All language subtitles for Episode 1 - Join or Die.eng

John Adams Part I:
Join Or Die.

Lobsters for sale!

Lobsters!

Who'll buy?
Lobsters!

Clean out my shit bucket, lobster!

Who'll buy lobsters?

Go back to england!

Take that!
Hit 'em right in the head!

We are people,
not an animal, lobster!

That a girl.

Come on,
you old fool.

Get over here.

Come here.
There we go.

Look at that.

Quite a big one.

That must have hurt.

You lost.

I did.

I could tell by
the set of your shoulders.

My client alleged

that his neighbor's horse

had trampled his crops.

And had it?

Hard to say.

There were no witnesses

and the beast
refused to testify for some reason.

Follow me!

Father.

Allow the child to breathe, John.

There, can you breathe now?

Did you go to the farm?

Mr. Bass is sending a cord of wood.

And there's a fence down
in the south field...

It's a fire!

Don't fire.
Do not fire, lads!

Help me!

Look at me. Yes?

- Can you breathe?
- My son.

Is this your boy?

Murderers!

Come away.

- Come away, Sam!
- Shoot me too, Preston,

- if you dare!
- Sam, come away!

You'll suffer
the full penalty of the law!

These people need to be tended to.

These people need our help here, yes?

What happened, father?

- We looked, but we couldn't see...
- It's all over now.

Just a little hubbub is all.
Nothing to worry about.

Return to bed.

Bed! Both of ya!

British soldiers fired into
a crowd on state house square.

God help us.

I thought it might come to this.

People were killed?

I cannot say what number...

One of them no more than a child,
from what I could see.

I have no words for it, Abigail.

"omnia gallia

in tres partes divisa est."

"all Gaul is divided unto three parts."

Good.
Who do you think would divide Gaul?

- John!
- Beggin'your pardon.

Yes?

- Mr. Adams, my name is Forrest.
- What happened to you?

It's nothing, sir.

I'm known to be
a friend of the soldiers here.

What is your business, sir?

I'm here to ask you to help a man.

Captain Preston.

No one else will plead his case.

Come in.

I will get a basin

- to dress those cuts.
- That's very kind.

Thank you.

Here. Sit.

Sit.

Can it harm to go
and see this soldier?

How?

Because you
will find a way to believe him.

- He may be telling the truth.
- All your clients tell the truth.

but your prospective client
is the most despised man in Boston.

By the time the news
of last night's events spread,

I'm sure he will be the most
despised man in all of Massachusetts.

It will be much talked of.

Ambition.

Counsel is the last thing

an accused person should lack
in a free country, Abigail.

- Then accept it.
- But will I be condemned for it?

They will say
you are the crown's man.

I care not for
malicious tongues on either side.

These are the murderers.

May god forgive them.

And you too, sir.

Captain Preston, you wish to engage
my services in your defense?

They've all refused us, sir,
every man jack of them.

They say you're a man of integrity,
Mr. Adams.

Well, you may expect from me
no art of address,

no sophistry
or prevarication in such a cause.

Nothing more than fact,
evidence and the law will justify,

Captain Preston.

But before I can even consider
taking your case,

I must hear
your account of what happened.

My men came to the aid of a sentry
outside the customhouse.

He was being abused by the crowd.

They asked me to empty
their shit buckets.

I told 'em to back off,
but they kept at it...

Screaming at me,

throwing things.

Mr. Montgomery
called for the guard.

I led them to the square,
we made formation facing the crowd,

bayonets fixed,
muskets loaded.

Look, I gave no order to fire, sir.
I swear.

I was standing in front of the men.

I was talking to a big fella.

He had a club and...

I think they call him Palmes.

Yet some of your soldiers did fire,
Captain Preston.

As of this morning, five are dead...
Men and boys.

My men acted in self-defense,
Mr. Adams,

as god almighty is our judge.

The hotheads have finally tasted blood.

We cannot be surprised by it.

The presence of the soldiers here
is much resented.

Of course,
the people of Boston would be lining up

to pay taxes
if they were represented in parliament.

But the fact remains that they're not,

and defiance
will not ensure their inclusion.

