All language subtitles for John.Adams.S01E04.HDTV.en

Mr. Adams.

- Mr. Adams.
- Yes!

- Man: mr. Adams, sir.
- Yes!

Momentous news, mr. Adams.

The british are defeated.

Look.

Now,
sir--

Now, sir, all will be fine.

All will be fine, sir.

Come. Come now.

You have struck a great blow

For the american cause, mr. Adams.

You have turned us all on our heads.

General Washington, at yorktown
did the substance of the work.

Only the form belongs to me.

Our directors have agreed

To an initial loan of

5 million
dutch guilders--

2 million of your
american dollars--

At a special rate

Of 5% interest.

You may consider american credit

Fully established.

Well,
i--

Well, I thank you, gentlemen.

I thank you very very much indeed.

We are very sorry to hear

That you will leave us so soon.

Oh yes, well, I am
needed in paris again.

The british have sued for peace,

And I intend to see
that we have a treaty

That recognizes our
independence, nothing less.

You are a most stubborn man, mr. Adams.

Ah, well, thanks be to god
he gave me stubbornness,

Especially when I know that I am right.

John: "my dearest friend,

The peace treaty is done

But the congress have
instructed me to remain in paris

To secure commerce with other nations.

I cannot justify going home,

But what should I do
for want of my Abigail?

There is only one remedy:

Come, my dearest friend.

Make all arrangements you must

For the care and
education of our children.

They are old enough now.

Come, my friend."

Madame.

Auteuil?

Auteuil, madame, oui.

Adams?

Monsieur adams a auteuil.

Oui, madame. Bienvenu.

Madame.

Mrs. Adams.

Mr. Adams.

Come.

I've taken the liberty of
making this room into my office.

This is not in use.

I came here

With many harsh words for you, John.

I know you have complained,

And it is very well-Deserved.

Not because you were
absent from my thoughts,

But...

Because you were too much in them.

To write of my disgrace,

To burden you with my trials here,

Knowing of all of those you had to face

At home

Alone...

It sorrows me more than I can say

To think that I may have added to them.

Can you forgive me, Abigail?

Did you think that i
would think less of you

If you spoke of your misadventures here?

No man wants to appear
a fool before his wife.

And now that you are triumphant,

Can you open your heart to me again?

And now my heart was are
triunever closed to you.

Without you to steady me,

Without you

I...

I dismiss my god, I grow weak

And vain.

Then we shall have to relieve
you of such bad habits.

You must stay with me always...

To prevent my ruination.

Jefferson: I understood my role

Was to negotiate free-Trade agreements

With anyone that would listen.

But nobody seems to have
the slightest interest

In either me or my whale oil.

Well, there is a lack

Of confidence
in us, Thomas--

In the whale
oil, perhaps--

But in the country as a whole.

Do they think that we
will tire of independence?

That our nation is...

Ephemeral?

My experience here has shown

That american affairs are
of very little consequence

To anyone in europe.

And as long as they are
dealing with 13 separate states,

They can afford to procrastinate.

Ah!

Thomas, allow me to present my wife.

Mrs. Adams is already well known to me.

Your wisdom and your
passion for your country

Is said to inform your
husband's every decision.

You do me more credit
than I deserve, sir.

Come.

Tell me, mr. Jefferson,

Are you situated in an
equally grand manner?

Oh, certainly. It's a measure of our
immense significance in the french court,

Where the question is not
how well-Qualified are we

For office, but how many
domestics do we retain.

The british ambassador has 50.
The spanish ambassador has 75.

We consider ourselves
quite impoverished.

We have to make do with fewer than 20.

I'm sorry, my dear.

Perhaps if we had more servants,

You would be more successful
in your negotiations.

A diplomatic magician.

At present I see
scarcely any opportunity

Of doing anything for
the american public

Worth the expense of
maintaining us here.

Mr. Adams, did you invite
your wife across the atlantic

In order to complain
about our business affairs?

Uh, yes, of course I did.

I am most used to mr. Adams'
complaints, mr. Jefferson,

On either side of the atlantic.

I'm sure you are, but I for one am

Much more interested in hearing about

Your first impressions of france.

