:03:33,600
in Boston and Virginia and said,
"Providence favored us.
930
01:03:33,601 --> 01:03:37,270
“The night was remarkably still,
the water as smooth as glass,
931
01:03:37,271 --> 01:03:39,397
“yet all our boats got over.
932
01:03:39,398 --> 01:03:42,901
“The enemy did not discover
that we had evacuated our lines
933
01:03:42,902 --> 01:03:44,945
until we were all got over."
934
01:03:44,946 --> 01:03:47,072
And so this was seen
as providential
935
01:03:47,073 --> 01:03:49,366
because the fog was
not in Manhattan.
936
01:03:49,367 --> 01:03:51,743
It was just at Long Island.
937
01:04:02,922 --> 01:04:04,422
You'll never believe it, sir.
938
01:04:04,423 --> 01:04:06,258
Thick as soup over here,
but in Manhattan,
939
01:04:06,259 --> 01:04:07,843
where we drop 'em,
it's clear as crystal.
940
01:04:07,844 --> 01:04:10,303
No fog at all.
941
01:04:10,304 --> 01:04:13,014
Time to go, general.
942
01:04:13,015 --> 01:04:15,016
This is the great escape
of the war.
943
01:04:15,017 --> 01:04:16,476
He should have never made it.
944
01:04:16,477 --> 01:04:18,854
They should have gotten him.
945
01:04:18,855 --> 01:04:21,189
If you are
providentially inclined,
946
01:04:21,190 --> 01:04:23,024
you've got to believe
947
01:04:23,025 --> 01:04:25,652
that some forces are acting
on American behalf.
948
01:04:25,653 --> 01:04:28,572
And the British actually say
that afterwards.
949
01:04:28,573 --> 01:04:31,491
I mean, how can all these things
have happened at the same time?
950
01:04:31,492 --> 01:04:33,535
Were those just
all coincidences?
951
01:04:33,536 --> 01:04:35,370
Well, maybe they were.
952
01:04:35,371 --> 01:04:38,957
Logically, it's possible
that maybe, coincidentally,
953
01:04:38,958 --> 01:04:42,127
we had coincidence after
coincidence after coincidence,
954
01:04:42,128 --> 01:04:43,962
all favoring Washington
955
01:04:43,963 --> 01:04:46,423
and favoring
the American side
956
01:04:46,424 --> 01:04:48,258
and leading to
this miraculous--
957
01:04:48,259 --> 01:04:51,011
what would otherwise seem--
miraculous victory
958
01:04:51,012 --> 01:04:53,680
of the American revolutionaries,
this ragtag bunch,
959
01:04:53,681 --> 01:04:57,058
over the greatest
military power on Earth.
960
01:04:57,059 --> 01:05:01,229
But Washington didn't believe
they were mere coincidences.
961
01:05:01,230 --> 01:05:03,940
Washington saw
a supervening Providence,
962
01:05:03,941 --> 01:05:06,276
the hand
of a supervening Providence
963
01:05:06,277 --> 01:05:08,486
in these so-called coincidences.
964
01:05:08,487 --> 01:05:10,322
He saw miracles
965
01:05:10,323 --> 01:05:14,410
where a skeptic or a cynic
might see coincidences.
966
01:05:16,871 --> 01:05:19,039
There's a keen sense
in the British Army
967
01:05:19,040 --> 01:05:21,833
this was the chance to end it.
968
01:05:21,834 --> 01:05:24,669
This was the chance
to get the whole army.
969
01:05:24,670 --> 01:05:26,546
And they were right.
970
01:05:26,547 --> 01:05:29,800
And once that missed,
it would never come again.
971
01:05:47,985 --> 01:05:50,320
- Enemy!
- Form company!
972
01:05:50,321 --> 01:05:52,948
Trio, boys! Trio!
973
01:05:52,949 --> 01:05:56,326
March forward!
974
01:05:56,327 --> 01:05:58,162
Fire! Reload!
975
01:06:12,969 --> 01:06:14,844
If you look at
the American Revolution,
976
01:06:14,845 --> 01:06:17,931
I mean, it's longer
than the American Civil War.
977
01:06:17,932 --> 01:06:20,016
So this became this
really long battle
978
01:06:20,017 --> 01:06:22,310
of attrition and perseverance
979
01:06:22,311 --> 01:06:25,147
that was kind of a matter
of wills.
980
01:06:28,317 --> 01:06:31,987
The secret weapon for America
was George Washington,
981
01:06:31,988 --> 01:06:34,280
the admiration
that his troops had for him,
982
01:06:34,281 --> 01:06:35,407
for his character.
983
01:06:35,408 --> 01:06:37,158
Gentlemen...
984
01:06:37,159 --> 01:06:38,743
we received intelligence
985
01:06:38,744 --> 01:06:43,081
about the activities
of our enemies across the water.
986
01:06:43,082 --> 01:06:44,874
It's their intention to wait
987
01:06:44,875 --> 01:06:47,544
until the river hardens
sufficiently with ice,
988
01:06:47,545 --> 01:06:50,548
then to come across
and destroy us.
989
01:06:52,717 --> 01:06:56,886
But I intend that they should
not have such an opportunity.
990
01:06:56,887 --> 01:07:01,433
Tonight, we shall take every
boat that we have collected
991
01:07:01,434 --> 01:07:05,520
and Glover's ferryman, as
well as those from Philadelphia
992
01:07:05,521 --> 01:07:08,982
and also from New Jersey,
we shall cross,
993
01:07:08,983 --> 01:07:12,319
and we shall attack Trenton
before sunrise tomorrow.
994
01:07:15,406 --> 01:07:21,912
The password and watchword
are "victory or death."
995
01:07:24,874 --> 01:07:27,459
Victory or death.
996
01:07:27,460 --> 01:07:29,378
Aye.
997
01:07:30,796 --> 01:07:32,839
Sir, the boats are ready.
998
01:07:32,840 --> 01:07:37,053
Excellent.
Officers, see to your men.
999
01:07:46,937 --> 01:07:49,189
A storm's coming.
1000
01:07:50,608 --> 01:07:53,526
It is.
- Yep.
1001
01:07:53,527 --> 01:07:57,447
I can feel it in my bones.
1002
01:07:57,448 --> 01:08:01,785
Washington's stature as
the embodiment of the Revolution
1003
01:08:01,786 --> 01:08:03,536
was unquestioned.
1004
01:08:03,537 --> 01:08:06,247
There's nobody
in American history
1005
01:08:06,248 --> 01:08:11,462
who has occupied that kind
of position of recognition.
1006
01:08:13,380 --> 01:08:15,632
The British believed
they were on the verge
1007
01:08:15,633 --> 01:08:17,926
of destroying
the American rebels.
1008
01:08:17,927 --> 01:08:21,721
But Washington's bold decision
to attack Trenton
1009
01:08:21,722 --> 01:08:25,016
was aided by a providential
Christmas snow storm
1010
01:08:25,017 --> 01:08:26,851
that blinded their approach,
1011
01:08:26,852 --> 01:08:30,480
allowing the Continental Army
complete victory
1012
01:08:30,481 --> 01:08:32,566
over the Hessian garrison.
1013
01:08:35,486 --> 01:08:37,320
This turn of events
shocked the British
1014
01:08:37,321 --> 01:08:39,656
and brought great hope
to the colonies
1015
01:08:39,657 --> 01:08:45,995
that God's providence was aiding
in their fight for independence.
1016
01:08:45,996 --> 01:08:47,289
Who are ye?
1017
01:08:49,875 --> 01:08:51,876
My name's John Fitzgerald,
1018
01:08:51,877 --> 01:08:53,586
aide-de-camp
to General Washington.
1019
01:08:53,587 --> 01:08:55,672
- Aye!
- Aye.
1020
01:08:55,673 --> 01:08:57,257
About a week ago,
1021
01:08:57,258 --> 01:08:59,634
Washington took us across
the Delaware River.
1022
01:08:59,635 --> 01:09:02,887
It's full of ice.
It's uncrossable, really.
1023
01:09:02,888 --> 01:09:05,181
But our new position
allowed us to catch
1024
01:09:05,182 --> 01:09:08,226
the Hessians at Trenton
totally unaware.
1025
01:09:08,227 --> 01:09:09,853
Christmas it was.
1026
01:09:09,854 --> 01:09:11,771
It was a great victory.
1027
01:09:11,772 --> 01:09:14,732
- Casualties?
- At Trenton?
1028
01:09:14,733 --> 01:09:16,317
Yeah.
1029
01:09:16,318 --> 01:09:19,362
Well, not many,
if any, on our side.
1030
01:09:19,363 --> 01:09:21,322
Plenty on their side, though.
1031
01:09:21,323 --> 01:09:24,492
We stocked up
on food and supplies as well.
1032
01:09:24,493 --> 01:09:26,494
And then what?
1033
01:09:26,495 --> 01:09:30,123
Well, we were expecting
a swift counterattack from Howe,
1034
01:09:30,124 --> 01:09:33,126
so we dug in on the south side
of this little creek.
1035
01:09:33,127 --> 01:09:35,628
It was good ground,
but we were hemmed in.
1036
01:09:35,629 --> 01:09:37,630
We couldn't stay.
1037
01:09:37,631 --> 01:09:41,342
But the night grew very cold
and the roads firmed up.
1038
01:09:41,343 --> 01:09:42,844
Washington saw the chance.
1039
01:09:42,845 --> 01:09:45,597
We moved again, real quiet like,
1040
01:09:45,598 --> 01:09:47,515
in the middle of the night.
1041
01:09:47,516 --> 01:09:51,227
We snuck right past Howe's army
and made it up here.
1042
01:09:51,228 --> 01:09:54,314
And now we've got them flanked.
1043
01:09:54,315 --> 01:09:56,983
And where are we again?
- Princeton.
1044
01:09:56,984 --> 01:10:00,570
Aye. We had another fight
yesterday.
1045
01:10:00,571 --> 01:10:04,073
More than a skirmish, she was,
line to line, and I...
1046
01:10:04,074 --> 01:10:06,160
I can't believe what I saw.
1047
01:10:07,745 --> 01:10:10,663
What?
1048
01:10:10,664 --> 01:10:13,541
Make ready! Present!
1049
01:10:13,542 --> 01:10:18,588
He just road out
right in front of both lines.
1050
01:10:18,589 --> 01:10:20,548
- Who?
- The general!
1051
01:10:20,549 --> 01:10:22,717
General Washington.
1052
01:10:22,718 --> 01:10:25,929
He's so exposed.
Both lines fired.
1053
01:10:29,892 --> 01:10:32,310
I had to cover my face
with my hat.
1054
01:10:32,311 --> 01:10:34,271
I couldn't bear to see him fall.
1055
01:10:36,482 --> 01:10:40,526
And after the volley,
I could hear the sounds of death
1056
01:10:40,527 --> 01:10:43,947
of many a men
crying out in pain.
1057
01:10:43,948 --> 01:10:45,907
And then the smoke cleared
a little,
1058
01:10:45,908 --> 01:10:49,035
and there he was, untouched.
1059
01:10:49,036 --> 01:10:51,704
And he rose up in his stirrups,
and he shouted,
1060
01:10:51,705 --> 01:10:54,624
"It's a fine fox chase,
my boys!"
1061
01:10:57,336 --> 01:10:59,462
And he led the chase!
1062
01:10:59,463 --> 01:11:02,840
And the Brits ran!
1063
01:11:02,841 --> 01:11:05,760
There are multiple occasions
during Washington's life
1064
01:11:05,761 --> 01:11:09,389
when most everybody else would
have somehow gotten killed.
1065
01:11:12,851 --> 01:11:16,646
When he purposely stepped
in front of British fire,
1066
01:11:16,647 --> 01:11:18,564
he does that to show the troops
1067
01:11:18,565 --> 01:11:20,316
that he's willing
to run the same risks
1068
01:11:20,317 --> 01:11:22,361
that he's asking them to run.
1069
01:11:24,196 --> 01:11:26,864
Does this change the war?
1070
01:11:26,865 --> 01:11:31,411
Well, I cannot say
for sure to that.
1071
01:11:31,412 --> 01:11:34,539
But Trenton and now this?
1072
01:11:34,540 --> 01:11:37,458
Our enemy is not invincible.
1073
01:11:37,459 --> 01:11:40,962
They can be beaten.
1074
01:11:40,963 --> 01:11:43,048
Godspeed.
