All language subtitles for The Adams Chronicles s01e04 Minister to Great Britain

Four generations of one family.

Their lives and causes reveal 150 years
of American history.

1784. The village of Otoi near Paris.

John Adams representing the United
States of America.

separated nearly five years from his
family, has decided to rent a house

they may join him.

I rented this house from the Count de
Rouault with the understanding that it

to be fully furnished and fit to live
in.

Across the Channel, George III of Great
Britain is slowly becoming reconciled to

the loss of his 13 American colonies.

Look at this room, sir.

And the floors, look at the floors.
Where are the carpets?

Plating? The rugs, rugs.

Que veut dire votre excellence rags?

Rugs. Les tapis. Ah, les tapis. Oui.

Mais excellence is not a fashion in
France to put the rags upon the floor.

And eating, has that also gone out of
fashion? No table linen? No spoons and

forks? Not one piece of china?

Nous arrangerons cela, Excellence.

You have only to buy.

My good fellow, if you are to remain in
my employ, there's one thing you must

understand. I am not some Spaniard of a
diplomat. My pocket's lined with gold.

I represent America.

We are poor.

Comprends?

I have come to raise money, not throw it
to the wind.

And if you think I am parsimonious, wait
until you meet my wife.

Oh, no!

Excuse me.

Pardon. Il n 'y a pas de quoi.

Excellent.

There is a gentleman to see you,
Monsieur Jefferson.

Oh, has he arrived? Thank you.

Mr. Jefferson!

Hello, Mr.

Adams. Welcome to France.

Oh, dear friend, I cannot tell you how
pleased I am to see you.

Well, you're looking well.

Am I? Well, that's most unlikely.

Ever since I set foot on this continent,
I have been bedeviled by every illness

known to man. Poor Mr. Adams.

Scurvy, boils, fiery tumors, a
horrendous fever that almost destroyed

Adams, how long have we known each
other?

Since the Continental Congress. A long
time.

And every time we meet, you're at
death's door.

Yes, well, I have a sickly constitution.

Nonsense. You'll outlive us all.

Yes, this is a curious place.

Look at that.

Great sprawling hall.

Over a dozen bedrooms. Half of them
looking as if they were about to cave in

one's head.

Still, it will keep my wife and daughter
out of the stink of Paris.

What on earth is he doing?

Sometimes I think everyone in this
country is a stark reading man.

Do you realize...

It's four and one half years since I've
been home.

Thank you. Four and one half.

Lonely, sick, miserable, thankless
years.

Scrambling across Europe, begging and
borrowing.

Oh, I'm sick to death of politics.

All I dream of now is being back on my
farm in Braintree.

How are things at home?

Disorder, discontent.

Money scarce, shipping at a standstill.

The peace is ruining more merchants than
the war.

And the Congress?

Confusion, indecision, jealousy between
the states.

Thirteen cats in a sack, spitting and
scratching. How stupid.

Our future is hanging by a thread.

We will survive or perish on the answer
to one question. Are we unified enough

to deal with foreign nations?

After all the bloodshed to win our
independence, what an irony if we should

strangle for want of trade.

Have we any prospects?

Well, Prussia's interested.

And Denmark?

Spain? Cautious. Waiting to see which
way England will move.

Well, at least we can count on France.

Can we?

The king is inept.

The queen is busy with amorous
adventures.

It is their minister who pulls the
strings.

Vigin. Yes, conceited ass. Takes a bath
with his medals on. He's clever, so I'm

told. Oh, yes. He and Dr. Franklin are
quite a pair.

Forever whispering, maneuvering,
hatching plots behind my back. You have

much love for our fellow trade
commissioner, hmm?

Franklin? The man is immoral.

Lazy, senile old mischief maker playing
France's game.

Which is what? To keep us cut off from
England.

Thomas, we must find a way to bind up
the wounds of war. Sign a treaty of

and friendship.

If we are to survive, we must restore
relations with the British crown.

Is this the same John Adams who helped
to lead a revolution?

Well, resisting England's tyranny is one
thing.

Dealing with her as an equal is quite
another.

Jeanne would dearly love to monopolize
our commerce.

Merci. C 'est tout beau, thanks a lot.

Ah, oui, merci.

But if we can establish relations with
other countries, we could make... The

handsome wench.

His most enchanting smile.

Has she? I didn't notice.

You never notice anyone but Mrs. Adams.

After all these years, at the thought of
seeing her again, I burn

with impatience.