Well, I have been in france
for such a short time.

It would be unfair to pass sentence

Or form judgment.

Which implies that
you've already done both.

Well, if I had, mr. Jefferson,

I would only offer them
after my further experience

Had shown my wisdom or
the error of my ways.

An admirable caution.

Yes, and highly
uncharacteristic, I assure you.

I am sorry I will not have the
opportunity to meet your children.

As am i, mr. Jefferson.

Johnny has returned and he's
very well along at harvard.

So, uh...

It would not do to distract him.

Let me take this
opportunity, mr. Jefferson, to

Give you my deepest condolences.

You must know that you are
welcome here at any time.

I hope you will use
this as your second home.

You are most gracious. Thank you.

If ever there was a city designed
to distract us from our troubles,

It would be paris.

Good heavens.

I fear I make an awkward sight.

Oh, no. Without doubt,

You are the fairest
creature in christendom.

It would mortify my soul if i
should be thought to disgrace you.

My dear, you are like
to dazzle them all.

I confess I was ashamed
to be seen looking at them.

I am not accustomed to seeing
such intimacy on display.

Well, you seemed quite transported.

- I was.
- Yeah.

I am embarrassed to admit it.

I am resolved to renounce embarrassment

In favor of enjoyment

And a certain elevation of the spirits

Which is occasioned by
witnessing the human body

Liberated from its earthly shackles.

Paris is unique.

Yes, and best enjoyed
in the company of women.

Women would add interest to
many things, mr. Jefferson,

If men would allow it.

Well, that has been my
experience, s. Adams.

I cannot imagine
monticello without martha.

I cannot imagine

Losing a child and
your wife in one year.

Perhaps the art of life is
the art of avoiding pain.

He is the best pilot who steers clear

Of the rocks and shoals.

For all of mr. Jefferson's sadness,

There is a great charm about him.

You find him a captivating man, hmm?

He is exceptional.

And am I not exceptional in any way?

Certainly,

Unless you are given
to one of your moods.

I'm simply reading a book, madam.

Pauline, merci.

Madame.

All this fuss is really quite silly.

I'm perfectly capable of
brushing out my own hair.

Protest if you will, my dear.

The question is whether
it is possible for a lady,

Or even a charming and exceptional man,

Once they have become accustomed
to the manners of europe,

Not to have their little
heads turned by them.

Well, if I am to have a
litany of all my faults,

Then perhaps we should just have it out

And be done with it.

John.

John.

Petulant John.

Exceptional John.

- Sleepy John?
- Mmm.

I would not change a
single thing about you.

Good thing for you!

Man: le dr. Franklin, messieurs,

Et la comtesse ligniville d'autricourt.

I have something very
important to deliver.

When I can find it i
will know where it is.

Excellent, excellent.

Madame.

My stones!

Ahem.

Oh, pardon me, mrs. Adams.

It is mrs. Adams, is it not?

It is of course, doctor, yes.

Oh, an honor.

Madam, I shall rise

To apologize for not getting up.

Dr. Franklin.

May I present the comtesse
ligniville d'autricourt,

Madame helvetius?

- Madame.
- Madame.

Franklin asks me to
marry him many times.

Has he indeed?

An inconvenience to
mrs. Franklin, surely.

It is quite tiresome.

I tell him we are too old for romance.

Found it!

From Philadelphia.

Merci.

The congress has seen
fit to appoint me minister

To the court of st. James.

I am expected to appear in london

No later than king George's birthday.

Bravo!

Ambassador adams, may
you be the first of many.

Mrs. Ambassador.

We have had our disagreements.

But you have always been
an honest collaborator.

I can think of no better choice

To represent the united states

In great britain than yourself.

The english love an insult.

It's their only test
of a man's sincerity.

Ah. Ahh!

My own days abroad are at a close,

But mr. Jefferson will replace me

Here quite well, I'm sure.

I merely succeed you, dr.
Franklin. No one can replace you.

Well, I fear none of us will
taste the bread of idleness.

There is talk of a
convention in philadelphia.

They are to discuss

A binding constitution.

I hope to attend, if
only to have an effect

On the style of its prose.