Our other colonies understand this.
Why can't Boston?

Do you speak as yourself here
or as the attorney general?

The man and the office
are one in the same.

The Governor is pleased
that you've taken on the Preston matter.

I was not aware that the Governor
took any notice of me at all.

You do not think it merited?

Well...

It is not for me to say.

Surely, John,
you did not move your practice

from the country
to go unnoticed in Boston.

Please do not trouble
yourself with a rebuttal.

I know you too well.

You're a hero, boy.

You haven't much of a case.

Do I not?

No Boston jury
will ever vote for acquittal.

Thank you for your kind advice, Sam.

This is not a time
for showing how clever you are, cousin.

This is a time for choosing sides.

I am for the law,
cousin is there another side?

There are those who fight for our rights
as natural-born Englishmen.

and those that would strip us
of those rights!

I do not have the luxury of your birth
or your purse, Sam,

to spend my days fomenting dissension.

I intend to prove
this colony is governed by law...

Whatever you and your sons of liberty
may say on the matter!

We're all sons of liberty here.

The jury are all but certain

to have judged this issue
before they hear a word of evidence.

"Does the government of king George have
the right to tax the citizens of Boston

when they are denied representation
in the Parliament in Westminster?"

Charles, stay away from the fire!

But this is not a trial about taxes
levied on Massachusetts.

You would do well to acknowledge it.

No, it is a trial about

whether or not captain Preston
ordered his men to fire on that crowd,

and if that crowd
was a lawful assembly or a mob.

Remove yourself, sir!

Nabby!

Charles, please.

The resentment of Boston towards
the crown is irrelevant!

Do not ignore it.
It must be said.

Acknowledge it as a fact.

Do not comment and sit in
judgment of the jury's prejudice.

Suggest that they must rise
above it as you have done.

You have
a higher opinion of juries than I.

You must persuade even more,

and mask your impatience with
those less intelligent than yourself.

Good heaven. Is my demeanor
in the court on trial now?

I would not dream of telling you

how to conduct yourself in court.

Would you not?

I heard Captain Preston plain as day.

"damn your bloods!" he said.
"you won't treat me this way."

And how would you describe

the behavior of these
young lads

just before the soldiers fired?

Throwing snowballs.

Snowballs!

A terrifying prospect
for armed soldiers... Snowballs!

They didn't like it, sir.

Chilly on the skin and all.

Mr. Adams.

Mr. Goddard,
when you arrived in the square,

you had ample opportunity
to observe the crowd.

I did, sir.

And were any of them carrying
anything apart from snowballs?

Let me see.

I don't recall, sir.

Were any of these men carrying clubs?

- They were, sir.
- Indeed?

A lawful assembly.

Not a riot, a lawful assembly
in which people were carrying clubs.

To make certain nothing
unlawful occurred, perhaps?

The men are rope makers, sir.

As any true Boston man would know,

the clubs they were carrying
are for beating out rope.

For beating out rope, indeed?

But could they not also be used
for beating out men's brains?

There was no riot!

Any man who suggests
there was is lying!

Order!

Mr. Goddard,

where exactly were you
standing when you say

you heard the officer in the dock,
Captain Preston, give the order to fire?

Close enough to have touched him, sir.

- And where was he standing?
- He stood behind his men, sir.

I see, I see.

Behind his men?

I will ask the jury
to take note of that.

Mr. Holmes...

Would you please describe
the events you witnessed

on the night of march the 5th?

I...

saw some boys near the sentry...

At the customhouse door.

And what were they doing, these boys?

Making a noise. Shouting...

At the sentry?

I suppose.

Were they doing anything else?

What were they doing?

Throwing ice, sir,

and oyster shells.

And did this harassment continue?

with the arrival of Captain Preston
and his men?

Yes.
It did.

Did you yourself pick up everything
you could find and throw it at them?

Yes, sir.

How many people
were there about, Mr. Holmes?

Near 200 boys
and men before it was over.

200 boys and men.
Good heavens.

And as you say, they were throwing ice
and oyster shells.

Were they throwing anything else?

Did they throw their clubs, Mr. Holmes?