Adams, Adams, you really are a wonder.

Who would believe that beneath that
staid New England breast there beats the

heart of a Romeo?

And that sort of thing, I'm not sure
that's altogether suitable for Mrs.

and Nabby. Oh, I imagine Mrs. Adams will
manage to survive the shock, and as for

your daughter, well, how old is she now?

Nineteen. It's hardly a child.

When will you see them?

They've already arrived in London. I've
sent John Quincy to be with them. I'm

going to fetch them in the morning.

Oh, Papa.

Sweet Princess Nanny.

Mrs.

Adams.

Mr. Adams.

You wrote you had been ill.

How are you now?

Twenty years younger than I was
yesterday.

I had it all planned.

What I would wear to greet you.

How I would do my hair.

Oh, Mr. Adams.

How I have... I've missed you.

Good morning.

Good morning, Papa.

Are you enjoying London?

Yes, Papa.

Looking forward to Paris?

Yes, Papa.

Nabi, what is it?

I've thought so much of seeing you
again.

Now that it's come about...

Say it, child.

Shall I guess what you're feeling?

Resentment at my opposition to your wish
to marry Royal Tyler?

I love him.

Because he's gay and handsome and writes
verses?

One may dance and sing and scribble
poetry and not be very good for much.

Papa, you don't know him.

I opposed the marriage because he
squandered his inheritance and had no

support you.

And because you were too young.

Yes, I was a child when you left home.

I am a woman now, yet you still see me
as a child.

I wrote that if you truly wished to
marry Mr. Tyler, I would give my

So you wrote, Papa, but I knew how you
felt.

Well, what is it you want?

I want you to trust my judgment and
respect my feelings.

All your father asks is one year of your
time.

A year.

If love is real, it will not fade that
quickly.

When you were a child, if I was gone for
just a day,

you would wait outside the gate, and
when I got down from my horse, you would

run and kiss me.

Morning. Good morning.

How is everyone this splendid morning?

Father, how long do we have in London?

Oh, a few days only, then I must return
to Paris. With your permission, sir, I

shall continue in my effort to improve
the character and moral of my wretched

sister. Oh, that sounds exhausting.

What do you two plan to do today?

Visit to the exhibition of Mr. Copley's
paintings. Oh.

And to the wax work.

Finally, a brief stop at the hospital
for fallen women to hear those unlucky

creatures sing their hymns.

From all accounts, the melancholy melody
of their voices would wring tears from

a stone.

Johnny is studying for a career in
politics.

He never says in two words what he can
say in 20.

Well, that should prepare him for
Congress. My sole purpose is to enlarge

darling sister's education.

And to avoid studying your algebra. It
will not do to have an ignorant village

life daughter to the First Minister to
England.

But what?

I had it yesterday for Mr. Copley.

He has received a letter telling him it
is rumored we are to have a minister to

the court of St. James.

Mr. Copley feels certain it will be you,
Father.

You seem disturbed.

I should think it would please you.

Please me?

It fills my heart with dread. That is
not a life for which I am prepared.

Nor I.

I'm not trained to shine at court.

I cannot dance or drink or make small
talk.

Lie, flatter, flirt with ladies, drink
with gentlemen.

Do not worry.

I would refuse the post if it were
offered.

My dearest sister, I have been occupied
since our arrival here in France with

trying to put our domicile in order.

Table linen to make, bed linen to
purchase.

I am a little put out with my husband.

He loves to have everything as it should
be, but does not wish to be troubled by

domestic matters.

A thousand tasks I must attend to.

Spoons and forks to be made of silver,
china to be bought.

Everything that will bear the name of
elegant is imported from England.

And if you will have it, you must pay
for it.

And all this at a time when Congress has
cut our allowance by 500 guineas.

We are obliged to keep a regiment of
servants, a coachman and a gardener,

chambermaid, valet and cook, and a
majordomo, butler, maitre d 'hôtel, or

whatever he is called, whose business is
to purchase articles for the family and

see that no one cheats us but himself.

Beloved Royal, my dearest.

Here, outside Paris, the trees are
touched with autumn.

My constant close companions are my
brother and my bird.

The pretty creature, though cheerful,
would I were the same.

For in a way we share captivity.

His cage is barred by breath, whilst I
am caged by time.

I am the dutiful daughter with Mama and
Papa and the merry sister with John

Quincy.

But it is all a game.