I expect that any
constitutional document

That emerges from a

Will be as compromised as our
declaration of independency.

I am increasingly persuaded

That the earth belongs
exclusively to the living

And that one generation
has no more right

To bind another to
its laws and judgments

Than one independent nation has
the right to command another.

But surely the constitution,

As it did with the ones we
wrote for our own states,

Is meant to establish the stability

And the long-Term legality

Essential to the continuation
of a civilized society.

Yes, possibly.

But I fear it could prove a breach

In the integrity of
our revolutionary ideals

Through which will pour
the forces of reaction.

Doctor, mr. Jefferson's pet topic

Is not the artful arrangement
of political power,

But the cordoning off of a space

In which no power exists at all.

You, sir, you are a
walking contradiction.

- We're all contradictions, mr. Adams.
- Indeed yes.

And what is government ultimately

But the putting into
effect of the lessons

Which we have learned in dealing with

The contradictions
in our own characters?

You have a disconcerting lack of faith

In your fellow man, mr. A,

And in yourself, if I may say.

Yes, and you display a dangerous excess

Of faith in your fellow
man, mr. Jefferson.

Well, I'm sure we'll all
disagree a great deal.

Our country is founded
on the right to disagree.

Still, we must prevail,

If only to prove
mr. Dickinson wrong--

That we will not tear ourselves asunder

After the defeat of our common enemy.

We've come too far to be
undone by petty rivalries.

Franklin: hmm. It is no small thing

To build a new world, gentlemen.

We have our republic.

We must endeavor to keep it if we can.

It will never fly.

It has flown, John, many times.

No, it's pulled up and
down, up and down on a rope.

Let's see what happens
when the rope is released.

Your husband's admirable caution

Sometimes blinds him

To unanticipated
possibilities, mrs. Adams.

This is one of them.

Yes yes, the possibility
that it will never fly.

I should be very sad, John,

If your experience of paris
has left you so unchanged.

I'm consoled only by the thought
that one never really knows

How much one has been touched
by a place until one has left it.

Well, I shall certainly
miss your company, Thomas.

And I shall miss yours, mrs. Adams.

London is not so very
far away, mr. Jefferson,

In the unlikely event you tire of paris.

I believe it shall tire of me first.

Well, I stand corrected.

So our umbilical cord to mother earth

Has been severed for the
first time in history.

Mankind floats upon a
limitless plane of air.

Hmm.

Hot air.

Lord carmarthen, the foreign minister,

Will make the official
introduction to his majesty.

And upon being ushered into
the royal presence chamber,

You will make three reverences,

Like so:

One on entering...

A second halfway to his majesty...

And a third as you come
before the royal presence.

Well, if you would, mr. Adams.

Please.

Well, uh...

One.

Lower, sir.

Two.

Truly lower, mr. Adams.

An improper reverence
has been the undoing

Of many a foreign ambassador.

Avert your eyes, sir,

Until you come before
the royal presence.

Yes.

May I also suggest that
perhaps a change of attire

Would not be unwarranted, sir?

What would you suggest, sir?

Possibly something a
little more english.

Mr. John adams.

The United States of America--

The United States of America

Have appointed me
minister plenipotentiary

To your majesty.

I think myself more fortunate

Than all of my fellow citizens

In having
the--

The distinguishing honor

To be the first to stand
in your majesty's presence

In a diplomatic character.

I shall esteem myself

The happiest of men

If I can be instrumental in restoring

The confidence and affection...

Or in better words, the good old nature

And the good old humor

Between peoples who,

Though separated by an ocean

And under different governments,

Have the same language,
the same religion...

And kindred blood.

I beg your majesty's permission to add

That though I had been before

Entrusted by my country...

It was never in my whole life

In a manner more agreeable to myself.

The circumstances of this
audience are so extraordinary.

The language you have now held

Is so extremely proper

And the feelings you have

Discovered

So justly adapted to the occasion,

That I not only receive with pleasure

The assurance of the
friendly disposition

Of the united states...

But that I am very glad

That the choice has fallen on you

To be their minister.

I will be very frank with you.

I was the last to consent to separation.