- Aye.
1075
01:11:50,514 --> 01:11:55,226
At the Battle of Brandywine
Creek in September of 1777,
1076
01:11:55,227 --> 01:11:57,520
Washington was caught
in the sights of one
1077
01:11:57,521 --> 01:12:01,232
of the finest marksmen
in the British Army,
1078
01:12:01,233 --> 01:12:02,985
Patrick Ferguson.
1079
01:12:08,032 --> 01:12:11,409
Dismount at once
and raise your hands!
1080
01:12:11,410 --> 01:12:13,829
Run, sir!
1081
01:12:25,007 --> 01:12:27,800
Mr. Ferguson had him
within sight,
1082
01:12:27,801 --> 01:12:30,345
and he thought about shooting
him and then decided,
1083
01:12:30,346 --> 01:12:31,763
no, he wanted to capture him.
1084
01:12:31,764 --> 01:12:33,848
George Washington got away.
1085
01:12:33,849 --> 01:12:36,559
And this happened over
and over again,
1086
01:12:36,560 --> 01:12:41,231
and it was impossible to really
explain it by any human sense.
1087
01:12:53,577 --> 01:12:55,453
It was at Valley Forge
1088
01:12:55,454 --> 01:12:58,790
that Washington
and his Continental Army
1089
01:12:58,791 --> 01:13:02,211
experienced their greatest
time of testing.
1090
01:13:06,757 --> 01:13:09,843
They were dark days.
People were impoverished.
1091
01:13:12,388 --> 01:13:17,183
Families were separated,
men were dying.
1092
01:13:17,184 --> 01:13:20,395
And some of the losses
aren't even battlefield losses.
1093
01:13:20,396 --> 01:13:24,608
Horrendous death and suffering
at Valley Forge.
1094
01:13:27,194 --> 01:13:29,821
They don't have blankets.
They don't have shoes.
1095
01:13:29,822 --> 01:13:33,492
They don't have shirts.
They don't have enough food.
1096
01:13:35,285 --> 01:13:37,870
There's a farmer down the road
who has some horses.
1097
01:13:37,871 --> 01:13:40,289
See if you can procure them
at a reasonable cost.
1098
01:13:40,290 --> 01:13:42,584
We are in dire need.
- Yes, sir.
1099
01:13:45,003 --> 01:13:47,380
We're off to infirmary.
1100
01:13:47,381 --> 01:13:49,007
Very well.
1101
01:13:51,677 --> 01:13:53,470
What are your orders, sir?
1102
01:13:55,222 --> 01:13:58,224
We'll cut the timber
from these hills
1103
01:13:58,225 --> 01:14:00,852
and build cabins here
on the valley.
1104
01:14:00,853 --> 01:14:04,355
What perseverance.
What stoicism.
1105
01:14:04,356 --> 01:14:08,609
He chose to basically stay
in the field,
1106
01:14:08,610 --> 01:14:11,654
keep at it day after day,
even though he's losing.
1107
01:14:11,655 --> 01:14:13,031
Yes, sir.
1108
01:14:15,951 --> 01:14:17,618
As I grew up,
1109
01:14:17,619 --> 01:14:24,250
Washington was the most unknown
of the Founding Fathers.
1110
01:14:24,251 --> 01:14:28,588
We didn't really know
or understand him,
1111
01:14:28,589 --> 01:14:33,384
and he was
not an eloquent writer.
1112
01:14:33,385 --> 01:14:38,306
So what he wrote was
not memorable,
1113
01:14:38,307 --> 01:14:42,059
but what he said and did was.
1114
01:14:46,523 --> 01:14:51,277
He was a man of destiny,
1115
01:14:51,278 --> 01:14:55,990
and he was thought of in those
kinds of terms
1116
01:14:55,991 --> 01:14:58,367
by everybody,
1117
01:14:58,368 --> 01:15:01,829
everybody including King George.
1118
01:15:01,830 --> 01:15:06,751
His respect for Washington
was enormous,
1119
01:15:06,752 --> 01:15:09,296
and he knew it
before the end of the war.
1120
01:15:11,924 --> 01:15:13,925
As a military leader,
1121
01:15:13,926 --> 01:15:16,677
Washington is the only great
general in American history
1122
01:15:16,678 --> 01:15:20,181
that lost more battles
than he won,
1123
01:15:20,182 --> 01:15:22,725
who was outmaneuvered
by the British
1124
01:15:22,726 --> 01:15:24,352
on almost every occasion,
1125
01:15:24,353 --> 01:15:26,938
outflanked.
1126
01:15:26,939 --> 01:15:31,192
Now, part of the problem is he's
commanding a force of amateurs,
1127
01:15:31,193 --> 01:15:33,861
and the British are commanding
a force of professionals.
1128
01:15:33,862 --> 01:15:36,990
So it's hard to be
completely fair about that.
1129
01:15:39,952 --> 01:15:42,161
During the Revolutionary War,
1130
01:15:42,162 --> 01:15:46,791
there was a smallpox
epidemic going on in America.
1131
01:15:46,792 --> 01:15:50,962
He's immune to smallpox because
he got a lower version of it.
1132
01:15:50,963 --> 01:15:54,048
Once you've had it,
you're immune.
1133
01:15:54,049 --> 01:15:55,800
But in some sense,
Washington seems
1134
01:15:55,801 --> 01:15:57,594
to be immune to everything.
1135
01:16:05,686 --> 01:16:11,399
Edison. We're taking
good care of you, Edison.
1136
01:16:11,400 --> 01:16:12,776
God's peace.
1137
01:16:18,532 --> 01:16:22,410
Martha came to
almost every winter encampment,
1138
01:16:22,411 --> 01:16:24,245
which is hard to do.
1139
01:16:24,246 --> 01:16:25,830
And in that environment,
1140
01:16:25,831 --> 01:16:30,251
Martha does organize some women
to tend to the soldiers,
1141
01:16:30,252 --> 01:16:32,713
to say prayers
with the dying troops.
1142
01:16:37,968 --> 01:16:41,304
- How old are you, lad?
- 13.
1143
01:16:41,305 --> 01:16:44,890
We've brought you tea with
honey to help with your cough.
1144
01:16:44,891 --> 01:16:47,977
- Thank you, ma'am.
- Will you help him?
1145
01:16:47,978 --> 01:16:50,480
You shall be drumming again
in no time.
1146
01:16:52,774 --> 01:16:54,526
Thank you.
1147
01:17:04,244 --> 01:17:05,828
Madam.
1148
01:17:05,829 --> 01:17:08,039
I'm afraid for Edison.
1149
01:17:08,040 --> 01:17:09,708
Doesn't have long.
1150
01:17:13,879 --> 01:17:15,047
Sir.
1151
01:17:30,812 --> 01:17:33,982
Can you make sure
my wife gets this...
1152
01:17:36,193 --> 01:17:38,904
...and the money in my shoe?
1153
01:17:40,614 --> 01:17:43,367
Of course, of course.
1154
01:18:20,779 --> 01:18:24,073
It's a kind of testing time.
1155
01:18:24,074 --> 01:18:27,326
It's a time when
the officer corps of the army
1156
01:18:27,327 --> 01:18:31,664
talks about us as the few, "we're
the few," because, remember,
1157
01:18:31,665 --> 01:18:33,666
they're not being supported
by the state governments
1158
01:18:33,667 --> 01:18:36,335
or by the Congress.
1159
01:18:36,336 --> 01:18:38,379
- Evening, sir.
- Good evening, colonel.
1160
01:18:38,380 --> 01:18:39,755
How are you, lads?
1161
01:18:39,756 --> 01:18:41,173
- Very good, sir.
- Doing well, sir.
1162
01:18:41,174 --> 01:18:43,467
- Have you been fed?
- We have. Yes, sir.
1163
01:18:43,468 --> 01:18:46,303
- Stay alert.
- Thank you. Thank you, sir.
1164
01:18:46,304 --> 01:18:47,888
They're not getting paid.
1165
01:18:47,889 --> 01:18:49,932
They're not going to get
a pension.
1166
01:18:49,933 --> 01:18:52,893
And it's a really,
really difficult environment.
1167
01:18:52,894 --> 01:18:55,479
Evening, colonel.
1168
01:18:55,480 --> 01:18:57,314
What's in the pot tonight?
1169
01:18:57,315 --> 01:18:58,691
Well, sir.
1170
01:18:58,692 --> 01:19:02,486
No meat, just potatoes.
1171
01:19:02,487 --> 01:19:03,946
Give it a good stir.
1172
01:19:03,947 --> 01:19:05,740
Keep the fire going.
- Yes, sir.
1173
01:19:05,741 --> 01:19:07,242
Yes, sir.
1174
01:19:10,746 --> 01:19:16,876
But that hope for liberty
was the light that led them,
1175
01:19:16,877 --> 01:19:20,713
that, under God,
he would lead them to a time
1176
01:19:20,714 --> 01:19:23,048
of peace and prosperity
1177
01:19:23,049 --> 01:19:26,636
that would be a fulfillment
of those natural rights.
1178
01:19:42,486 --> 01:19:45,488
Whether or not the
legendary prayer at Valley Forge
1179
01:19:45,489 --> 01:19:49,492
actually took place,
as the famous painting depicts,
1180
01:19:49,493 --> 01:19:53,204
that remains the subject
of historical debate,
1181
01:19:53,205 --> 01:19:55,748
but what is clear
is that George Washington
1182
01:19:55,749 --> 01:19:58,626
was indisputably
a man of prayer,
1183
01:19:58,627 --> 01:20:01,713
a fact confirmed
by his own writings.
1184
01:20:03,507 --> 01:20:05,758
O Lord,
1185
01:20:05,759 --> 01:20:08,344
that the God of armies
may incline the hearts
1186
01:20:08,345 --> 01:20:10,346
of my American brethren
1187
01:20:10,347 --> 01:20:14,600
to support and bestow sufficient
abilities on me...
1188
01:20:14,601 --> 01:20:18,354
to bring the present contest
to a speedy
1189
01:20:18,355 --> 01:20:20,940
and happy conclusion...
1190
01:20:20,941 --> 01:20:24,986
is the first wish and most
fervent prayer of my soul.
1191
01:20:33,829 --> 01:20:36,330
When I was grown,
I heard that phrase,
1192
01:20:36,331 --> 01:20:38,666
those words three times
1193
01:20:38,667 --> 01:20:40,376
before I claimed it--
1194
01:20:40,377 --> 01:20:42,795
that all mankind are equal,
1195
01:20:42,796 --> 01:20:45,507
free, and independent
of each other.
1196
01:20:47,175 --> 01:20:52,012
The first time was
a cold January day in 1773,
1197
01:20:52,013 --> 01:20:55,349
when nearly a dozen men came
to Mr. Ashley's house.
1198
01:20:55,350 --> 01:20:58,978
That's the first time I remember
Mr. Sedgwick, the lawyer.
1199
01:20:58,979 --> 01:21:02,565
They talked about grievances
and corruption from the king
1200
01:21:02,566 --> 01:21:06,110
and not being accountable
to the people.
1201
01:21:06,111 --> 01:21:08,821
It was very serious.
1202
01:21:08,822 --> 01:21:11,073
Gentlemen of Sheffield,
1203
01:21:11,074 --> 01:21:15,661
we meet tonight to come to
agreement on a set of resolves.
1204
01:21:15,662 --> 01:21:20,624
We have done so, and
this is what we have decided.
1205
01:21:20,625 --> 01:21:24,128
Mankind, in a state of nature,
are equal,
1206
01:21:24,129 --> 01:21:27,214
free, and independent
of each other,
1207
01:21:27,215 --> 01:21:29,842
and have a right
to the undisturbed enjoyment
1208
01:21:29,843 --> 01:21:31,719
of their lives,
1209
01:21:31,720 --> 01:21:34,805
their liberty,
and their property.
1210
01:21:34,806 --> 01:21:36,724
Can on this we agree?
1211
01:21:36,725 --> 01:21:39,727
- Aye.
- I agree.
1212
01:21:39,728 --> 01:21:43,272
For the next years,
those words encouraged my soul.
1213
01:21:43,273 --> 01:21:45,816
- This slavery to England is...
- I heard those words again
1214
01:21:45,817 --> 01:21:50,070
when Mr. Ashley talked about
the Declaration of Independence,
1215
01:21:50,071 --> 01:21:52,615
that those rights come from
a Creator,
1216
01:21:52,616 --> 01:21:55,284
and that among them
are life, liberty...