Behind the mask, I hunger for the day
when we are wed.

How slowly time drags by.

Will this year never end?

Sir, you will oblige me by striking my
name from the list of those you are

presently considering for appointment as
minister to England.

I have had my fill of foreign diplomats,
receptions, balls, and dinners.

My health is fragile and causes me
concern.

When my labors here are finished, it is
my intention to return to Braintree,

breed my boys to business and the bar,
cultivate my field, and leave diplomacy

to those who like it better.

Dear sister, it is with some trepidation
that I prepare myself to enter society.

Fashion is the deity that everyone
worships in this country.

To be out of fashion is more criminal
than to be seen in a state of nature, to

which Parisians are not averse.

Oh, dear, it is provoking.

What is, Pauline?

Your daughter.

Mademoiselle, so pretty.

That's so lead.

Must give Madame happiness to have so
handsome children.

Pauline, you are a lovely girl.

Be patient. In time, I'm sure you will
have handsome children of your own.

But already I have babies.

You have a husband?

No, Madame.

Your children then were conceived out of
wedlock?

Oui. Half the children born in Paris
every year are bastards.

Where are they now, your children?

I give them away.

On the street there are boxes to put in
the baby.

In the morning the nuns come to take
them away.

Oh, Lord, save thy children.

I'm writing home regarding the qualities
desirable in a minister to England.

Mr. Adams.

Oh, your hair.

Oh, I commend your powers of
observation.

New gown?

Bravo.

We dine this evening at the Portuguese
Ministry.

I hope not to disgrace you.

Oh, very nice.

Is that all?

I think it is bewitching.

Now then.

The post for which, believe me, I have
no desire.

Calls for someone well -versed in the
classics, Greek and Latin, Plato,

Cicero, etc.

Most aptly phrased. He must have
knowledge of history, ancient and

be familiar with the laws of nature and
of nations.

Yes, indeed.

A man of ripe years.

Dr. Franklin?

But not too old to undertake an arduous
assignment.

Farewell, Dr.

Franklin. One with an upright heart and
an independent spirit.

One who will bend his personal ambitions
to the interests of his country.

Not an easy man to find.

I know of only one who fills the bill in
all particulars.

Myself.

Bright -eyed Abigail, a Puritan in
Paris.

Tell me, how are you faring in this
wicked city?

Oh, it's a pity I don't have the
language.

There was a lecture I should have liked
to have attended yesterday.

Recent discoveries in the realm of
physics.

Your range of intellect never ceases to
amaze me.

Would it if I were a man?

Well put.

At any rate, I passed the lecture by and
went instead to the ballet.

Did you enjoy it?

They were the flimsiest of gauze.

The music starts, they leap into the
air, skirts flying.

I was ashamed to look.

Sinful, then, the exhibition of their
bodies.

Oh, on the contrary, sir. I find the
human body a marvel, with the sight of

their drawers and garters that dismayed
me.

Well, it has arrived.

The invitation to serve as our minister
to England.

A dubious honor.

Rather like an invitation to a hanging.
Indeed.

I shall, of course, refuse the post. I
should be slandered.

I would live the life of a man in a
barrel spiked with nails.

The English are not famous for
forgiveness.

And yet her English blood flows in my
veins, English speech is on my tongue,

in my heart I love her.

For all her faults, she enjoys the
finest constitution and the fairest laws

all the world.

When? What?

When will we? What? Go.

To London.

The thought of it. John Adams, rebel and
traitor.

The thought of Mad Dog Adams, loathed in
the dignity of a minister from a

sovereign state standing nose to nose
with King George.

That is a temptation he cannot resist.

These are all your shirts?

The lot.

Fetch me your stockings.

Barely got used to being together again.

Suddenly we seem to be rushing off in
all directions.

Me to Boston, and in a few days all of
you to London.

Are you happy to be failing home?

Happy.

And a little frightened.

I'll miss you.

Oh, Johnny, I'll miss you.

You must... help me.

For the last few months, I've had no
word from Mr. Tyler.

Not a word, not one word.

When you get home, you must find out how
the wind sets.

I will, Nabi.

I promise.

And I'll write you every day and tell
you about all the characters I chance to

meet, including Mr. Tyler.

And I will do the same, Johnny, every
little detail.

Yes, where?

I swear.

You're a fortunate young man to be able
to attain an education.

If you ever utter one word of complaint,
I will disinherit you.

Yes, sir.