As you say, this crowd,
they were making a great hullabaloo?

- Yes.
- They were shouting?

What were they shouting to the soldiers?

Just before the soldiers
started shooting...

... I heard the people say...

What did you hear them say?

Please, Mr. Holmes.

What did you hear them say?

"Fire,

"damn you. fire!"

"Fire!

"Fire!

"Fire, damn you!
Fire!"

Now, did you take
this to be the cry of "fire"

or bidding these soldiers to fire?

They meant
for the soldiers to shoot, sir.

You say that this crowd actually
dared the soldiers to fire?

That they did.

God help me, they did.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Palmes?

Mr. Palmes.

I know that
you spoke to Captain Preston.

I simply want you to say
what you saw that evening.

If British soldiers fired

on a defenseless crowd
without provocation

I will be the first to want
to see them hanged for it.

But suppose they are innocent.

I do not wish to see
innocent men die in my name.

Do you?

I wish to point out that

my next witness does not appear
in support of either party.

The court calls.

Richard Palmes.

To come forth and be heard!

Mr. Palmes,

Captain Preston has told me...

That you were standing next to him
just before the fatal moment.

I was.

So close, in fact, that your coat

was scorched with musket fire.

Did you have occasion
to exchange words with the accused?

I did.

What did you say to him?

I asked him

if he had intention to
order his men to fire on the crowd.

And what did Captain Preston reply?

He said...

As he was standing in front of them...

He would be foolish to do so.

So you are prepared to swear
he was standing in front of his men...

Not behind them
as Mr. Goddard told us?

Mr. Palmes.

And when did you hear
the command to fire?

After the first shot

went off.

And did these words
come from behind his men?

I think they did.

Could you swear that Captain Preston
did not shout that command?

I could not.

Very good, Mr. Palmes.

Captain Preston, you have heard
the words of Richard Palmes.

Do you agree that you were standing
not behind, but in front of your men?

I do, sir.

Order!

It was while I was speaking with him
the first shot was fired, sir.

- Without your giving orders?
- Indeed, sir.

If I may recall to the court
the words of Richard Palmes.

I asked him "and when did you hear
the command to fire?"

and he answered

"after the first shot went off."

Which man fired, Captain?

Young Mont...
Private Montgomery, sir.

And what caused
this man to fire, Captain?

He received a severe blow
with a club, sir.

He fell to the ground

and his musket discharged.

After that happened,
more clubs, bats...

Order!

Order!

Planks rained down on my men!

I was telling them not to fire, sir!

Order!

But some voices

were urging them to fire.

"Fire!

"Shoot me if you dare."

They were, sir.

Where did these voices
come from, Captain?

>From the alley behind my men, sir.

Voices from a crowd saying...

Shouting "damn your bloods!
Why don't you shoot fire?"

kindly recall for the court
the evidence of Robert Goddard.

"I heard
the voice of Captain Preston say

"Damn your bloods!"

"and then he gave the order to fire."

Be still.

- Allow me to finish.
- Well?

John, how can I answer
if you'll not let me finish?

- You did not like it.
- I did not say that.

You did not have to.

It is a fine summary for the defense.

There is...
Is much to admire.

It is, perhaps, at times...

Yes?

John, there's not a person in Boston
who doubts your education.

Your command of language...

Dear. You are charming me, Abigail.

You never charm me

unless what you're about
to say is cutting.

Vanity.

Vain?

You have overburdened your argument
with ostentatious erudition.

You do not need to quote
great men to show you are one.

My purpose is to show
that certain principles are eternal.

And that men of great minds have...
Why are you laughing?

Through the ages agreed
on certain basic principles.

A noble purpose, no doubt.

But some of the jury might think

that you want to prove
the brilliance of the speaker

rather than the truth
of the case he is arguing.

Perhaps in certain passages,
a more direct line...

Might be an improvement.

I can see
that I am to have no sleep tonight.

Would you have me
lose all the quotations?

What species of homicide is this?

Here, in law, such a thing as
voluntary manslaughter?

No, a person cannot justify killing

if he can by any means
make his escape.

He that commits a cruel act voluntarily,

Is guilty of malice aforethought.

