Film John & Abigail Adams

What does Abigail call for to Adams to do when he is making his code of laws? Why?

"And by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors have been. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could." Because: It was the most bold statement by any woman of her time. She was aware that women had rights. She thought that women's role in the household was equally important with men's role in the greater world.

To what was the "cancer" of which Adam's referred?

"The cancer" was British corruption, British arrogance. Adams believed that London cared nothing for American rights. He saw a once-great nation now obsessed with luxury and wealth, hungry for ever-higher taxes from its colonies.

Name at least 3 positive accomplishments of John Adams

1. Adams moved a reluctant Congress to declare America's independence from England. 2. And when the revolution seemed nearly lost, he single-handedly secured millions of dollars in loans to keep the American army from collapse. 3. He'd written the constitution of the state of Massachusetts, which became the foundation for the national constitution.

What gave him leverage there?

A fleet of French ships had made the decisive difference, helping the Americans to surround the British. It was sweet vindication for John Adams, who had battled for years to get the French navy into the fight. The victory gave Adams new leverage in Amsterdam. If the Dutch wanted to be aligned with the winning side, the time to loan money to the Americans was now.

What is Abigail's view of the press?

Abigail became very angry with the press. The press are maligning the government, and she thought that was corrupt. "Scarcely a day passes without some scurrility in the paper from that lying wretch Bache. He is trying to force Mr. A to resign so that Jefferson may take over" She thought that the press would incite riots. That people would become so motivated by the articles they were reading, that there would be physical attacks on John.

What were the Alien Acts?

Adams also signed the Alien Acts, aimed in part at French immigrants suspected of collusion with France. The Acts gave him the power to expel any foreign-born residents deemed "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States."

Why did Adams have to leave for France?

Adams is chosen for what they think is the most important single diplomatic mission possible, namely, to negotiate an alliance with the French. The revolution could not survive without money and military support from the French. Adams was to leave for Paris as soon as possible.

What was the part of the role of government, according to Adams?

Adams knew from struggling with his own inner conflicts that there were powerful passions deep in the human soul, and that part of the role of government was to restrain those passions, to keep them in check.

Adams went to Holland to secure what?

America was broke. There had been talk in Congress of seeking loans from Holland. Acting on his own, Adams packed up the boys and left for Amsterdam. Wealthy Dutch bankers, he hoped, could lend enough money to keep the American war effort alive.

Why does Adams call for Abigail to join him in Richmond Hill after he had become Vice President?

He doesn't feel that he can conduct himself as vice-president with the degree of intelligence and success that he wishes, if she's not with him.

Why the jealousy of Ben Franklin?

If you asked a Frenchman who is an American, it is Benjamin Franklin. He is a world-class scientist. He is a famous writer. Adams is entering a kind of Franklin electromagnetic field. And he's jealous of him. Adams was contemptuous of the alliance that Franklin had negotiated. The Americans needed the help of the French navy. He urged Franklin to push the French much harder. Franklin refused.

Why does Adams not truly preside over the senate?

In one of the early debates in the Senate, the question was what do we call the president of the United States? Adams believed the office of president needed to be given stature, lest it be overwhelmed by the Congress. So therefore you needed to give the president a title. I propose -- I propose: "His Highness, the President of the United States and Protector of the Rights of the Same." There was enormous concern in the United States about monarchy. Many people misinterpreted him and believed that what he was actually calling for was the creation of an American monarchy. The Senate voted to rein in Adams, officially changing the role of vice president for all time. America's leading political thinker would not be permitted to join in as they debated vital questions about the future of the new United States.

What was the issue with referring to George Washington as "His Excellency" or "His Highness"?

It was common -- it was common-- while he commanded the army to call General Washington "His Excellency," but it would appear to me better to give him no title than to put him on a level with the governor of Bermuda.

Why did Jefferson refuse to cast partisanship aside and not help Adams and the country face France?

Jefferson chooses party over friendship, partisanship over Adams' offer of reconciliation. Why should he join Adams as Adams faces hostile fire? The fact is, Jefferson wants to have some sort of peace negotiation with France. But Jefferson wants the Federalists to fail, and for the Federalists to fail, Adams has to fail.

What does Jefferson think, however, of the growing spark of liberty happening in France in 1792?

Jefferson was enthralled with the unfolding drama in France. Jefferson starts out with this idea that the French Revolution is the spark of liberty moving around the world, and doesn't really let go of that horse. He just hangs onto that horse. He really thinks, even when things get bloody and violent, that, well, (you know) you need a little bloodshed in the greater cause of liberty across the world. He's absolutely sincere. He really does think that the principles in the Declaration of Independence and the principles of the French Revolution are synonymous. If the last king can be strangled with the entrails of the last priest, we will have destroyed the institutions that have stood in the way of human freedom.

What was that drove a near permanent wedge between Adams' and Jefferson?