At Harvard, you will breathe in the
atmosphere of science and literature.

It is a temple of learning.

Also a sink of iniquity.

I shall be careful.

Write to us.

Learning is liberty, but it does not
fall like the rain from heaven, Johnny.

must labor for it.

Well, be off, be off.

Study, you rogue, and be free.

It would be lonely here without you.

Godspeed.

You served in the War of Independence.

Yes, sir. Did you see much action?

Yes, sir. Harlem Heights, White Plains,
Trenton.

Yes. Oh, excuse me. I did not know you
were engaged.

My daughter, Abigail. This is the
gentleman Congress has sent to be my

secretary, Colonel William Stephen
Smith.

At your service, Miss Adams.

I came for the letters you wanted me to
copy.

Oh, yes. They're on the table there.

They've sent me this report on you. Now,
you go on.

I served at Valley Forge, and at
Yorktown, I had the honor of serving on

staff of General Washington.

Oh, yes, here's his testimonial.

Bravery, good conduct, gallantry, etc.

Well, that's very impressive.

But hardly the qualities I require.
What's needed here is discretion in an

amiable manner.

Those offended by my blunt speech, you
will be expected to win back by your

charm. I'll do my best, sir.

Well, it remains to be seen if that will
be enough.

And you sailed from Newport, you said?

I, uh, put in the Tilbury dock yesterday
with half a cargo.

A little rice, a few bales of tobacco.

At that, I'm better off than most.

Their ships sit rotty in the harbor
while British ships sail into Boston

loaded. Yes, from all reports, the
whaling trade is at a standstill.

Our seaport towns are graveyards.

It's the damned English duties.

Yes, well, that's a matter I hope to
negotiate, Captain, eh? Oh, I pray you

it, sir, and quickly.

Well, diplomacy takes time, I'm afraid.

The spirit of 76 is on the rise again.

It won't be long before the mobs start
to gather.

Just so.

And now, sir, if you will kindly
straighten up your shoulders.

Most elegant.

The sleeves?

Well, of course, sir. We like to leave
them a little long until the final

stitching. I feel like a monkey on a
stick.

There is too much fullness in the sleeve
cap.

Oh, I agree entirely, madam. We shall,
of course, take in the side body and

adjust the arm's eye.

Listen, I didn't have a chance to read
the newspaper. Is there any mention of

the new minister?

I noticed that you are to have an
audience with the king.

No more?

Another word or two.

Oh, madam, pray note the direction of
the nap of the valour. Oh, yes.

Exquisite.

Well,

I don't see how King George can possibly
resist you.

My compliments, Your Excellency. Let
him.

I've noticed in the paper, no insults.

Come now, how do they call me this time?

A traitorous rogue.

Is that all?

A beggar and a scoundrel.

Now, you must not let it pain you.

Sir, when you are wounded, I bleed.

There is a gentleman to see you, sir.

From the palace?

Oh, yes, yes. Show him in.

Oh, it must seem strange.

All these years of crying defiance of
the king.

His majesty damning our souls, sending
his troops against us.

And now to meet.

All England will watch to see how he
regards me.

How will he?

Contempt? Icy indifference? I will not
tolerate humiliation.

Dear Mr. Adams.

Be courteous.

I bear no malice toward King George.

One revolution in a lifetime is enough.

Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Miss Adams, Sir
Clement Cotterill Dormer.

Your Excellency, Madam Miss Adams.

How do you do?

Most honored.

Sir Clement, do sit down.

I assume you were here to... Instruct
you in court etiquette. As royal master

ceremonies, I trust that I may... be of
some

assistance. Well, I would be most
obliged.

It is customary for foreign ministers to
address His Majesty in terms as...

complimentary as possible.

Does one simply pay one's respects and
leave, or does one have to make a

Some formal harangue is... Customary.

Usual.

His Majesty is in the habit of rising
early.

Oh, yes, yes, yes. He actually lights
his own fire and cooks his breakfast

early.

so that by late morning he grows hungry,
impatient

for his luncheon.

So whatever you may wish to say, it
would be wise to make it brief.

Where was I?

You will be escorted to the royal closet
by the most noble, the Marquess of

Carmarthen, His Majesty's Principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Lord Carmarthen will then present you to
His Majesty.

Your Majesty, I beg leave to present His
Excellency, Mr. John Adams, Minister

from the United States.

Mr. Adams.