1217
01:21:55,285 --> 01:21:58,120
- We are all created equal.
- ...and happiness.
1218
01:21:58,121 --> 01:22:03,500
By then I had a baby of my own
and my husband went off to war,
1219
01:22:03,501 --> 01:22:05,419
to the Revolution.
1220
01:22:05,420 --> 01:22:07,880
He never came back.
1221
01:22:07,881 --> 01:22:10,341
He paid the ultimate price.
1222
01:22:10,342 --> 01:22:12,302
I paid a smaller price, too.
1223
01:22:14,012 --> 01:22:18,140
One day in 1780,
my mistress, Madam Ashley,
1224
01:22:18,141 --> 01:22:19,767
had one of her angry fits
1225
01:22:19,768 --> 01:22:21,602
and started to strike
my daughter,
1226
01:22:21,603 --> 01:22:24,647
a weakly girl who had made
herself a wheat cake
1227
01:22:24,648 --> 01:22:28,776
from the scraps left over
from the family batch.
1228
01:22:28,777 --> 01:22:30,319
Where'd you get that?
1229
01:22:30,320 --> 01:22:32,529
It was just the scraps,
Miss Ashley.
1230
01:22:32,530 --> 01:22:33,990
It was just scraps.
- They were gonna throw it out.
1231
01:22:40,455 --> 01:22:47,002
- Miss Ashley! Mama!
- She hit me so hard!
1232
01:22:47,003 --> 01:22:50,965
Mama, please!
1233
01:22:50,966 --> 01:22:54,259
I left my wound uncovered
all winter as evidence
1234
01:22:54,260 --> 01:22:56,136
of her harsh treatment.
1235
01:22:56,137 --> 01:22:57,721
When people asked...
1236
01:22:57,722 --> 01:23:01,141
Why, Betty, what ails your arm?
1237
01:23:01,142 --> 01:23:03,019
Ask madam.
1238
01:23:07,148 --> 01:23:10,275
Poor dear, did you see?
1239
01:23:10,276 --> 01:23:14,405
If one minute's freedom
had been offered me,
1240
01:23:14,406 --> 01:23:16,573
especially in that moment,
1241
01:23:16,574 --> 01:23:21,453
and I'd been told that I must
die at the end of that minute,
1242
01:23:21,454 --> 01:23:27,251
I would have taken it just to
stand one minute on God's earth
1243
01:23:27,252 --> 01:23:29,004
as a free woman.
1244
01:23:29,504 --> 01:23:32,006
-“...are created equal.”
- That same year,
1245
01:23:32,007 --> 01:23:34,466
I heard the words again,
1246
01:23:34,467 --> 01:23:37,928
this time about
a newly ratified document,
1247
01:23:37,929 --> 01:23:41,056
the new Constitution
for Massachusetts.
1248
01:23:41,057 --> 01:23:43,559
It was read aloud
in a public meeting.
1249
01:23:43,560 --> 01:23:46,770
“We hold these truths
to be self-evident,
1250
01:23:46,771 --> 01:23:49,231
“that all men are created equal,
1251
01:23:49,232 --> 01:23:51,525
“that they are endowed
by their Creator
1252
01:23:51,526 --> 01:23:54,279
with certain unalienable Rights.”
1253
01:23:56,281 --> 01:23:59,700
The Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King never tired
1254
01:23:59,701 --> 01:24:02,286
of invoking
the Declaration of Independence
1255
01:24:02,287 --> 01:24:05,122
in his campaign
for fundamental civil rights
1256
01:24:05,123 --> 01:24:07,499
to overcome the legacy
of slavery.
1257
01:24:07,500 --> 01:24:10,961
He pleaded with
his fellow Americans
1258
01:24:10,962 --> 01:24:12,671
to make good on the check
1259
01:24:12,672 --> 01:24:15,549
that was written
by the American founders
1260
01:24:15,550 --> 01:24:18,844
when it came
to liberty and justice for all,
1261
01:24:18,845 --> 01:24:21,138
when it came to the idea
that all men--
1262
01:24:21,139 --> 01:24:27,771
black, white, red, yellow, brown--
are created equal.
1263
01:24:31,608 --> 01:24:37,112
Finally I decided I would do
something about those words.
1264
01:24:37,113 --> 01:24:39,948
I paid a visit to Mr. Sedgwick,
the lawyer.
1265
01:24:39,949 --> 01:24:41,867
Someone is here to see you.
1266
01:24:41,868 --> 01:24:44,620
Thank you, children.
Tell your mom I'll be in soon.
1267
01:24:44,621 --> 01:24:47,164
Yes, father.
1268
01:24:47,165 --> 01:24:51,043
You're... Bett
from Judge Ashley's house.
1269
01:24:51,044 --> 01:24:54,713
- Yes, sir.
- Please, sit.
1270
01:24:54,714 --> 01:24:57,800
Join me.
- Why, you a gentleman...
1271
01:24:57,801 --> 01:24:59,927
even to me?
1272
01:24:59,928 --> 01:25:03,972
I try to follow
the Golden Rule as best I can.
1273
01:25:03,973 --> 01:25:06,433
I've heard your situation.
1274
01:25:06,434 --> 01:25:10,312
How can I help you?
- Mr. Sedgwick,
1275
01:25:10,313 --> 01:25:13,148
seven years ago,
you came to the house
1276
01:25:13,149 --> 01:25:15,109
and you wrote those resolves
1277
01:25:15,110 --> 01:25:17,528
that all mankind are equal,
1278
01:25:17,529 --> 01:25:20,114
free, and independent
of each other.
1279
01:25:20,115 --> 01:25:21,865
I heard you say so.
1280
01:25:21,866 --> 01:25:24,201
And Mr. Ashley agreed.
1281
01:25:24,202 --> 01:25:28,081
Then the Declaration
of Independence say the same.
1282
01:25:29,040 --> 01:25:31,041
Did you mean what you said?
1283
01:25:31,042 --> 01:25:33,252
Those words?
1284
01:25:33,253 --> 01:25:35,462
Yes.
1285
01:25:35,463 --> 01:25:37,756
Did you mean me?
1286
01:25:37,757 --> 01:25:40,093
Am I all mankind?
1287
01:25:44,180 --> 01:25:45,973
Yes.
1288
01:25:45,974 --> 01:25:47,933
Yes, you are.
1289
01:25:47,934 --> 01:25:50,937
All men, all women,
1290
01:25:51,646 --> 01:25:53,314
equal.
1291
01:25:54,899 --> 01:25:59,111
Mr. Sedgwick, you a legal man.
1292
01:25:59,112 --> 01:26:02,197
Can you tell Miss Ashley
1293
01:26:02,198 --> 01:26:04,617
that she ain't my mistress
no more?
1294
01:26:08,371 --> 01:26:10,372
He accepted
my case
1295
01:26:10,373 --> 01:26:11,331
and added Brom--
1296
01:26:11,332 --> 01:26:14,210
one of Mr. Ashley's male slaves--
to it, too.
1297
01:26:16,838 --> 01:26:19,464
King himself observed
1298
01:26:19,465 --> 01:26:22,552
that there are two
kinds of law--
1299
01:26:23,052 --> 01:26:26,181
just and unjust.
1300
01:26:28,308 --> 01:26:33,812
He said just laws are laws
that are in line with...
1301
01:26:33,813 --> 01:26:36,064
the natural law
1302
01:26:36,065 --> 01:26:38,108
and the law of God.
1303
01:26:38,109 --> 01:26:42,237
Unjust laws are laws
that are out of line with
1304
01:26:42,238 --> 01:26:45,365
the natural law
and the law of God.
1305
01:26:45,366 --> 01:26:47,326
There is, in other words,
according to King,
1306
01:26:47,327 --> 01:26:51,455
a law above
the merely human positive law,
1307
01:26:51,456 --> 01:26:53,415
a law that no human being makes,
1308
01:26:53,416 --> 01:26:55,835
a law that's ultimately made
by God.
1309
01:27:00,548 --> 01:27:04,718
We claimed that the new
Constitution of Massachusetts
1310
01:27:04,719 --> 01:27:08,680
effectively abolished
slavery in the Commonwealth.
1311
01:27:08,681 --> 01:27:13,352
Judge John Ashley,
did you in 1773,
1312
01:27:13,353 --> 01:27:16,521
invite the distinguished
citizens of Berkshire County
1313
01:27:16,522 --> 01:27:19,524
to your home to draft
1314
01:27:19,525 --> 01:27:24,821
and sign the document now known
as the Sheffield Resolves?
1315
01:27:24,822 --> 01:27:26,698
We did.
1316
01:27:26,699 --> 01:27:31,328
And did you then and do
you now support the Declaration,
1317
01:27:31,329 --> 01:27:35,374
that all men
are created free and equal
1318
01:27:35,375 --> 01:27:42,339
and independent of each other
in the eyes of God and the law?
1319
01:27:42,340 --> 01:27:44,549
We did.
1320
01:27:44,550 --> 01:27:48,053
Does the Massachusetts
Constitution,
1321
01:27:48,054 --> 01:27:50,847
signed in June last year,
1322
01:27:50,848 --> 01:27:55,269
declare all men free and equal?
1323
01:27:55,270 --> 01:27:56,895
It does.
1324
01:27:56,896 --> 01:28:00,024
Your Honor,
no further questions.
1325
01:28:09,575 --> 01:28:10,868
Miss Bett...
1326
01:28:13,413 --> 01:28:15,039
...how was your arm injured?
1327
01:28:17,125 --> 01:28:19,585
You'll have to ask
Madam Ashley.
1328
01:28:21,212 --> 01:28:23,463
Did she strike you
with a hot shovel?
1329
01:28:23,464 --> 01:28:26,341
Objection.
A slave cannot testify
1330
01:28:26,342 --> 01:28:28,593
against a free defendant.
1331
01:28:28,594 --> 01:28:30,429
Your Honor,
this objection is founded
1332
01:28:30,430 --> 01:28:34,391
on common law practices
in British courts.
1333
01:28:34,392 --> 01:28:37,019
On July 2nd of 1776,
1334
01:28:37,020 --> 01:28:40,230
our 13 sovereign states
declared their independence
1335
01:28:40,231 --> 01:28:42,816
from Great Britain
based on the principle
1336
01:28:42,817 --> 01:28:45,360
that all men are created equal.
1337
01:28:45,361 --> 01:28:49,197
Last year here in Massachusetts,
1338
01:28:49,198 --> 01:28:51,491
our citizens ratified
a constitution,
1339
01:28:51,492 --> 01:28:56,204
a written constitution, that
declares all men free and equal.
1340
01:28:56,205 --> 01:29:00,042
British slave law no
longer applies in Massachusetts
1341
01:29:00,043 --> 01:29:03,963
and cannot bar our citizens
from testifying in court.
1342
01:29:09,218 --> 01:29:11,304
Overruled.
1343
01:29:15,350 --> 01:29:18,310
Miss Bett,
I have to ask you again.
1344
01:29:18,311 --> 01:29:22,231
Last October,
how was your arm injured?
1345
01:29:25,610 --> 01:29:29,196
Madam Hannah Ashley...
1346
01:29:29,197 --> 01:29:32,741
struck me with a hot shovel
1347
01:29:32,742 --> 01:29:35,286
straight from the fire.
1348
01:29:42,752 --> 01:29:45,045
We're deeply fallen,
sinful creatures,
1349
01:29:45,046 --> 01:29:48,340
and yet made in the very image
and likeness of God--
1350
01:29:48,341 --> 01:29:51,302
that is possessing dignity
and therefore rights.
1351
01:29:54,222 --> 01:29:58,308
Your Honor,
the plaintiffs rest.
1352
01:29:58,309 --> 01:30:00,394
Members of the jury,
1353
01:30:00,395 --> 01:30:06,275
Brom and Bett ask that
you find them to be free men.
1354
01:30:10,405 --> 01:30:11,947
Why do we have
natural rights?
1355
01:30:11,948 --> 01:30:13,990
Why do we have human rights?
1356
01:30:13,991 --> 01:30:18,829
Why are there things that it's
wrong to do to any human being?
1357
01:30:18,830 --> 01:30:22,416
Because human beings are
not like amoeba,
1358
01:30:22,417 --> 01:30:25,585
or like ants
or even like dogs or pigs.
