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Mr. Adams.

- Mr. Adams.
- Yes!

- 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, l...

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.

"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.

My...

my pen was silent

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?

My heart was
never 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.

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, Mrs. 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!

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 Philadelphia

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.

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.

I tremble at the thought
of being stared at with evil eyes.

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.

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.

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!

My boys. My boys.

Welcome home, Father.

I feared that you
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?

God bless Mr. Adams.

Thank you!

Thank you.

It is too early for you
to speak of retirement.

I have been rolling
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.

To Peacefield,

in honor of our lasting peace
with Great Britain.

Peacefield.

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?

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 set 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.

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.