I’m watching HBO’s “John Adams” series. I’m not sure of its historical accuracy but there is some really some good stuff in there. The lines that Ben Franklin delivers are really good. When Ben Franklin is asked “do you not believe in saying what you think? He replies “No, I’m very much against it. Thinking aloud is a habit responsible for much of mankind’s misery”. I am interested to do a little bit of research on the side to confirm that Adams was the near firebrand he appears to be in this series.
One other thing the movie does very well is to reflect the impact on his family. In one scene, his small boy is watching him head off towards Philadelphia and says “I hate the Congress”. I wouldn’t be so dim as to compare the travails of the founders to small-town politics but my family identifies with that sentiment (at the Council level of course) from time to time.
March 24, 2008 at 12:49 am
I doubt very much that “JOHN ADAMS” is completely accurate in its historic detail. But it is an excellent miniseries. I have yet to encounter any historical drama that is historically accurate. I see no reason to expect one to be. Some of the best historical dramas I have seen – “BAND OF BROTHERS”, “GLORY”, “1776” and so on, are not historically correct. At least not completely.
March 24, 2008 at 7:35 am
My grandfather used to say “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”. I expect that they have taken liberties with the storyline but that the main points are right….just a guess.
March 24, 2008 at 9:24 am
John Adams, like most of us, was a person of many parts. He
was a key leader of the American Revolution and a true
“Founding Father”, but Thomas Jefferson in a letter to James Madison
described Adams as “vain and irritable to the extreme”.
Adams and Jefferson were friends during the struggle for
Independence, had a falling out over politics in the days of the
early Republic, but returned to a close friendship later in life.
It is one of the ironies of American history that both of these great
leaders died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. John Adams final words
were “Thomas Jefferson still survives”. He was wrong though,
Jefferson had died hours earlier at Monticello.
March 24, 2008 at 10:13 am
President John Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts
(parts of which are still in force in 2008). You may want
to Google them and reflect upon the issues they address -possible alien
menaces – on the issues of today. Interesting reading.
March 24, 2008 at 1:55 pm
” I wander alone, and ponder – I muse, I mope, I ruminate – We have
not men fit for the times. We are deficient in genius, in education,
in fortune – in every thing.”
John Adams diary, autumn 1774.
Then came America Next!
March 26, 2008 at 11:25 am
Way off topic, but there is a Manassas City Council budget work
session tonight (3-26-2008) at 5:30. NOTE: It is being held
at the Public Works and Utilities Facility Conference Room –
NOT at City Hall. The agenda is on the city web site.
As always, the public IS invited.
“Balancing the budget is like going to heaven. Everybody wants to do it,
but nobody wants to do what you have to do to get there.”
Phil Gramm, 1990