1359
01:30:25,586 --> 01:30:28,171
They have the Godlike qualities
of reason and freedom.
1360
01:30:28,172 --> 01:30:30,215
They have agency.
1361
01:30:30,216 --> 01:30:32,092
They're made in
the image and likeness of God.
1362
01:30:32,093 --> 01:30:34,052
And that doesn't mean
that God has five fingers
1363
01:30:34,053 --> 01:30:37,597
on each of two hands and hair
on His head and a nose.
1364
01:30:37,598 --> 01:30:39,474
It means that, like God,
1365
01:30:39,475 --> 01:30:41,768
we have the powers
of reason and freedom.
1366
01:30:41,769 --> 01:30:45,147
We can envisage states
of affairs that don't exist,
1367
01:30:45,148 --> 01:30:46,982
but it would be good
to bring into existence.
1368
01:30:46,983 --> 01:30:48,984
And then we can act freely
1369
01:30:48,985 --> 01:30:52,530
and on reason to bring those
states of affairs into being.
1370
01:30:55,283 --> 01:30:59,661
The jury took little time
to render its decision.
1371
01:30:59,662 --> 01:31:01,205
Have you reached a verdict?
1372
01:31:05,209 --> 01:31:07,210
We, the jury,
1373
01:31:07,211 --> 01:31:09,629
find that slavery is
incompatible
1374
01:31:09,630 --> 01:31:11,590
with the state constitution
1375
01:31:11,591 --> 01:31:13,550
and award the plaintiffs damages
1376
01:31:13,551 --> 01:31:16,678
of 30 shillings each,
plus costs.
1377
01:31:19,265 --> 01:31:21,809
- I now find--
- Your Honor...
1378
01:31:26,063 --> 01:31:28,773
Bett would like to have
it entered into the record
1379
01:31:28,774 --> 01:31:33,361
that her new name shall be
Elizabeth Freeman.
1380
01:31:33,362 --> 01:31:35,572
So ordered.
1381
01:31:41,829 --> 01:31:43,788
The jury found
in our favor
1382
01:31:43,789 --> 01:31:48,877
that we are not and were not the
legal property of Mr. Ashley.
1383
01:31:48,878 --> 01:31:51,379
Mr. Ashley offered
for me to live in his house
1384
01:31:51,380 --> 01:31:56,468
and work for wages,
but I declined.
1385
01:31:56,469 --> 01:31:59,513
Instead, Mr. Sedgwick hired me
as his governess
1386
01:31:59,514 --> 01:32:00,847
for his children.
1387
01:32:00,848 --> 01:32:03,351
They call me “Mumbet”.
1388
01:32:06,020 --> 01:32:08,897
Now the news has come
of another court case.
1389
01:32:08,898 --> 01:32:10,732
Judge Cushing has said
1390
01:32:10,733 --> 01:32:13,693
that perpetual servitude
can no longer be tolerated
1391
01:32:13,694 --> 01:32:17,781
in our government, and
that liberty cannot be taken.
1392
01:32:17,782 --> 01:32:21,243
He said that slavery
was effectively abolished
1393
01:32:21,244 --> 01:32:23,204
in Massachusetts!
1394
01:32:28,292 --> 01:32:30,502
In October of 1781,
1395
01:32:30,503 --> 01:32:33,004
it was the Battle of Yorktown
1396
01:32:33,005 --> 01:32:36,634
that broke the British resolve
to continue the war.
1397
01:32:41,138 --> 01:32:43,014
The French and the Americans
1398
01:32:43,015 --> 01:32:47,852
pummeled General Cornwallis'
army for 11 days...
1399
01:32:53,985 --> 01:32:55,485
...while those troops
were huddled
1400
01:32:55,486 --> 01:32:57,696
behind earthen fortifications.
1401
01:33:03,744 --> 01:33:05,870
But it would be
another 18 months
1402
01:33:05,871 --> 01:33:08,123
before Washington learned...
- Sir.
1403
01:33:08,124 --> 01:33:10,542
...that negotiators in Paris
1404
01:33:10,543 --> 01:33:14,505
had reached a tentative
agreement on a peace treaty.
1405
01:33:18,801 --> 01:33:21,386
Gentlemen, uh, I see no reason
1406
01:33:21,387 --> 01:33:23,722
why we should await signatures
1407
01:33:23,723 --> 01:33:26,558
to stop the flow of blood
at this time.
1408
01:33:26,559 --> 01:33:29,060
We should propose
a general cessation
1409
01:33:29,061 --> 01:33:33,857
of hostilities immediately.
- The British agreed.
1410
01:33:33,858 --> 01:33:36,318
Washington's ceasefire went
into effect
1411
01:33:36,319 --> 01:33:39,613
on April 19, 1783,
1412
01:33:39,614 --> 01:33:43,491
exactly eight years
after the “shot heard
1413
01:33:43,492 --> 01:33:47,787
round the world” was fired
on Lexington Green.
1414
01:33:51,375 --> 01:33:54,210
The American Revolution
shouldn't have won.
1415
01:33:54,211 --> 01:33:57,130
It shouldn't have defeated
the British.
1416
01:33:57,131 --> 01:34:00,925
The founders and those that were
involved in it were so amazed.
1417
01:34:00,926 --> 01:34:03,762
And the whole world was
frankly amazed by it,
1418
01:34:03,763 --> 01:34:05,639
that a lot of them looked at it
1419
01:34:05,640 --> 01:34:08,099
as this had to be
a kind of providential event.
1420
01:34:08,100 --> 01:34:09,976
Washington himself
1421
01:34:09,977 --> 01:34:13,271
often marveled
at the supernatural safeguards
1422
01:34:13,272 --> 01:34:15,607
that seemed to sustain
his endeavors,
1423
01:34:15,608 --> 01:34:19,903
but he always associated signs
of heavenly favor
1424
01:34:19,904 --> 01:34:21,530
with the cause.
1425
01:34:23,282 --> 01:34:26,034
But others have
different explanations
1426
01:34:26,035 --> 01:34:28,536
for these unlikely events.
1427
01:34:28,537 --> 01:34:31,706
I'm a person very much
of the material world
1428
01:34:31,707 --> 01:34:35,126
and of history and facts.
1429
01:34:35,127 --> 01:34:37,629
I can give an explanation
that has nothing
1430
01:34:37,630 --> 01:34:40,048
to do with Providence and so on.
1431
01:34:40,049 --> 01:34:43,968
I can say that George Washington
was a genius as a general.
1432
01:34:43,969 --> 01:34:46,888
He was a genius because he knew
when not to fight.
1433
01:34:46,889 --> 01:34:49,516
He knew when to retreat.
1434
01:34:49,517 --> 01:34:52,435
“Miracle” does apply
in many of the battles,
1435
01:34:52,436 --> 01:34:55,897
for example,
and the way things turn,
1436
01:34:55,898 --> 01:34:57,774
but at the base,
1437
01:34:57,775 --> 01:35:00,193
the underlying advantages
the American populace
1438
01:35:00,194 --> 01:35:03,113
and the American context provide
1439
01:35:03,114 --> 01:35:05,407
were enormous advantages
1440
01:35:05,408 --> 01:35:08,076
that were quite palpable
and not divine.
1441
01:35:08,077 --> 01:35:11,454
So it depends on your angle
of vision.
1442
01:35:11,455 --> 01:35:13,456
The founders themselves,
1443
01:35:13,457 --> 01:35:17,001
in their very Declaration
of Independence from Britain,
1444
01:35:17,002 --> 01:35:20,505
stated that "we place
our reliance in the protection
1445
01:35:20,506 --> 01:35:22,590
of divine providence."
1446
01:35:22,591 --> 01:35:25,635
But the American Revolution
not only succeeded,
1447
01:35:25,636 --> 01:35:28,304
it made possible a Constitution,
1448
01:35:28,305 --> 01:35:31,057
and the Constitution succeeded
in maintaining
1449
01:35:31,058 --> 01:35:32,726
republican government.
1450
01:35:32,727 --> 01:35:34,478
Now, why?
1451
01:35:35,354 --> 01:35:38,398
There is something special,
something utterly unique
1452
01:35:38,399 --> 01:35:40,608
about the American Revolution.
1453
01:35:40,609 --> 01:35:45,280
It succeeded in establishing
a wholly unprecedented
1454
01:35:45,281 --> 01:35:50,034
self-governing federal republic
that has endured
1455
01:35:50,035 --> 01:35:54,330
and prospered under
the same remarkable blueprint,
1456
01:35:54,331 --> 01:35:58,835
with periodic adjustments,
for more than 200 years.
1457
01:35:58,836 --> 01:36:03,423
The founders understood that
the greatest dangers to liberty
1458
01:36:03,424 --> 01:36:06,718
came from central power,
centralized power.
1459
01:36:06,719 --> 01:36:11,848
So in order to avoid
the dangers of excessive power
1460
01:36:11,849 --> 01:36:14,851
in the central government,
the original plan,
1461
01:36:14,852 --> 01:36:16,978
that is the Articles
of Confederation,
1462
01:36:16,979 --> 01:36:19,314
gave the central government
almost no power.
1463
01:36:19,315 --> 01:36:21,357
The Articles of Confederation,
1464
01:36:21,358 --> 01:36:25,320
which were used
between the end of the war
1465
01:36:25,321 --> 01:36:29,657
and the Constitutional
Convention, had no power to tax.
1466
01:36:29,658 --> 01:36:33,369
They had no power to demand
anything of any other state,
1467
01:36:33,370 --> 01:36:35,872
of any other colony.
1468
01:36:35,873 --> 01:36:39,501
They knew they had to put
some teeth into the articles,
1469
01:36:39,502 --> 01:36:42,253
and they all agreed
1470
01:36:42,254 --> 01:36:45,048
that that was what
they were trying to accomplish.
1471
01:36:45,049 --> 01:36:46,633
Trust you had
a pleasant journey here...
1472
01:36:46,634 --> 01:36:48,802
Virginians arrive
pretty early
1473
01:36:48,803 --> 01:36:52,555
before many
other delegations arrive.
1474
01:36:52,556 --> 01:36:55,892
They begin to meet together,
but kind of informally.
1475
01:36:55,893 --> 01:36:59,521
And Ben Franklin is the host,
and he's a gracious host.
1476
01:36:59,522 --> 01:37:02,649
- Dr. Franklin?
- Yes, sir.
1477
01:37:02,650 --> 01:37:05,527
On behalf of our
entire delegation
1478
01:37:05,528 --> 01:37:09,364
who have traveled quite far from
the Commonwealth of Virginia,
1479
01:37:09,365 --> 01:37:12,033
we thank you for graciously
opening your home.
1480
01:37:12,034 --> 01:37:14,744
- And your Madeira wine!
- Hear, hear!
1481
01:37:14,745 --> 01:37:18,248
You're welcome, gentlemen.
Welcome to Philadelphia.
1482
01:37:18,249 --> 01:37:21,292
And enjoy the wine.
- It's our pleasure to be here.
1483
01:37:21,293 --> 01:37:22,961
- Thank you.
- I'm sure you're tired.
1484
01:37:22,962 --> 01:37:24,838
And I hope this--
this makes the trip
1485
01:37:24,839 --> 01:37:27,048
even that much more
pleasant for you.
1486
01:37:27,049 --> 01:37:28,967
- Thank you.
- Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
1487
01:37:28,968 --> 01:37:32,262
Now, if I might offer
a topic for discussion tonight,
1488
01:37:32,263 --> 01:37:35,598
I'd like for you to take
a look at these 15 resolves
1489
01:37:35,599 --> 01:37:39,727
as outlined by Mr. James Madison
in a bold new envisioning
1490
01:37:39,728 --> 01:37:41,604
of what our federal
government might look like
1491
01:37:41,605 --> 01:37:44,148
as we move forward.
1492
01:37:44,149 --> 01:37:47,944
Now, we all agree that
our Articles of Confederation
1493
01:37:47,945 --> 01:37:50,780
have proven wholly incapable
of moving our nation forward
1494
01:37:50,781 --> 01:37:53,241
on the world stage...
- Hear, hear.
1495
01:37:53,242 --> 01:37:56,077
...or any stage,
for that matter.
1496
01:37:56,078 --> 01:38:01,457
Mr. Madison has given thought
to a much more forward-thinking,
1497
01:38:01,458 --> 01:38:05,837
I'd say better-thinking form
for our government.