Sir, I consider myself to be more
fortunate than all my fellow citizens to

the first to stand in your majesty's
royal presence in a diplomatic

It is my sincerest wish to restore an
entire esteem, confidence, and

Or in better words, the old good nature
and good humor between people who,

though separated by the ocean and under
different governments,

have the same language and a kindred
blood.

Mr. Adams, the circumstances of this
audience are so extraordinary,

and the language you have held so
entirely proper, and the feelings you've

discovered so justly adapted to the
occasion, that I must say...

I am very glad that the choice has
fallen upon you to be minister.

I will be frank with you.

I was the last to consent to separation.

But the separation having become
inevitable, I have always said I would

first to meet the friendship of the
United States as an independent power.

You have recently come from France.

Yes, Your Majesty.

There is an opinion among some people
that you are not the most detached of

countrymen to the manners of that
nation.

I must avow you, Majesty, I have no
attachment but to my own country.

An honest man will have no other.

Do have a glass of wine.

Thank you.

Regarding the frontier post still
occupied by British troops... Do you pay

patience?

No, Your Lordship.

Oh, pities. Most amusing game.

The presence of your soldiers in our
western lands is interfering with the

trade. An excellent vedere, don't you
think?

Yes.

His Majesty was very taken with you.

Well, he was most gracious.

I trust it is a sign that England is
going to cease trying to punish us.

Punish you?

The customs duties on our whale oil
are... fish and timber. Why, no doubt a

nuisance. They're more than a nuisance,
sir. They're unfair, unjust, unwise.

Damn it, where's my snuffbox? On the
side table, my lord. Well, don't damn

like an idiot. Get it.

Dear Adams, if I recommended repeal of
the duties, it would raise an uproar

would send me tumbling out of office.

Uproar, my lord?

From bankers, merchants, peers of the
realm, to whom a goodly number of your

fellow citizens owe money.

They must be paid, sir.

They will be paid, sir. Before we sign
the treaty.

But that's impossible.

The men who owe you have not the means
to meet their obligations while you

restrict our trade.

That does present a problem.

I believed that England was prepared to
make concessions.

What gave you that impression?

His Majesty's behavior.

Kings can indulge in whims really as
immortals cannot afford.

Ah.

America is a vast continent, my lord.

Strike the shackles from our exports and
you will be the richer for it.

You've really much learned patience.

When I was a lad, that's how I regarded
women, as freaks of nature.

Did you really?

Females were oddities. They were
mysterious and distant.

And later?

All my attempts at wooing were disaster.

I do not believe you. It's true, I
swear. I had so many failures.

But the first time a lady gave me signs
she found me not displeasing, I took it

for rejection.

That reminds me of an old aunt of mine
who was ill for so long that when she

finally got well, she took it for
another sickness.

And at present, sir, what is your
opinion of us?

I am disappointed to find that so many
women are vain and shallow.

They seem to think it beneath them to do
anything but dance and whisper scandal.

It is their education, or lack of it,
that makes them so.

Unhappily, we are too often what we
think men wish us to be.

It is you, the gentleman, who are at
fault.

Not I.

Oh? And what is it you look for in a
woman?

A muse to lead me out of my ignorance.

I want to walk together with a woman,
not simply lead her by the hand.

So many years in the army have given me
a profound knowledge of the vagaries of

the cavalry horse, but they have taught
me nothing of the arts.

Command me to navigate an unknown river,
I will do it. But do not ask me to

chart the mysterious currents of a
lady's heart.

What?

Nothing.

Just surprise, that's all.

When we first met, you struck me as,
uh...

Oh, handsome, yes.

But just another officer.

And now?

Sir.

Forgive me.

You have amazing skin.

Thomas Jefferson, Paris, dear sir.

Is there a chance, do you suppose, that
you could come to London?

It would be helpful to discuss with you
in person.

The situation here.

Also the matter of Tripoli. Oh, tell him
that Mrs. Adams has purchased, as

requested, five yards of white dimity
for shirts, which she is sending under

separate cover.

Well, he did ask.

I have met several times with Lord...
Julian, kindly remit for the dimity

pounds ten shillings. Are you quite
finished?

Yes, thank you.

I've met several times with Lord... He
remains polite...

but evasive.

I have learned, however, that his
lordship is susceptible to pressure.

There are important Englishmen whose
sympathies lie with us.

If we could rally them, cause them to
make an outcry.

If I may venture a suggestion, sir?

Yes. Perhaps a dinner.