But the separation having been made

And having become inevitable,

I have always said as I say now,

That I would be the first
to meet the friendship

Of the united states

As an independent power.

Thank you, your majesty.

There is an opinion among
some people, mr. Adams,

That you are not the most
attached of all your countrymen

To the manners of france.

Yes, well, I avow to your majesty

That I have no attachment

To any country but my own.

An honest man will never have any other.

King George: I pray, mr. Adams,

That the united states
does not suffer unduly

From its want of a monarchy.

Yes, we will strive to
answer those prayers,

Your majesty.

Ah, "an ambassador from america.

Good heavens, what a sound."

Why, they call me a vain imposter

And a pharisee of liberty.

Idiotic phrase.

"The morning post and daily advertiser."

Ah, they very helpfully
inform their readers...

That I was "so pitifully embarrassed

As to be very nearly tongue-Tied."

You must pay them no mind, sir.

They accuse me of vanity.

They always accuse me of vanity.

There are many different kinds

Of vanity in this world.

But there is also the vanity that comes

From years spent in the service

Of other men.

And of that I am most certainly guilty.

Guilty as charged.

To deny that would be sheer hypocrisy.

Here is someone calling for me

To be hanged!

Colonel smith, remove
these papers at once.

God, what a country!

Charming!

I am sorry, John.

Are you unwell?

Do you remember the old
vassall-Borland estate

Near our farm?

Uh, yeah.

Rather a grand place, I recall.

It has become available.

House, farm buildings--
80 acres for �600.

What has brought this on?

My body is in one place,
my soul is in another.

Besides, I am worried
about the children.

They are adults now, John. They
have been without us for too long.

- And I'm tired of this
weary place. - Mm-Hmm.

There is no pleasure mixing
company where no one cares for you.

You care for no one.

I too feel adrift.

I missed the constitutional convention.

They are to elect a
new federal government,

And here am i,

3,000 miles away.

I will write to the congress and demand

My immediate recall.

I hold this post to be so
inconsistent with my honor and dignity

I can no longer endure it.

I'm finished with pomp and ceremony

And bowing and scraping and wigs

And all other affectations.
I'm finished with it.

Will they grant it?

I hope so.

Make ready!

Present!

Fire!

Father?

Charles!

Good heavens, you--
You look fine, sir.

I trust you had a peaceful journey, sir.

John: oh, yes yes.

- Father, this is Thomas.
- Of course.

Thomas. My boy, my goodness.

Well, you've grown into a man, yeah?

- It's been a long time, father.
- Yes indeed.

Yes indeed.

- Welcome home.
- John quincy!

- Father.
- Good! Yeah!

Abigail: my boys. My boys.

Welcome home, father.

Abigail: I feared that you
my boys. Would not know me.

Nonsense.

On the contrary.

No, I am amazed.

Mother.

Colonel william smith, who
has been my private secretary,

My sons, my daughter nabby.

Colonel smith.

Abigail, shall we? Come.

Nabby.

Charles, Thomas, follow
in the next carriage, yes?

Boy: god bless mr. Adams.

Thank you!

Thank you.

It is too early for you
to speak of retirement.

I have been rollin like
a stone for 30 years,

Never three years in the same place.

No, sir. I intend to
lay fast to my farm,

Here to live, here to die,

Here to lay my bones.

Time has already taken too many of '76.

The new government has my best wishes

And most fervent
prayers for its success.

The constitution was not
ratified without some difficulty.

We need men who will unite us.

Our first election is imminent.

Speculation on your future

Has been overflowing.

Your name has been
mentioned for governor,

Senator, chief justice
of the supreme court,

Vice president,

Even president of these states united.

Surely Washington, is the logical choice.

You would not object if i
were to put your name forward?

You were not meant to sit

In the shade of life...

Neither one of you.

If that is
what you wish--

It must at least be vice president.

Anything less would be beneath you.

John: to peacefield,

In honor of our lasting
peace with great britain.

All: peefield.

I could hardly ask your mother to return

To the wren's house of your childhood.

Of course not, not after
the palaces of europe!

I have heard disturbing reports

Of your behavior at
harvard, charles--

Drunkenness and disorderly conduct.