1498
01:38:05,838 --> 01:38:09,507
Don't you agree?
Now take a look at this.
1499
01:38:09,508 --> 01:38:12,343
Read it carefully.
See what you think.
1500
01:38:19,560 --> 01:38:22,687
If our union is
to hold together,
1501
01:38:22,688 --> 01:38:26,065
something must be done.
1502
01:38:26,066 --> 01:38:28,318
How long this time?
1503
01:38:28,319 --> 01:38:31,112
Oh, madam.
1504
01:38:31,113 --> 01:38:33,364
No more than duty demands,
1505
01:38:33,365 --> 01:38:34,867
and not a minute longer.
1506
01:38:37,077 --> 01:38:39,037
Make it worth it.
1507
01:38:39,038 --> 01:38:43,708
Make it worth the lives
and the blood
1508
01:38:43,709 --> 01:38:46,002
for the children
1509
01:38:46,003 --> 01:38:50,214
and our grandchildren's
grandchildren.
1510
01:38:50,215 --> 01:38:52,926
Make it strong.
1511
01:38:52,927 --> 01:38:54,386
Yes.
1512
01:38:57,264 --> 01:38:59,766
Washington comes
from Virginia,
1513
01:38:59,767 --> 01:39:01,142
and now everyone knows
this is serious.
1514
01:39:01,143 --> 01:39:02,727
He comes out of retirement.
1515
01:39:02,728 --> 01:39:04,145
And if he's willing
to come out of retirement,
1516
01:39:04,146 --> 01:39:06,314
every other state sends
their best people
1517
01:39:06,315 --> 01:39:08,816
'cause George Washington's
going to be there,
1518
01:39:08,817 --> 01:39:11,111
and Ben Franklin
is going to be there.
1519
01:39:14,615 --> 01:39:17,867
The windows to
the Pennsylvania State House
1520
01:39:17,868 --> 01:39:20,411
were shuttered and curtained,
1521
01:39:20,412 --> 01:39:23,706
and the delegates pledged
to total secrecy
1522
01:39:23,707 --> 01:39:27,711
when they gathered late
in May of 1787.
1523
01:39:30,673 --> 01:39:33,257
Edmund Randolph,
the governor of Virginia,
1524
01:39:33,258 --> 01:39:35,718
presented Madison's
Virginia Plan,
1525
01:39:35,719 --> 01:39:37,637
and for the next 40 days,
1526
01:39:37,638 --> 01:39:40,390
the 15 elements
of the Virginia Plan
1527
01:39:40,391 --> 01:39:44,602
provided the blueprint
for their daily deliberations.
1528
01:39:44,603 --> 01:39:47,021
There's a controversy
that develops.
1529
01:39:47,022 --> 01:39:49,857
On the one hand,
there are the small states.
1530
01:39:49,858 --> 01:39:51,401
On the other hand,
there are the big states
1531
01:39:51,402 --> 01:39:53,486
with larger populations.
1532
01:39:53,487 --> 01:39:55,279
In Madison's Constitution,
1533
01:39:55,280 --> 01:39:57,824
he has two legislative bodies,
not just one,
1534
01:39:57,825 --> 01:40:00,660
each body based on population.
1535
01:40:00,661 --> 01:40:02,662
Now, the small states are
concerned because they think
1536
01:40:02,663 --> 01:40:07,041
that if representation is
solely assigned by population,
1537
01:40:07,042 --> 01:40:09,002
that they won't
be adequately represented.
1538
01:40:09,003 --> 01:40:11,379
So they don't want to go
along with the Constitution,
1539
01:40:11,380 --> 01:40:13,548
and tempers start to get frayed.
1540
01:40:13,549 --> 01:40:16,801
It looks as if the convention
may unravel
1541
01:40:16,802 --> 01:40:20,471
without actually
forming a union.
1542
01:40:20,472 --> 01:40:22,765
Mr. Luther Martin,
Maryland.
1543
01:40:22,766 --> 01:40:26,853
I dare Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts
1544
01:40:26,854 --> 01:40:29,022
to form your own confederation.
1545
01:40:32,985 --> 01:40:37,572
And the rest of us, we'll form
a-- a rival association
1546
01:40:37,573 --> 01:40:39,407
on a more worthy basis!
1547
01:40:43,954 --> 01:40:46,372
The big states
naturally favored
1548
01:40:46,373 --> 01:40:48,124
proportional representation,
1549
01:40:48,125 --> 01:40:50,960
but the small states,
of course, disagreed.
1550
01:40:50,961 --> 01:40:55,089
Their sovereignty as states
was being threatened,
1551
01:40:55,090 --> 01:41:00,303
and they pledged to walk out
if their voices weren't heard--
1552
01:41:00,304 --> 01:41:06,059
voices like that of
William Paterson of New Jersey.
1553
01:41:06,060 --> 01:41:08,479
Mr. Paterson, New Jersey,
1554
01:41:09,772 --> 01:41:12,315
We are met here as the deputies
1555
01:41:12,316 --> 01:41:18,362
of 13 independent
sovereign states.
1556
01:41:18,363 --> 01:41:20,573
Can we annihilate
the sovereignties of our states
1557
01:41:20,574 --> 01:41:23,576
who have sent us here
for other purposes?
1558
01:41:23,577 --> 01:41:25,620
- No.
- Nay.
1559
01:41:25,621 --> 01:41:29,582
The people of America
are sharp-sided
1560
01:41:29,583 --> 01:41:31,918
and not to be deceived.
1561
01:41:36,298 --> 01:41:37,965
I used to tell
my students,
1562
01:41:37,966 --> 01:41:39,675
the twin pillars
of constitutional thought
1563
01:41:39,676 --> 01:41:43,679
are first, the notion of
human dignity--
1564
01:41:43,680 --> 01:41:46,265
that humans have
an intrinsic dignity
1565
01:41:46,266 --> 01:41:48,601
from which
our rights are derived,
1566
01:41:48,602 --> 01:41:51,312
that we are granted dignity
in virtue
1567
01:41:51,313 --> 01:41:53,356
of having been created by God.
1568
01:41:53,357 --> 01:41:57,193
And because that dignity is
a God-given gift,
1569
01:41:57,194 --> 01:42:00,988
and the rights that flow
from it are also God given,
1570
01:42:00,989 --> 01:42:04,075
the state cannot take
those rights away.
1571
01:42:04,076 --> 01:42:06,953
The other key pillar
of constitutional thought
1572
01:42:06,954 --> 01:42:09,205
is the idea of human depravity,
1573
01:42:09,206 --> 01:42:12,667
that humans are capable
of great evil
1574
01:42:12,668 --> 01:42:15,294
against their fellow men
and women.
1575
01:42:15,295 --> 01:42:18,131
And so we have dignity,
1576
01:42:18,132 --> 01:42:20,925
but we're very much capable
of not respecting
1577
01:42:20,926 --> 01:42:23,219
the dignity of others.
1578
01:42:23,220 --> 01:42:25,596
All in favor, say “aye”.
1579
01:42:25,597 --> 01:42:27,723
- Aye.
- Aye.
1580
01:42:27,724 --> 01:42:29,475
- All opposed.
- Nay.
1581
01:42:29,476 --> 01:42:31,519
- Nay.
- Nay.
1582
01:42:31,520 --> 01:42:37,400
The Constitution was important
because it made it clear
1583
01:42:37,401 --> 01:42:42,155
that there had to be
a strong central government,
1584
01:42:42,156 --> 01:42:47,076
and the Articles
were the opposite.
1585
01:42:47,077 --> 01:42:51,289
The delegates from New York,
the delegates from other states,
1586
01:42:51,290 --> 01:42:54,250
all were told "If you come back
1587
01:42:54,251 --> 01:42:57,962
with a strong central
government, we'll hang you."
1588
01:42:57,963 --> 01:43:02,300
So there was a lot
of resistance,
1589
01:43:02,301 --> 01:43:08,014
but Madison apparently was one
of the most persuasive.
1590
01:43:08,015 --> 01:43:10,558
He says "The key issue
is this--
1591
01:43:10,559 --> 01:43:12,852
“if we give too much power
to the government,
1592
01:43:12,853 --> 01:43:15,229
“it will result in tyranny
1593
01:43:15,230 --> 01:43:18,816
“and the abridgment of
all the rights of the citizens.
1594
01:43:18,817 --> 01:43:21,027
“But if we don't give
government enough power,
1595
01:43:21,028 --> 01:43:24,447
“then the intrinsic depravity
of the citizenry will run wild
1596
01:43:24,448 --> 01:43:27,074
“and we'll have rebellions
and lawlessness and so forth.
1597
01:43:27,075 --> 01:43:28,951
So we've got to get
the balance right."
1598
01:43:28,952 --> 01:43:31,454
Madison then reflects
on all this,
1599
01:43:31,455 --> 01:43:33,998
and the way he attempts
to get the balance right
1600
01:43:33,999 --> 01:43:35,374
is with
the checks and balances,
1601
01:43:35,375 --> 01:43:38,836
with the separation of powers.
1602
01:43:38,837 --> 01:43:44,133
James Wilson of Pennsylvania
spoke for the larger states.
1603
01:43:44,134 --> 01:43:48,471
James Wilson of Pennsylvania.
1604
01:43:48,472 --> 01:43:52,225
Can we forget to whom
we're forming a government?
1605
01:43:52,226 --> 01:43:55,269
Are not the citizens
of Pennsylvania
1606
01:43:55,270 --> 01:43:57,313
equal to those of New Jersey?
1607
01:43:57,314 --> 01:43:58,648
Hear, hear.
1608
01:43:58,649 --> 01:44:01,609
Will it require 150
of the former
1609
01:44:01,610 --> 01:44:04,820
to balance 50 of the latter?
1610
01:44:04,821 --> 01:44:08,449
Why should a national
government be unpopular?
1611
01:44:08,450 --> 01:44:10,326
Shall a citizen of Delaware
1612
01:44:10,327 --> 01:44:14,914
be degraded by becoming
a citizen of the United States?
1613
01:44:14,915 --> 01:44:15,999
Hear, hear.
1614
01:44:16,583 --> 01:44:17,668
- Nay.
- Nay.
1615
01:44:24,925 --> 01:44:29,553
Mr. Gunning Bedford, Delaware.
1616
01:44:29,554 --> 01:44:33,182
Will you crush
the smaller states?
1617
01:44:33,183 --> 01:44:36,435
Oh, they say
they will never hurt
1618
01:44:36,436 --> 01:44:40,314
or injure the lesser states.
1619
01:44:40,315 --> 01:44:43,025
I do not, gentlemen, trust you.
1620
01:44:43,026 --> 01:44:45,111
Hear, hear.
1621
01:44:45,112 --> 01:44:49,490
Were we the smaller states
to form our own confederation,
1622
01:44:49,491 --> 01:44:51,325
the fault will be yours.
1623
01:44:51,326 --> 01:44:53,953
- No, sir. No, sir.
- Nay!
1624
01:44:53,954 --> 01:44:58,708
And all the nations
of the earth will justify us.
1625
01:44:58,709 --> 01:45:03,963
The larger states would not dare
dissolve our confederation.
1626
01:45:03,964 --> 01:45:06,215
And if they tried,
1627
01:45:06,216 --> 01:45:13,639
we would find some foreign ally
of more honor and good faith
1628
01:45:13,640 --> 01:45:18,102
to take them by the hand
and do them justice.
1629
01:45:18,103 --> 01:45:21,356
- Nay!
- Hear, hear!
1630
01:45:24,401 --> 01:45:27,862
Even George Washington
was discouraged at this point
1631
01:45:27,863 --> 01:45:29,697
in the convention.
1632
01:45:29,698 --> 01:45:33,034
He wrote to his friend,
Alexander Hamilton,
1633
01:45:33,035 --> 01:45:38,205
who had temporarily returned
to New York.
1634
01:45:38,206 --> 01:45:41,417
I almost despair
of seeing a favorable issue
1635
01:45:41,418 --> 01:45:44,337
to the proceedings
of this convention,
1636
01:45:44,338 --> 01:45:50,719
and do therefore repent having
had any agency in the business.
1637
01:45:56,641 --> 01:45:59,727
So many of the founding fathers
owned slaves,
1638
01:45:59,728 --> 01:46:02,229
but were against it
at the same time.