And malice was very much
on these prisoners' minds.

By the very act of loading
their muskets with powder and ball,

they have proved this.

They stand
condemned by their own actions.

I ask that you heed
the words of the indictment,

that the accused, not having
the fear of god before their eyes,

but being moved by the instigation
of their own wicked hearts,

did perpetrate nothing less than murder.

You must pronounce them guilty!

I am for the prisoners at the bar.

In the words
of the Marquis of Beccaria...

"if by supporting the rights of mankind

"I shall save from the agonies of death
one unfortunate victim of tyranny,

"or of ignorance equally fatal...

"His blessings
will be sufficient consolation to me

"for the contempt of all mankind."

When people
are taxed without representation,

they are sometimes to feel abused.

And sometimes they may even rebel.

But we must take care,

lest
borne away by a torrent of passion

we make shipwreck of conscience.

The prisoners must be judged solely

upon the evidence produced against them
in court and by nothing else.

And the evidence we have heard
speaks plainly enough, gentlemen.

A sentry's post is his castle!

And to attack it, by English law,
is an illegal act.

Soldiers so assaulted
may defend themselves to the death.

The people are crying,

"kill them! Kill them!
Knock them down!"

and they're heaving sharp cutting ice,

oyster shells, clubs.

What are they to do,

behave like stoic philosophers
lost in apathy?

Disregard these uniforms.

Consider the men who wear them.

Consider yourselves in such a situation

and judge if a reasonable man
would not fear for his life.

Facts are stubborn things.

See, whatever our wishes,
our inclinations...

Or the dictums of our passions...

They cannot alter the state
of facts and evidence.

You see, the law on the one hand
is inexorable to

the cries and lamentations
of the prisoners.

But on the other hand, it is deaf

deaf as an adder
to the clamors of the populace.

Gentlemen of the jury,

I submit to your candor
and justice...

The prisoners and their cause.

All those trees we planted...

Keep them well pruned.
They should fetch a shilling each.

And maybe we should try flax instead of
corn this year in the north pasture.

- The jury's back already, sir.
- Thank you.

An ill omen for our side.

Go.

Don't leave
those lying all about, Charles.

Here.

Well done.

On the charge of murder...

We the jury find the accused,

Captain Thomas Preston,

not guilty.

On the charge of murder,

we the jury find the accused:

John Carroll, James Hartigan,

Matthew Kilroy, William McCauley,

Hugh Montgomery, William Warren,

William Wemms and Hugh White...

Not guilty.

There being further business
before the court

I hereby declare

this session adjourned!

God save the King!

God save the King!

- God save your King!
- Move.

Bastard.

- Well well, gentlemen.
- Thank you, sir.

Please take this, sir.

It isn't much,
but it's from the lot of us...

Now if I were you, I'd confine myself
to barracks for a good while, yeah?

What about yourself, Mr. Adams?

You really think you're gonna be safe
from this rabble?

No, you forget, Captain Preston,

you have just been acquitted by
a jury of New England men.

Massachusetts is my country, sir.

- With me, lads.
- Thank you, sir.

I have done it, Mrs. Adams.

There will be no living
with you at all now, I suppose.

Children, congratulate your father.

- Congratulations, father.
- Thank you.

- Charles, fetch my pipe.
- Yes, sir.

- Nabby, tea.
- Yes, father.

Johnny,

come here and help me with my boots.

- Yes, father.
- There we are.

Harder!

There we go.

Whatever the cost to your practice,
your defense of Captain Preston

has earned you a reputation
for impartiality.

If you were now to speak out in
opposition to the crown,

it would lend gravity to our cause.

I know you share our sympathies, cousin.

Why not stand for election on
the Massachusetts council?

I have no talent for politics.

I am by nature
far too independent-minded.

And besides,

I hardly think that my name will add
luster to your cause at this time.

Half my clients
have left me since the trial.

I have already served one term
on the Massachusetts council

and it made me ill with work,

work which made it almost impossible
for me to attend to my practice.

I have no desire to serve again.

I thank you for your offer, gentlemen...

But my family must take precedence.

Many in Boston
are unable to make their living.