Dinner? Yes, stuff their stomachs, fill
them with wine. At whose expense?

And in the casual talk, present them
with our case and press them to action.

You're right.

More is accomplished on a social
occasion than at a hundred meetings.

I learned that in France.

Yes, make a list.

The names that you think will be most
helpful.

May I inquire, sir, how you plan to pay
for this entertainment?

What we receive from that pinch -penny
Congress barely does for the two of us

Nabi. Yes, make a list.

You and your dinners will dance us to
the poorhouse.

Nabby, dear, you're up awfully late.

The letter from our Johnny?

Yes. How is he faring?

He does not care much for the country
girls.

He says they're simple.

And Royal Tyler?

Goes with his head downcast as though
his dog has died.

And the next moment...

Exuberant as a schoolboy.

Oh, dear.

He sounds quite mad.

Johnny says he goes about the town and
reads my letters to anyone who will

listen.

What will you do?

I've done it.

I've asked that he return my locket and
my letters.

Look at this.

Just look! Look at it. Oh, poor bird.

Dietary consumption.

And for this they had the audacity to
charge me 13 shillings.

I don't know how we shall find enough to
feed 12 people.

What's that?

A gift from Captain Hay.

What is it? A surprise.

I dislike surprises.

Very well, madam.

I'll open it.

Good Lord, deliver us.

And while you're at it, thank him for
our dinner.

This is the first time I've ever met a
real, live rebel.

From all the diverse things one reasons
to possess, one hardly knows what to

expect. A savage from the wilderness.

A villain with a knife stuck in his
belt.

I must confess, he really looks quite
human.

My compliments. A sumptuous meal. The
meat was most delicious.

Meat. I thought it was fish. It didn't
taste like fish.

What was it?

Turtle.

Turtle?

Was it really?

I thought it apt for the occasion. A
creature which upon close acquaintance

turns out to be quite different from
what one expected.

Shall we join the ladies?

Interesting man, your husband.

Not at all what one imagines of the
diplomat.

In his heart, he still considers himself
the small -town lawyer and farmer he

was when we were wed.

How long ago?

More than 20 years.

And the torch still burns with unabating
fur.

Owing in some part, I think, to the
pains we have taken to avoid petty

Marriage squabbles put me in mind of an
insect from the Indies. A tiny gnat,

which when it bites can cause an
itching.

If scratched, it will raise an
inflammation so malignant it can lead to

Tell that to my husband.

Yes.

She met another boy and made a new
bouquet.

With speed, well, and traveler's joy to
send me on my way.

With speed, well, and traveler's joy to
send me on my way.

I must

apologize for these lamps, the way they
smoke and sputter.

Our American whale oil burns with a
clear and lovely light.

You would have the use of it were it not
for the British duties.

What do you think of Lord Kumar?

An amiable fellow.

But cautious.

Quite. I've asked him to be merciful on
us, but all he does is smile and offer

me a pinch of snuff.

In his pleasant way, he can be very
stubborn.

You do agree that duty should be
lowered.

Indeed. You would do us a great service
if you would say so.

In the House of Commons.

If you light a fire under him, even a
lord must move.

Well,

I thought it went well.

Oh, yes.

It was a great success.

A triumph.

Mr. Adams? Mrs. Adams? Yes!

I wish to tell you, sir, I hold your
daughter in most high and fond regard,

I have reason to believe she looks upon
me with some favor.

With your permission, sir, I should like
to enter into courtship.

Well, uh... Well, this is most
unexpected.

Uh... I will have to discuss it with her
mother.

Thank you.

With your leave, sir, I will say good
night.

Well, you don't look very surprised.

Oh, my dear, I have known about it for a
month.

And therefore is not by any to be
enterprised nor taken in hand

lightly or wantonly to satisfy men's
carnal lusts and appetites like

brute beasts that have no understanding,
but reverently,

discreetly, advisedly.

soberly, and in the fear of God.

I require and charge you both, as he
will answer at the dreadful day of

when the secrets of all hearts will be
disclosed, that if either of you know of

any impediment why ye may not be
lawfully joined together in matrimony,

now confess it.

Dear sister,

I can only pray that our Nabi and her
colonel will never endure the lonely

separations my husband and I have been
forced to undergo.

Deprived of the beloved, the blossom
falls, the fruit withers and decays.

Who shall give me back that lost time?

Who shall compensate me for those years?

Those whom God has joined together.

Let no man put asunder.