1639
01:46:02,230 --> 01:46:05,524
George Washington said
in an April 12, 1786 letter
1640
01:46:05,525 --> 01:46:07,902
to Robert Morris,
he said of slavery,
1641
01:46:07,903 --> 01:46:11,072
"There is not a man living
1642
01:46:11,073 --> 01:46:13,991
“who wishes more sincerely
than I do
1643
01:46:13,992 --> 01:46:18,954
to see a plan adopted
for the abolition of it."
1644
01:46:18,955 --> 01:46:21,791
As soon as the American
Revolution breaks out,
1645
01:46:21,792 --> 01:46:24,210
the Declaration of Independence
is adopted,
1646
01:46:24,211 --> 01:46:28,381
immediately the Northern states
start ending slavery,
1647
01:46:28,382 --> 01:46:30,132
state by state by state,
1648
01:46:30,133 --> 01:46:33,677
and the Southern states
do not follow suit.
1649
01:46:33,678 --> 01:46:36,764
So the word slave
and the word slavery
1650
01:46:36,765 --> 01:46:40,601
never appear once
in the Constitution,
1651
01:46:40,602 --> 01:46:42,311
because otherwise
1652
01:46:42,312 --> 01:46:45,815
the Southern delegates
are walking out.
1653
01:46:45,816 --> 01:46:49,276
The most important thing is
you got to get
1654
01:46:49,277 --> 01:46:51,112
all the states on board.
1655
01:46:51,113 --> 01:46:53,781
If a state is on its own,
1656
01:46:53,782 --> 01:46:56,992
it would have the ability
to make a treaty
1657
01:46:56,993 --> 01:46:58,994
with some foreign power.
1658
01:46:58,995 --> 01:47:02,039
And now you're going to have
foreign mercenaries
1659
01:47:02,040 --> 01:47:05,251
on American soil
threatening the other states.
1660
01:47:05,252 --> 01:47:08,129
So, South Carolina
and Massachusetts
1661
01:47:08,130 --> 01:47:11,090
have to both be on board
and everyone in between
1662
01:47:11,091 --> 01:47:15,678
to create a united,
geographically contiguous block.
1663
01:47:15,679 --> 01:47:18,889
And in order for that to happen,
1664
01:47:18,890 --> 01:47:20,599
oh, you're going to have to
accommodate
1665
01:47:20,600 --> 01:47:24,438
the South Carolinians
on the subject of slavery.
1666
01:47:34,156 --> 01:47:35,991
Another day of impasse.
1667
01:47:38,201 --> 01:47:39,869
Why not push the vote?
1668
01:47:39,870 --> 01:47:42,455
We have eight states
for manumission.
1669
01:47:42,456 --> 01:47:47,293
We will lose the others.
Fracture the country.
1670
01:47:47,294 --> 01:47:50,337
Can we now survive
without Georgia,
1671
01:47:50,338 --> 01:47:55,676
without South Carolina,
North Carolina, Maryland?
1672
01:47:55,677 --> 01:47:59,430
Connecticut has promoted
this compromise.
1673
01:47:59,431 --> 01:48:02,766
They will vote against us.
1674
01:48:02,767 --> 01:48:05,519
Where will they turn next?
1675
01:48:05,520 --> 01:48:08,272
Spain? France?
1676
01:48:08,273 --> 01:48:11,692
Back to England?
1677
01:48:11,693 --> 01:48:13,068
No.
1678
01:48:13,069 --> 01:48:17,406
We are, as of yet, too fragile.
1679
01:48:17,407 --> 01:48:19,783
But this compromise--
1680
01:48:19,784 --> 01:48:22,244
should our government
divide souls?
1681
01:48:22,245 --> 01:48:26,081
3/5 of a slave for taxes
and additional representatives?
1682
01:48:26,082 --> 01:48:28,334
Additional representatives
1683
01:48:28,335 --> 01:48:33,631
whose constituents are the
strained backs of the enslaved.
1684
01:48:33,632 --> 01:48:36,175
Yet those representatives
will vote
1685
01:48:36,176 --> 01:48:40,472
to perpetuate the abomination
of slavery.
1686
01:48:42,182 --> 01:48:47,186
20 years before
we can intervene.
1687
01:48:47,187 --> 01:48:51,565
We cannot abolish that
abomination without a country.
1688
01:48:51,566 --> 01:48:53,609
If we press the issue now,
1689
01:48:53,610 --> 01:48:56,862
the slave states will
just fracture the federation.
1690
01:48:56,863 --> 01:49:02,326
Slavery will continue
in a divided America.
1691
01:49:02,327 --> 01:49:09,626
But if we accept the compromise,
we build one nation.
1692
01:49:11,253 --> 01:49:15,131
A single nation, a great nation...
1693
01:49:16,132 --> 01:49:19,427
can work towards abolition.
1694
01:49:28,186 --> 01:49:30,020
A lot of people
1695
01:49:30,021 --> 01:49:33,524
misunderstand what
the 3/5 clause is all about.
1696
01:49:33,525 --> 01:49:35,526
I was once one of them.
1697
01:49:35,527 --> 01:49:39,822
I remember as a student I said,
"Oh, this is a horrible clause.
1698
01:49:39,823 --> 01:49:43,576
“You're treating slaves
as 3/5 of a person,
1699
01:49:43,577 --> 01:49:46,287
and everyone should count
equally."
1700
01:49:46,288 --> 01:49:48,330
No, no.
1701
01:49:48,331 --> 01:49:52,167
Because no matter what, slaves
are never going to be voting.
1702
01:49:52,168 --> 01:49:53,711
That's not the issue.
1703
01:49:53,712 --> 01:49:55,838
The 3/5 clause is not about
1704
01:49:55,839 --> 01:50:00,050
how much we value slaves
as human beings.
1705
01:50:00,051 --> 01:50:04,430
It's about
how much extra voting power
1706
01:50:04,431 --> 01:50:11,186
the white slave-holding regime
in slave states
1707
01:50:11,187 --> 01:50:15,316
is going to enjoy because of
the existence of slavery.
1708
01:50:15,317 --> 01:50:18,611
In that debate, the South
wanted that number high
1709
01:50:18,612 --> 01:50:21,196
and the North wanted
that number low.
1710
01:50:21,197 --> 01:50:25,784
And if you're anti-slavery,
the answer should be zero.
1711
01:50:25,785 --> 01:50:28,287
Slavery is the one issue
1712
01:50:28,288 --> 01:50:32,499
that everybody knows
will destroy the convention
1713
01:50:32,500 --> 01:50:36,420
and make any kind
of constitution impossible.
1714
01:50:36,421 --> 01:50:41,258
Benjamin Franklin attended the
proceedings nearly every day,
1715
01:50:41,259 --> 01:50:43,427
but he rarely spoke.
1716
01:50:43,428 --> 01:50:45,304
But at this critical juncture,
1717
01:50:45,305 --> 01:50:49,099
late in the day on
June the 28th, he rose.
1718
01:50:49,100 --> 01:50:54,271
The delegates quieted down
to give their full attention
1719
01:50:54,272 --> 01:50:58,525
to their assembly's
most venerable figure.
1720
01:50:58,526 --> 01:51:01,655
Dr. Franklin of Pennsylvania.
1721
01:51:03,365 --> 01:51:08,118
In this situation,
at this assembly,
1722
01:51:08,119 --> 01:51:12,081
groping, as it were, in the dark
to find political truth
1723
01:51:12,082 --> 01:51:17,711
and scarce able to distinguish
it when presented to us,
1724
01:51:17,712 --> 01:51:19,463
how has it happened, sir,
1725
01:51:19,464 --> 01:51:23,342
that we have not
hitherto once humbly applied
1726
01:51:23,343 --> 01:51:29,682
to the Father of Light
to illuminate our conversation?
1727
01:51:29,683 --> 01:51:34,144
In the beginning of this
conflict with Great Britain,
1728
01:51:34,145 --> 01:51:38,023
when we were sensible of danger,
1729
01:51:38,024 --> 01:51:44,781
we had daily prayer in this room
for divine protection.
1730
01:51:45,865 --> 01:51:49,451
Our prayers, sir, were heard...
- Hear, hear.
1731
01:51:49,452 --> 01:51:52,746
...and they were
graciously answered.
1732
01:51:52,747 --> 01:51:55,416
Hear, hear.
1733
01:51:55,417 --> 01:51:58,502
All of us
who were engaged in the struggle
1734
01:51:58,503 --> 01:52:01,255
must have observed
frequent instances
1735
01:52:01,256 --> 01:52:05,176
of a superintending providence
in our favor.
1736
01:52:08,388 --> 01:52:12,016
And have we now forgotten
that powerful friend?
1737
01:52:14,769 --> 01:52:22,109
I have lived a long time,
and the longer I live,
1738
01:52:22,110 --> 01:52:27,865
the more convincing proofs
I see of this truth.
1739
01:52:27,866 --> 01:52:31,535
That God governs
in the affairs of men.
1740
01:52:31,536 --> 01:52:33,579
Hear, hear.
1741
01:52:33,580 --> 01:52:40,043
And if a sparrow cannot fall to
the ground without His notice,
1742
01:52:40,044 --> 01:52:47,801
is it probable that an empire
can rise without His aid?
1743
01:52:47,802 --> 01:52:53,098
We have been assured, sir,
in the sacred writings,
1744
01:52:53,099 --> 01:52:57,060
that except the Lord build
the house,
1745
01:52:57,061 --> 01:53:01,482
they labor in vain
that build it.
1746
01:53:01,483 --> 01:53:04,610
I firmly believe this.
1747
01:53:04,611 --> 01:53:08,155
And I also believe
that without His concurring aid,
1748
01:53:08,156 --> 01:53:10,991
we shall succeed
in this political battle
1749
01:53:10,992 --> 01:53:13,994
no better than the builders
of Babel.
1750
01:53:16,498 --> 01:53:22,211
I therefore beg leave
to move that henceforth
1751
01:53:22,212 --> 01:53:27,090
prayers imploring the assistance
of Heaven
1752
01:53:27,091 --> 01:53:31,804
and its blessings
on our deliberations
1753
01:53:31,805 --> 01:53:37,017
be held every morning
in this room
1754
01:53:37,018 --> 01:53:40,855
before we proceed to business.
1755
01:53:45,109 --> 01:53:47,737
- Hear, hear.
- Hear, hear.
1756
01:53:47,821 --> 01:53:50,698
Hear, hear.
1757
01:53:53,827 --> 01:53:58,622
Benjamin Franklin was
among the least actively religious
1758
01:53:58,623 --> 01:54:00,374
of the American founders.
1759
01:54:00,375 --> 01:54:02,960
That must have just been
a [gasps] moment
1760
01:54:02,961 --> 01:54:05,003
for everybody in that room
to think,
1761
01:54:05,004 --> 01:54:08,799
"Wow, Franklin said that.
Franklin said that."
1762
01:54:08,800 --> 01:54:14,847
Now, skeptics or cynics
might say, well, Franklin
1763
01:54:14,848 --> 01:54:17,558
there was simply being
a good psychologist.
1764
01:54:17,559 --> 01:54:20,894
He wasn't really thinking
God might help here,
1765
01:54:20,895 --> 01:54:24,439
but he was thinking we can move
people toward cooperation
1766
01:54:24,440 --> 01:54:26,817
and move them from this impasse
1767
01:54:26,818 --> 01:54:31,113
if we can get them
into a kind of religious spirit.
1768
01:54:31,114 --> 01:54:33,490
I don't believe it, though.
1769
01:54:33,491 --> 01:54:36,243
In his personal memoir,
1770
01:54:36,244 --> 01:54:39,371
which he did not imagine would
be read by the general public,
1771
01:54:39,372 --> 01:54:42,207
but thought would basically be
for his children
1772
01:54:42,208 --> 01:54:44,251
and his descendants,
1773
01:54:44,252 --> 01:54:47,462
he talked about his own belief
in the importance of prayer
1774
01:54:47,463 --> 01:54:49,047
and the power of prayer--
1775
01:54:49,048 --> 01:54:50,841
that prayer made a difference.
1776
01:54:50,842 --> 01:54:52,718
And this shows
that he did believe in a God
1777
01:54:52,719 --> 01:54:54,553
who really did care about
human affairs
1778
01:54:54,554 --> 01:54:57,347
and could and did intervene
in human affairs.
1779
01:54:57,348 --> 01:54:59,391
He believed in Providence.