Jefferson was paying a professional scandal monger named Callender to attack Adams. He was providing this man with money.And when he's asked about it, he says: Of course there's no truth to this. I didn't pay Callender to libel Adams. Furious at Jefferson's repeated denials, Callender eventually sent the evidence to the press. It wasn't until later that Adams found out that lo and behold, this man who had been calling him everything imaginable, smearing him, was being paid by Jefferson, secretly. And it broke Adams' heart. Truly broke his heart. And Abigail never got over it. And there was a period of almost ten years when they didn't speak to each other.

Adams View of the growing spark of liberty happening in France in 1792?

John Adams held a starkly different view of the events in France. He thinks they're in this bloody, anarchic chaos over there. And what would prevent some of that chaos and confusion from working its way to America?

What did Adams do on February 18,1799 that ultimately helped him commit political suicide?

On February 18, 1799, John Adams fired a broadside at his critics. He dispatched a courier with a message for the Senate announcing he would send a second peace mission to France. Adams is essentially and self-consciously committing political suicide. His own party is opposed to this. And the Republicans under Jefferson are overjoyed to see him in such predicaments.

What were Adam's reasons for wanting Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence?

Reason first: you are a Virginian and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second: I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third: You can write ten times better than I can. #4 Jefferson was a Southerner, an aristocrat, a slaveholder- everything that Adams was not. #5 Jefferson regards argument as dissonant noise. It is almost like bad notes in a song. Whereas for Adams, it is the song.

What happened on the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?

The 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence dawned warm and dry up and down the Eastern seaboard. What happened that day seemed more like poetry than history. It was far beyond anything anyone could conceive of. And people at that time, very understandably, took it to mean that the hand of God was truly involved with the destinies of the United States of America. Narrator: At Monticello that morning, Thomas Jefferson, age eighty-three, willed himself to stay alive. Joseph Ellis, Historian: He's murmuring things that nobody can understand, and then his slave, Burwell, understands that he means: shift my pillow. And then he mutters, "Is it the fourth?"-- meaning: Is it the fourth of July? Jefferson wants to die on schedule. Narrator: Thomas Jefferson died at about one in the afternoon while, in the valley below, church bells rang in celebration of Independence Day. Adams has gotten up fit as a fiddle, no long, lingering illnesses. But he starts to fail just about the time that Jefferson dies. Narrator: In the afternoon, a brief thunderstorm rolled in across the neighboring marshes. Adams was having difficulty breathing. But even at 91, his mind was clear. "It is a great day," he said. "It is a good day." They take him downstairs, and he dies about 4:30 in the afternoon. And his last words are, "Thomas Jefferson still lives," which in fact was not correct. But it's poignant. His last thoughts were of Jefferson. He was a good friend. David McCullough, Historian: When he was lying there dying, thinking of Jefferson, the cannon and rifle fire and firecrackers were all booming in the distance, celebrating the Declaration of Independence. Now, if you -- If you did that in a movie, somebody would say, "Oh, that's too much. You know. Things like that don't happen in real life." It did happen in real life, again and again, through that whole amazing life.

Why did the federalists support this?

The Alien and Sedition Acts seem to contradict everything that he stood for. But it was a very scary time. To Federalists, to Adams, to Abigail, it makes perfect sense. They think they're doing what they need to do to uphold the government in a time of crisis.

Republicans vs. Federalists

The Jeffersonians (or the Republicans, as they became known) believed that the danger was in a chief executive who was too powerful. Too much power in one place was a dangerous thing. And the Federalists (as they became known) were for a strong national government, a strong executive. Adams felt you had to have a strong executive and could not rest power with the legislature.

What act passed in congress that went against the press?

The Sedition Act made it illegal to depict the government in any way that might seem "false, scandalous, and malicious," or that would bring the government "into contempt or disrepute."

What is the president's job according to Adams?

The president's job is to divine the public interest and act in its behalf, regardless of the consequences.

Why was Adams so upset about the coverage of Franklin's death?

The press hailed him as a grand old man of the revolution, almost a god. Adams was furious. Franklin was being lionized, while he, Adams, sat muzzled in the senate, his own role in the revolution pushed into the shadows. This anguish over his rightful place in history would torment Adams for the rest of his life.

Why are John Adams and George Washington so essential in keeping the American Revolution going?

The two most important people in moving the American Revolution forward are George Washington and John Adams. Washington because he's appointed as head of what will soon come to be called the Continental Army. And Adams is the major figure in the Congress.

What was Abigail's role during the Revolution?

To John: In Philadelphia, Abigail's reports from the front kept John supplied with the most up-to-date information, and heightened his belief that a formal break with Britain was essential. The colonies should prepare for full-scale war To her children: With war looming, most schools were closed. Abigail had to see to their education herself. To their finances: She also ran the household and the farm, and managed their meager finances.

To what is the "classic pattern" of establishing a despotic government, according to Adams?

a mob rule, violence and terror, and eventually the establishment of a despotic government, ruled by a single person. Reasoning has all been lost. Passion and prejudice will govern.

What major problems did the new American nation face?

There was no army to speak of. No national currency. No permanent capital.