The crown's policies
are reducing them to poverty.

- You exaggerate, sir.
- We are required...

We are required to import British goods

and then expected to pay
for the privilege.

They've taxed our paper, our glass,

the lead in our paint...
even our playing cards and dice.

All such taxes, I remind you, repealed.

Repealed because we've spoken out
against them.

And we'll continue to do so.

without your support it would seem.

I cannot oblige you, gentlemen.

I'm sorry.

The office of advocate general
in the court of admiralty

- has become vacant.
- Is that so?

I have spoken about you
to the Governor.

We were both of the opinion
that you would be...

the ideal candidate.

I'm flattered.

A recommendation
has been agreed to by the King.

The appointment is yours, John,

and brings with it the powers and
privileges attached to the King's name.

Congratulations, John.

It's no secret, John

that your practice
has fallen off since the trial.

For the most part, that is the case.

This would be an entrée to the most
profitable business in the colony.

What do you say, my friend?

You do not speak, John.

qui tacet consentire

Mrs. Adams means to say
that her husband's silence suggests

that he is willing to have his name
put forward to King George.

My father was a shoemaker.

My mother could not read.

and I have been singled out
for preferment by the King of England.

I am for the law...

and yet, in whom
is the power of that law vested?

The King.

I am for the law...

And yet who can give me preferment?

The King of England.

To be the King's man,
and all that it would carry with it.

So what is it
Mr. Hancock requires of me?

He would like your advice.

If he is in need of legal advice,
I will speak to him.

but if this is yet again
an exercise to win me over...

John, this is business, John.

The Dartmouth, the Eleanor, the Beaver,

just in, their holds full of tea.

All British ships. the King demands
that their cargo be unloaded,

cargo on which we, the citizens
of Boston, must pay a new tax.

You will not land this cargo,
gentlemen!

This is legitimate cargo,

tea from the east India company
that you are bound by law to unload.

What's legitimate about it, friend?

No other tea
is allowed in Boston harbor!

Either we drink the King's foul brew
or nothing at all.

- And who may you be, sir?
- John Hancock, ship owner.

- Not John Hancock, smuggler?
- watch your words, sir!

I'm an honest man
being strangled by monopoly!

- Shame on you, sir!
- Shame on you!

Shame on you!

Shame on you!

Sam!

Teach him a lesson!
tar the bastard!

No, Sam.

For the love of god, Sam!

This is barbarism!
Barbarism!

Do you approve of this?

People are hurt when they fight
for what is rightfully theirs!

Do you approve
of brutal and illegal acts

to enforce a political principle, Sam?

Answer me that, can you?

I am afraid of
where this may lead us...

if we do not chart
our course carefully...

together.

This colony
does not dictate to Parliament,

nor to the King.

if the Crown decides tea is to be taxed,
it will be taxed.

Would you have the Empire bankrupted?

The war we fought
to expand our territory,

to protect our borders from the Indians

and their French allies,
it was a costly affair.

I'm not here to debate
the necessity of taxes,

but the manner in which
they are imposed.

Massachusetts
must shoulder its share of the burden.

and be treated as second-class citizens?

Without the rights and liberties
of natural-born Englishmen...

Liberty in this colony
has often carried a taint of anarchy.

My offer still stands, John.

The Crown has a high opinion of you.
So do I.

The Crown is misguided,
but it is not despotic.

I firmly believe that.

Your cousin does not.

nor his many friends.
They have cause.

it seems my cousin and his friends

intend to take the government
of this colony into their own hands.

People are in need
of strong governance.

Restraint.

Most men are weak
and evil and vicious.

"Whereas dangerous insurrections
have been fomented in the town of Boston

"to the utter subversion
of his Majesty's government

"and the utter destruction
of the public peace,

"be it enacted that no goods
or merchandise

"whatever be transported to
or brought from any other colony

"or country."

"Be it enacted for
the suppression of riots, tumults,

"all disturbers of the King's peace are
to be transported to England for trial."

"Any British soldier or officer
charged with a capital crime

"will, in like manner,
be transported out of the colony

"to receive a fair hearing."