1780
01:54:59,392 --> 01:55:01,894
As a result
of the Franklin speech,
1781
01:55:01,895 --> 01:55:03,687
the whole atmosphere
1782
01:55:03,688 --> 01:55:05,355
in the Constitutional Convention
changes.
1783
01:55:05,356 --> 01:55:07,024
Attitudes soften.
1784
01:55:07,025 --> 01:55:10,485
They form a committee of five
to explore a compromise.
1785
01:55:10,486 --> 01:55:12,070
The Sherman Compromise,
1786
01:55:12,071 --> 01:55:13,488
which had been on the table
from the beginning,
1787
01:55:13,489 --> 01:55:16,366
is suddenly seen
as sweet reason.
1788
01:55:16,367 --> 01:55:18,118
We have one house--
1789
01:55:18,119 --> 01:55:19,995
one of the two bodies
in the legislature
1790
01:55:19,996 --> 01:55:23,498
will be apportioned
by population,
1791
01:55:23,499 --> 01:55:28,378
and the other will be given
two senators for each state.
1792
01:55:28,379 --> 01:55:31,048
On the decisive Monday morning
1793
01:55:31,049 --> 01:55:34,718
on which the state
delegations finally faced
1794
01:55:34,719 --> 01:55:39,264
the single most contentious
issue of the convention,
1795
01:55:39,265 --> 01:55:44,686
suddenly, at center stage
enters a delegate from Maryland,
1796
01:55:44,687 --> 01:55:51,401
a man by the unusual name of
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer.
1797
01:55:51,402 --> 01:55:55,989
He believed in representation
based on population
1798
01:55:55,990 --> 01:56:00,452
and supported
a powerful central government.
1799
01:56:00,453 --> 01:56:03,789
In this he disagreed
respectfully
1800
01:56:03,790 --> 01:56:09,586
with his fellow Marylander,
the obstreperous Luther Martin.
1801
01:56:09,587 --> 01:56:12,965
Jenifer inexplicably got up
from his chair,
1802
01:56:12,966 --> 01:56:15,258
ambled out of the state house,
1803
01:56:15,259 --> 01:56:18,929
and wandered off
onto the city streets.
1804
01:56:18,930 --> 01:56:23,642
He absented himself from history
just long enough
1805
01:56:23,643 --> 01:56:27,729
for Luther Martin alone
to control Maryland's vote
1806
01:56:27,730 --> 01:56:32,025
on equal representation
for every state.
1807
01:56:32,026 --> 01:56:35,570
Jenifer deliberately
threw the result
1808
01:56:35,571 --> 01:56:39,157
and ensured the defeat
of his own faction
1809
01:56:39,158 --> 01:56:42,744
in order to deliver a
larger victory for his country.
1810
01:56:42,745 --> 01:56:44,246
Small states are happy
1811
01:56:44,247 --> 01:56:45,622
because they have
equal representation
1812
01:56:45,623 --> 01:56:47,457
in the upper house, the Senate.
1813
01:56:47,458 --> 01:56:49,209
The large states are happy
1814
01:56:49,210 --> 01:56:50,627
because they get
proportional representation
1815
01:56:50,628 --> 01:56:51,878
in the lower house.
1816
01:56:51,879 --> 01:56:53,547
A compromise is struck.
1817
01:56:53,548 --> 01:56:55,507
They created
a separation of powers,
1818
01:56:55,508 --> 01:56:58,343
creating three separate branches
of government
1819
01:56:58,344 --> 01:57:00,512
that were independent
from each other.
1820
01:57:00,513 --> 01:57:04,558
These men reflected on
human nature very, very deeply.
1821
01:57:04,559 --> 01:57:08,228
They knew about the deep faults
and deep flaws of human nature,
1822
01:57:08,229 --> 01:57:12,899
and so they constructed a new
form of republican government
1823
01:57:12,900 --> 01:57:17,320
in the Constitution
that would survive,
1824
01:57:17,321 --> 01:57:20,866
that would endure because
it took human nature seriously
1825
01:57:20,867 --> 01:57:23,410
and understood human nature
well.
1826
01:57:23,411 --> 01:57:25,245
So we are adjourned.
1827
01:57:25,246 --> 01:57:28,832
By understanding
the importance of giving nobody,
1828
01:57:28,833 --> 01:57:34,671
no individual, no one
institution, unlimited power,
1829
01:57:34,672 --> 01:57:37,633
all power would be checked.
1830
01:57:43,097 --> 01:57:45,057
And only two days later,
1831
01:57:45,058 --> 01:57:50,270
the delegates took a break
to celebrate the Fourth of July.
1832
01:57:50,271 --> 01:57:58,278
New England's God
forever reigns.
1833
01:57:58,279 --> 01:58:00,822
Amen.
1834
01:58:00,823 --> 01:58:05,327
On this great day,
this glorious Fourth,
1835
01:58:05,328 --> 01:58:07,579
I cannot suppress
the soaring hope
1836
01:58:07,580 --> 01:58:11,541
that I feel for the work
of the visiting statesmen
1837
01:58:11,542 --> 01:58:17,547
who are busy with the great work
of binding our states together.
1838
01:58:17,548 --> 01:58:20,425
And I'm confident
in their success,
1839
01:58:20,426 --> 01:58:22,719
and I implore us all
to be in prayer
1840
01:58:22,720 --> 01:58:25,681
for their collective wisdom
and unity.
1841
01:58:27,600 --> 01:58:33,188
Methinks I already see
the stately fabric of a free
1842
01:58:33,189 --> 01:58:36,441
and vigorous government
rising from the wisdom
1843
01:58:36,442 --> 01:58:38,152
of the Federal Convention.
1844
01:58:42,198 --> 01:58:43,491
Let us pray.
1845
01:59:06,305 --> 01:59:08,890
The American founders
1846
01:59:08,891 --> 01:59:11,726
were an extraordinary
group of men
1847
01:59:11,727 --> 01:59:14,187
there together in one place,
1848
01:59:14,188 --> 01:59:18,483
as if the hand of Providence
had made it so.
1849
01:59:18,484 --> 01:59:20,360
Every single one
of those individuals
1850
01:59:20,361 --> 01:59:22,654
was a person
of remarkable gifts,
1851
01:59:22,655 --> 01:59:26,408
who brought those gifts to bear
in the American Revolution
1852
01:59:26,409 --> 01:59:28,911
and the establishment
of the Constitution.
1853
01:59:33,583 --> 01:59:37,502
The Constitution constitutes us
as a people.
1854
01:59:37,503 --> 01:59:40,756
It's the source of our unity.
1855
01:59:50,641 --> 01:59:54,644
We, unlike most other nations
in the world,
1856
01:59:54,645 --> 01:59:59,524
find our national unity
not in common bonds
1857
01:59:59,525 --> 02:00:04,279
of blood or soil
or throne and altar.
1858
02:00:04,280 --> 02:00:08,033
Because we can't find
our unity there.
1859
02:00:08,034 --> 02:00:11,536
It's in the shared commitment
to the principles
1860
02:00:11,537 --> 02:00:13,371
of liberty and justice,
1861
02:00:13,372 --> 02:00:16,374
enunciated in
the Declaration of Independence
1862
02:00:16,375 --> 02:00:18,960
and effectuated
by the Constitution
1863
02:00:18,961 --> 02:00:21,254
of the United States.
1864
02:00:21,255 --> 02:00:25,550
They are what unify us.
1865
02:00:25,551 --> 02:00:28,220
Later that year,
from his diplomatic post
1866
02:00:28,221 --> 02:00:31,056
where he represented his country
in the court of the French king,
1867
02:00:31,057 --> 02:00:35,894
Thomas Jefferson hailed
the Philadelphia Convention
1868
02:00:35,895 --> 02:00:39,773
as an assembly of demigods,
1869
02:00:39,774 --> 02:00:44,069
and in a letter to Adams,
Jefferson expressed no doubt
1870
02:00:44,070 --> 02:00:47,990
that all its measures
will be good and wise.
1871
02:00:49,033 --> 02:00:50,450
Finally.
1872
02:00:50,451 --> 02:00:53,620
But he had no knowledge
of the bruising battles
1873
02:00:53,621 --> 02:00:56,998
and the occasional blunders
that the demigods endured
1874
02:00:56,999 --> 02:00:59,584
and their top-secret
proceedings.
1875
02:00:59,585 --> 02:01:03,380
He could only marvel
at the final result.
1876
02:01:03,381 --> 02:01:05,924
As a charter, he said,
1877
02:01:05,925 --> 02:01:12,014
“Was unquestionably the wisest
ever yet presented to men.”
1878
02:01:24,402 --> 02:01:28,488
An isolated instance
of fortunate coincidence
1879
02:01:28,489 --> 02:01:34,327
or eerie congruence
may count as an anomaly,
1880
02:01:34,328 --> 02:01:38,331
but a long chain
of seemingly haphazard
1881
02:01:38,332 --> 02:01:41,418
but consistently beneficial
occurrences
1882
02:01:41,419 --> 02:01:44,504
suggests something else
entirely:
1883
02:01:44,505 --> 02:01:45,839
a pattern--
1884
02:01:45,840 --> 02:01:49,092
or more accurately--
a design.
1885
02:01:49,093 --> 02:01:52,178
What if at any point
during the Revolution,
1886
02:01:52,179 --> 02:01:53,930
any of these amazing
intercessions
1887
02:01:53,931 --> 02:01:55,515
by Providence hadn't happened?
1888
02:01:55,516 --> 02:01:57,434
The fog hadn't rolled in.
1889
02:01:57,435 --> 02:01:59,519
We hadn't been able to get
the cannons in place
1890
02:01:59,520 --> 02:02:01,771
to be able to fight off
the British.
1891
02:02:01,772 --> 02:02:05,025
At any time, a million things
could have gone wrong.
1892
02:02:05,026 --> 02:02:06,776
Washington!
1893
02:02:06,777 --> 02:02:10,363
And America could have lost
the war for independence.
1894
02:02:10,364 --> 02:02:11,948
What then?
1895
02:02:11,949 --> 02:02:14,200
When you consider the events
of the 20th century alone,
1896
02:02:14,201 --> 02:02:16,786
I mean, imagine what
the world would look like
1897
02:02:16,787 --> 02:02:19,582
if you didn't have
the United States of America.
1898
02:02:20,416 --> 02:02:22,584
Not only was America
playing a decisive role
1899
02:02:22,585 --> 02:02:24,336
in defeating these countries
in wars
1900
02:02:24,337 --> 02:02:27,630
or a Cold War or whatever it was
in the way they responded,
1901
02:02:27,631 --> 02:02:30,258
look at Ellis Island.
1902
02:02:30,259 --> 02:02:33,887
Ellis Island provides a place
for all the immigrants
1903
02:02:33,888 --> 02:02:37,182
in all those countries
to flee from those countries,
1904
02:02:37,183 --> 02:02:38,767
those oppressors.
1905
02:02:38,768 --> 02:02:42,437
So this gives people
a safe haven to come to.
1906
02:02:42,438 --> 02:02:46,816
This country clearly had a
special Providential purpose.
1907
02:02:46,817 --> 02:02:51,196
America is something that I--
1908
02:02:51,197 --> 02:02:53,323
I hold in my heart,
1909
02:02:53,324 --> 02:02:57,619
and I am not sorry about it.
1910
02:02:57,620 --> 02:03:00,663
I want everyone
to feel that way,
1911
02:03:00,664 --> 02:03:03,708
but I think
that we reached a point
1912
02:03:03,709 --> 02:03:06,628
where there's not
one institution in this country
1913
02:03:06,629 --> 02:03:08,630
that you can trust.
1914
02:03:08,631 --> 02:03:13,093
You can't trust the press,
you can't trust the judiciary,
1915
02:03:13,094 --> 02:03:16,597
you can't trust education,
1916
02:03:18,057 --> 02:03:21,101
you can't trust politics,
1917
02:03:21,102 --> 02:03:24,479
you can't trust journalism.
1918
02:03:24,480 --> 02:03:30,610
Now, did I just say anything
that you would argue with?
1919
02:03:30,611 --> 02:03:32,445
I don't think I did.
1920
02:03:32,446 --> 02:03:39,911
I think you know that's how far
we have fallen, how bad it is.