It was only a lark, father,

A momentary effusion
of too much good cheer.

I daresay I am neither the
first person nor the last

To appear naked in harvard yard.

Well, I daresay...

Do not let your companions

Or your amusements get
the better of you, sir.

A scholar is always made alone

And sober.

Studies can be pursued to good purpose

Only by yourself.

Your example is always
before me, father.

Following your graduations,

I will see to it

That you are placed as apprentices
to the most prominent lawyers.

Thank you, father.

Johnny, how goes

Your clerkship with lawyer parsons?

It's a far cry from the
excitement of st. Petersburg.

I'm sure.

And your courtship of mary
frazier, is that not exciting?

How long have you...

Pursued this courtship?

I have known mary for a year now.

A year?

John quincy: she is a lovely girl.

She is intelligent

And well-Spoken.

I find her to be delightful company.

Nothing so like
perfection in human shape

Has been seen since the world began.

May I inquire as to the
age of the young lady?

She is 15, mother.

I will speak frankly with you, John.

You're too young,
you're too unestablished

To form any sort of romantic
attachment whatsoever.

To excel in the field of the law,

Let alone become a man of
position and prominence,

You must work more hours
than exist in the day

And more days than exist in the week.

- I am well aware of the
commit-- - You are not!

Now, I indulge you
more than your brothers,

And there's a reason for that.

Because you have a strong mind

And you have the temperament to succeed

At whatever you set that mind to do.

You've traveled the world, man.

You could achieve distinction.

But you have only to apply yourself.

Now I am willing to s you up

In your own practice as of tomorrow

With an annual stipend of �100.

But you must cut off this
romantic attachment immediately.

I will need some time
to consider your offer.

No! You will decide now.

Very well, as you wish.

Good boy.

Excellent.

You're smiling, miss adams.

Do I not have reason to
be happy, colonel smith?

Our family is so rarely together.

Your brothers seem to
be men of good spirit,

Charles especially.

My brother charles can
be rather incorrigible.

He can be as headstrong as father.

Mr. Adams has the vitality
of a much younger man.

Some days it's all I can
do to keep up with him.

Father says you commanded
a regiment of our army.

Yes, I had the honor to
serve under general Washington,

At long island.

Perhaps you will allow me to divert you

With stories from the campaign,

If you would not find them too dull.

That depends on the telling,
does it not, Colonel Smith?

Abigail.

Here's a fine culmination
to all my years of service--

Fewer than half the votes
of the electoral college.

General Washington, is
unanimously acclaimed

President with 69 votes,

Whereas I apparently am scorned
by all but 34 of the electors.

John, there are two, four, six, eight,

10 other names here.

You have more votes than
all of them put together.

- And John jay comes in third with
nine. - Nonetheless, I consider--

I consider such a showing
a stain upon my character.

- John!
- I will not and I cannot accept it.

John...

You are vice president now.

Vice president.

I am vice president now, hmm?

Mr. Vice President.

- Mrs. Vice president.
- Vice president adams.

Mr. Vice President!

Unaccustomed to refuse
any public service,

However dangerous to my reputation

Or disproportionate to my talents...

It would have been inconsistent

To have adopted a
different maxim of conduct

At this time.

And yet--
And yet,

I feel a great difficulty

As to how to act.

I am vice president, yes.

And in this I am nothing.

But I may be everything.

Ah.

Well, general, uh...

Uh, you are--
You are here.

I am, mr. Adams.

Um...

Yes.

Um,

Yes, we, uh, we are

Ready to administer
the oath of office, sir.

I am at your service.

Boy: thank you, sir.

General, if you will please

Place your left hand on the bible

And raise your right hand.

Repeat after me.

I, George Washington,,
do solemnly swear...

I, George Washington, do solemnly swear...

...that I will faithfully execute

The office of President
of the United States...

...that I will faithfully execute

The office of President

Of the United States...

...and will, to the
best of my ability...

...and will, to the
best of my ability...

...preserve protect, and defend...

...preserve protect, and defend...

...the constitution
of the United States!

...the constitution
of the United States...

So help me, god.

It is done.

God bless George Washington,

President of the United States!

A fine day. A fine day.