"Be it enacted
that for better regulating

"the Government of Massachusetts,

"the present council
is to be immediately disbanded."

"Be it enacted that Royal Army officers

"are authorized to quarter
their troops among the citizenry.

"General Thomas Gage
is hereby dispatched

"with four of our regiments
to compel compliance

"with all these measures."

Gage's ships will close up the bay

and cut us off
from the rest of the country.

Boston must suffer martyrdom.

Our principal consolation
is that it dies a noble death.

Our people will not stand idly by.

They have weapons
and they know how to use them.

Against the British Empire?

A congress
will be meeting in Philadelphia

to determine
how to recover our rights and liberties.

I have nominated you
to represent Massachusetts.

We're sending five men.

You should be among them.

Does this congress
have any legal authority?

Since all assemblies have been outlawed,
I cannot imagine that it does.

I repeat, does this congress
have any legal authority?

Tosspots.

Massachusetts
is in a state of open rebellion...

The abuse of customs officers,

342 chests of tea
spilled into the harbor by

vandals masquerading as Indians.

The time for gentleness has passed.

These acts strip us of our rights,
Jonathan, our rights...

The power of self government,

the replacement
of court officers loyal to the Crown...

The position that you yourself
offered me.

- Which you refused.
- I would no doubt be ineligible

for now as I am not a loyal tory.

The Crown believes that the courts
of Massachusetts are hopelessly biased.

They can no longer be trusted
to deliver justice.

I see.

Did Captain Preston
and his soldiers not receive justice?

I staked my reputation
and the security of my family

on a case
that will now be tried in England

because he is an English officer?

Are we considered too young,
too unprincipled to understand justice?

the Crown has ruled, John.

The only reasonable course left
is obedience.

and you would do well to remember
that and act accordingly, old friend.

Good day, old friend.

>From our committee
of correspondence in Virginia,

we hear that the house of burgesses

has selected deputies to join

the great continental congress.

We have heard tonight
from our own representatives to congress

convening in Philadelphia...

Mr. John Hancock...

Mr. Robert treat Paine
and Mr. Elbridge Gerry.

I give you now a new delegate
from Massachusetts...

a man whose prudence

and probity are well known to you all...

Mr. John Adams!

- let it be known...
- Speak up!

Let it be known

that British liberties are not
the grants of princes or parliaments...

that many of our rights
are inherent and essential...

agreed on as maxims
and established as preliminaries

even before parliament existed.

We have a right to them,
derived from our maker.

Our forefathers have earned

and bought liberty
for us at the expense of their ease,

their estates,
their pleasures and their blood.

Liberty is not built
on the doctrine that

a few nobles
have a right to inherit the earth.

It stands on this principle:

that the meanest and lowest
of the people are,

by the unalterable,
indefeasible laws of god

and nature, as well entitled to
the benefit of the air to breathe,

light to see, food to eat and clothes
to wear as the nobles or the King.

That is liberty...

and liberty will reign in America!

they have chosen
their delegate well, John.

Have they?

To argue against the Crown,
the commons, the lords...

No, we New England men
are not fit for the times,

What have we seen
of the world beyond Boston?

What have we seen?

I fear we not know what we do,

When men know not what to do,

they ought not to do
they know not what.

I want you to keep your head
and look after your mother

and your brother and your sister.

Charles, put those things back!

Are these britches suitably dignified

for a delegate of the great continental
congress of America?

A delegate's britches
are one of his most important tools.

Why is that?

Because the art of politics
is the art of applying

the seat of the britches
to the seat of the chair.

It's the procession!

All a gift from the sons of liberty!

God help us.

My old horse
will suit me just fine, Sam.

A plain horse for plain John Adams.

Well, come on, John!

and if it is a girl,
we will name her Elizabeth,

- after your mother.
- Your favorite waistcoat.

- I have not packed it.
- It's nothing.

Will you be safe?

We will go to the farm.
We will be fine.

Won't let anyone steal the place.

Been in your family since Charles II.

Go, go... go.

Forgive me, Abigail.

For what, John?

Goodbye, you little pumpkins.

John, you remember what I said.

To Philadelphia!

To congress!

In.