1921
02:03:39,912 --> 02:03:45,375
And if we don't do something
that arouses
1922
02:03:45,376 --> 02:03:50,547
a feeling of protection
and love of country
1923
02:03:50,548 --> 02:03:54,008
and the values that we loved,
1924
02:03:54,009 --> 02:03:58,930
supposedly in every part,
in every family,
1925
02:03:58,931 --> 02:04:01,433
if we don't get that back,
1926
02:04:01,434 --> 02:04:07,981
this country will not be
anything like America.
1927
02:04:07,982 --> 02:04:09,816
I think there's a warning
for our time
1928
02:04:09,817 --> 02:04:12,569
from the great Russian dissident
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
1929
02:04:12,570 --> 02:04:15,822
In 1983,
he gave a famous speech,
1930
02:04:15,823 --> 02:04:19,659
his "Men have forgotten God"
speech, about the fall of Russia
1931
02:04:19,660 --> 02:04:21,744
to the Bolsheviks in 1917.
1932
02:04:21,745 --> 02:04:24,038
He recounts how the old people
were weeping in the fields,
1933
02:04:24,039 --> 02:04:25,874
and how some of them told him
1934
02:04:25,875 --> 02:04:28,918
that these great disasters
have befallen Russia
1935
02:04:28,919 --> 02:04:31,212
because men have forgotten God.
1936
02:04:31,213 --> 02:04:33,798
And I think there is
in that story,
1937
02:04:33,799 --> 02:04:35,967
and even in the story
of our founding,
1938
02:04:35,968 --> 02:04:38,428
a warning for us today.
1939
02:04:38,429 --> 02:04:40,388
Though the founders were
of a variety
1940
02:04:40,389 --> 02:04:42,390
of different
religious perspectives,
1941
02:04:42,391 --> 02:04:45,518
they were very concerned
to give honor to God
1942
02:04:45,519 --> 02:04:49,439
and to express the God-given
rights and liberties
1943
02:04:49,440 --> 02:04:51,316
in our founding documents.
1944
02:04:51,317 --> 02:04:53,193
And I think the warning is
that if we forget God,
1945
02:04:53,194 --> 02:04:57,572
if we forget that theistic
perspective, if you will,
1946
02:04:57,573 --> 02:05:00,033
that there will be a loss
of liberty in our country
1947
02:05:00,034 --> 02:05:03,411
and we will lose what
we have been given.
1948
02:05:03,412 --> 02:05:06,122
What we have to be ashamed
of in our history are the times
1949
02:05:06,123 --> 02:05:10,585
when we have failed to follow
our own founding principles,
1950
02:05:10,586 --> 02:05:12,587
the proposition
that all men are created equal,
1951
02:05:12,588 --> 02:05:14,130
that they are endowed
by their Creator
1952
02:05:14,131 --> 02:05:15,507
with certain unalienable rights,
1953
02:05:15,508 --> 02:05:17,008
and among these are life,
liberty,
1954
02:05:17,009 --> 02:05:18,635
and the pursuit of happiness.
1955
02:05:18,636 --> 02:05:21,846
When we were involved
in injustice and wrongdoing,
1956
02:05:21,847 --> 02:05:23,806
it wasn't
because of our principles.
1957
02:05:23,807 --> 02:05:27,393
It was in violation
of our principles.
1958
02:05:27,394 --> 02:05:29,562
Our principles are
good principles.
1959
02:05:29,563 --> 02:05:32,565
I would say Godly principles.
1960
02:05:32,566 --> 02:05:35,693
The trouble is, we're prone
to wrongdoing, prone to sin,
1961
02:05:35,694 --> 02:05:37,737
to use the religious language,
1962
02:05:37,738 --> 02:05:40,031
which I think is
very appropriate to use.
1963
02:05:40,032 --> 02:05:42,784
When we have sinned,
we have not done well.
1964
02:05:42,785 --> 02:05:44,787
We have not flourished.
1965
02:05:45,746 --> 02:05:53,044
We have compromised and
betrayed the very almighty God
1966
02:05:53,045 --> 02:05:58,216
in whom we have placed our trust
and our reliance.
1967
02:05:58,217 --> 02:06:01,219
When we have honored
our founding principles,
1968
02:06:01,220 --> 02:06:03,638
the principles of
the Declaration of Independence
1969
02:06:03,639 --> 02:06:07,017
and the Constitution,
we have flourished.
1970
02:06:10,437 --> 02:06:12,438
With that well-earned
certainty that,
1971
02:06:12,439 --> 02:06:17,902
as Abraham Lincoln said, “He who
made the world still governs it,”
1972
02:06:17,903 --> 02:06:21,531
Americans of today
should regain our bearings.
1973
02:06:21,532 --> 02:06:24,200
It must be the task
of the citizen,
1974
02:06:24,201 --> 02:06:29,706
as well as the statesman,
to listen for God's footsteps.
1975
02:06:29,707 --> 02:06:31,374
And that perspective should make
1976
02:06:31,375 --> 02:06:34,419
the American miracle
unmistakable,
1977
02:06:34,420 --> 02:06:40,341
impossible to miss
that our nation is no accident.
1978
02:07:16,587 --> 02:07:19,088
- ♪ Let freedom ring ♪
- ♪ From the shores of Africa ♪
1979
02:07:19,089 --> 02:07:21,382
♪ To the doors of America ♪
- ♪ Let freedom ring ♪
1980
02:07:21,383 --> 02:07:23,426
♪ From the shores of Africa ♪
1981
02:07:23,427 --> 02:07:25,136
♪ To the doors of America ♪
- ♪ Let freedom ring ♪
1982
02:07:25,137 --> 02:07:27,180
♪ From the shores of Africa ♪
1983
02:07:27,181 --> 02:07:29,140
♪ To the doors of America ♪
1984
02:07:29,141 --> 02:07:32,602
♪ Freedom, freedom,
freedom, freedom ♪
1985
02:07:32,603 --> 02:07:36,314
- ♪ We cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
1986
02:07:36,315 --> 02:07:40,276
- ♪ Oh, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
1987
02:07:40,277 --> 02:07:43,696
♪ Yeah, we cry freedom ♪
1988
02:07:43,697 --> 02:07:48,159
♪ Ain't got no halos ♪
- ♪ Ain't got no halos ♪
1989
02:07:48,160 --> 02:07:52,080
- ♪ No wings to fly away ♪
- ♪ No wings to fly away ♪
1990
02:07:52,081 --> 02:07:56,209
- ♪ I've got to labor ♪
- ♪ I've got to labor ♪
1991
02:07:56,210 --> 02:08:00,129
- ♪ For many, many days ♪
- ♪ For many, many days ♪
1992
02:08:00,130 --> 02:08:04,133
- ♪ I'm on a journey ♪
- ♪ I'm on a journey ♪
1993
02:08:04,134 --> 02:08:08,054
- ♪ I'm looking for a place ♪
- ♪ I'm looking for a place ♪
1994
02:08:08,055 --> 02:08:12,183
- ♪ To rest my burdens ♪
- ♪ To rest my burdens ♪
1995
02:08:12,184 --> 02:08:14,894
- ♪ Far from this tyranny ♪
- ♪ Far from this tyranny ♪
1996
02:08:14,895 --> 02:08:17,355
♪ Whoa ♪
1997
02:08:17,356 --> 02:08:19,273
♪ From the shores of Africa ♪
1998
02:08:19,274 --> 02:08:21,109
♪ To the doors of America ♪
1999
02:08:21,110 --> 02:08:22,819
♪ With voices to heaven ♪
2000
02:08:22,820 --> 02:08:24,696
♪ Praying for liberty ♪
2001
02:08:24,697 --> 02:08:28,199
♪ We cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2002
02:08:28,200 --> 02:08:30,786
- ♪ Yeah, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪Freedom, freedom ♪
2003
02:08:30,869 --> 02:08:35,915
- ♪ Yeah, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2004
02:08:35,916 --> 02:08:39,836
- ♪ Oh, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2005
02:08:39,837 --> 02:08:43,172
- ♪ We marched in 'Bama ♪
- Yes, we did.
2006
02:08:43,173 --> 02:08:48,261
- ♪ We marched in Tennessee ♪
- Yeah, we marched in Tennessee.
2007
02:08:48,262 --> 02:08:52,098
♪ Brown men and white men ♪
2008
02:08:52,099 --> 02:08:56,102
♪ Stood for equality ♪
Yes, we did, y'all.
2009
02:08:56,103 --> 02:09:00,189
♪ We kept our chin up ♪
- ♪ We kept our chin up ♪
2010
02:09:00,190 --> 02:09:03,985
- ♪ We kept our dignity ♪
- ♪ We kept our dignity ♪
2011
02:09:03,986 --> 02:09:08,114
♪ And this proclamation ♪
2012
02:09:08,115 --> 02:09:10,908
♪ Let everybody sing ♪
- ♪ Let everybody sing ♪
2013
02:09:10,909 --> 02:09:13,286
♪ Whoa ♪
2014
02:09:13,287 --> 02:09:16,914
♪ From the shores of Africa
to the doors of America ♪
2015
02:09:16,915 --> 02:09:20,501
♪ With voices to heaven
praying for liberty ♪
2016
02:09:20,502 --> 02:09:23,838
♪ We cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2017
02:09:23,839 --> 02:09:28,259
- ♪ Yeah, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2018
02:09:28,260 --> 02:09:31,012
- ♪ Oh, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2019
02:09:31,013 --> 02:09:32,972
♪ Oh, yeah ♪
2020
02:09:32,973 --> 02:09:36,559
♪ And we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2021
02:09:36,560 --> 02:09:40,396
♪ Oh ♪
2022
02:09:40,397 --> 02:09:42,399
Freedom ain't free.
2023
02:09:47,404 --> 02:09:49,865
It cost somebody something.
2024
02:09:50,991 --> 02:09:53,117
♪ Whoa ♪
2025
02:09:53,118 --> 02:09:56,037
♪ Freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2026
02:09:56,038 --> 02:10:02,960
- ♪ Yeah, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2027
02:10:02,961 --> 02:10:08,174
- ♪ Oh, yeah, we cry freedom ♪
- ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪
2028
02:10:08,175 --> 02:10:09,884
♪ My heart cries freedom ♪
2029
02:10:09,885 --> 02:10:13,179
If one minute's freedom
had been offered to me,
2030
02:10:13,180 --> 02:10:15,306
especially in that moment,
2031
02:10:15,307 --> 02:10:19,268
and I'd been told that I must
die at the end of that minute,
2032
02:10:19,269 --> 02:10:24,357
I would have taken it just to
stand one minute on God's earth
2033
02:10:24,358 --> 02:10:26,360
as a free woman.
2034
02:10:26,944 --> 02:10:31,197
♪ I'm gonna get my shout on ♪
2035
02:10:31,198 --> 02:10:33,533
♪ I'm gonna get my, hey ♪
2036
02:10:33,534 --> 02:10:35,244
♪ Hey, hey ♪
2037
02:13:13,318 --> 02:13:16,821
Mr. President, Congressman Ames
from Massachusetts.
2038
02:13:16,822 --> 02:13:18,782
Yes, yes.
Come in, Fisher.
2039
02:13:24,913 --> 02:13:27,540
Let me ask you, Ames,
2040
02:13:27,541 --> 02:13:31,460
what would you say if we
could purchase all of Louisiana,
2041
02:13:31,461 --> 02:13:34,463
all of this, doubling
the territory of our nation
2042
02:13:34,464 --> 02:13:36,841
and not spend a drop of blood?
2043
02:13:36,842 --> 02:13:39,802
Do it.
- At what cost, Mr. President?
2044
02:13:39,803 --> 02:13:42,596
Well, keep this confidential,
of course,
2045
02:13:42,597 --> 02:13:46,726
but, uh, $15 million.
2046
02:13:46,727 --> 02:13:49,645
- 15 million dollars?
- It's incredible, isn't it?
2047
02:13:49,646 --> 02:13:51,647
That comes out
to less than 3 cents an acre.
2048
02:13:51,648 --> 02:13:53,065
Preposterous!
2049
02:13:53,066 --> 02:13:55,192
Too much money,
of which we have too little,
2050
02:13:55,193 --> 02:13:58,279
for land, of which
we already have too much.
2051
02:13:58,280 --> 02:14:02,908
Gentlemen, we are going to
make this purchase.
2052
02:14:09,958 --> 02:14:12,960
The American miracle
was not concluded.
2053
02:14:12,961 --> 02:14:16,715
In fact, it was just beginning.