Sparhawk's the name, Sparhawk, sir. Oh,
yes.

Purveyor of fine linen, canvas goods,
and muslin in the town of Boston.

And you wish to relinquish your American
citizenship and become a subject of the

crown? Exactly.

May I inquire your reason?

The reason, sir?

There is no way in America these days an
honest merchant can earn a living, what

with the English shipping duties and our
damned insufferable taxes.

And you think that's sufficient cause to
alter your allegiance?

Well, every time I turn around, that
idiot Congress or some thieving state

its hand in my pocket. Ship my goods to
New York, there's a tax.

Ship them to New Jersey, there's another
tax.

The people of the United States are
worse exploited than the British.

Give me leave to tell you, sir, that
upon that subject you betray a total

ignorance. I beg your pardon? Travel the
roads of England and you will see such

wretchedness that it is enough to make a
wise man mad.

And you have the audacity to say
Americans are worse exploited? Yes, sir,

sir. Do our farmers perish in the midst
of plenty? Are our fishermen starving,

our mechanics unable to earn their daily
bread? No, sir.

It is the reckless, greedy merchants who
expect to make a living off the labors

of others who are whining and
complaining.

As to this, sir, I will have none of it.

Present it to the English, if you wish,
with my compliment.

So, knowing you from the old days back
home, I figured I'd stop by and give you

a first -hand story on it all.

And your leader was who?

Chase.

Daniel Shays.

He was my captain of the Continentals.

Well, sirs, madam, you know, 22 cents a
day was all we was getting for our

services. And that's in paper.

Time we was mustered out, the stuff was
worthless.

What I mean, I couldn't pay my rent.

I lost my home.

And there was others in my regiment.

Went to prison.

Count what they owed.

And this Captain Shays?

Got us together.

Went down to the courthouse.

Grabbed the judges.

Knocked them around a bit.

Made them quit foreclosing on our debts.

You assaulted the judges? Yeah.

And then we attacked the arson at
Springfield.

And we took a beating.

That was when I run away, stowed aboard
a ship to England.

But it ain't over yet.

There's others hiding in the woods.

just waiting for the chance to have
another go.

You expect me to approve your actions?

Why not?

Would you approve them?

God forbid we should be 20 years without
such a rebellion.

The moment the idea is admitted into
society that property is not as sacred

the laws of God, then anarchy commences.

Well, I'd best be going.

Thanks for the refreshment.

There's too much government.

That's the trouble.

And now there's all this talk of a
constitution.

The Congress asking for more power.

And what will that bring us?

More tax collectors, more clerks, more
judges.

Well, you are mistaken if you think
there is anything to be gained by the

breaking of head.

Oh, come now.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed.

from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.

What country can have liberty if its
rulers are not reminded from time to

that the people preserve the spirit of
resistance?

Let them take arms.

What signify a few lives?

That is an appalling thing to say.

After all these years, our first
disagreement.

No great matter.

Come, finish your tea before it gets
cold.

I hear problems like that, and I feel
more strongly than ever that we must

a national constitution. Indeed.

To show that every man must possess the
right of self -government.

The government degenerates when left to
rulers alone. The people are its only

safe depository. Yes, but to make them
fit for that responsibility, they must

taught.

Our young men suffer from a neglect of
education. Then the constitution must

provide for public education.

If you speak of the neglect of young
men, John, what shall we say in regard

young women?

It really is mortifying when one
considers the difference in education

the male and the female.

Every advantage is lavished on a son,
whilst we are expected to count

privileged if we are taught to read and
write.

We give primary consideration to the
education of the male, dear madam, only

because it is men who hold the seats of
power.

The education of children falls to our
share, and we are told that the early

impressions are the most durable.

Now, you be careful, Mr. Jefferson.
You're entering dangerous waters. In my

defense, madam, let me maintain that I
have never held women to be a lesser

breed.

Then why, when you wrote the Declaration
of Independence, did you hold that

truth to be self -evident that all men
are created equal?

That was a manner of speaking, a
literary phrase.

Ah.

Well, let us hope that the gentlemen who
frame our constitution are sensible

that if care and attention is not paid
to the ladies, we are determined to

foment a rebellion and will not hold
ourselves bound by laws in which we have

had no voice nor representation.

It seems we may face another revolution.

Well,

it is beyond me why your sex with such
disparity in those whom you choose for

life companions.

If we are ignorant, you suffer.

Tell me.

Do you find married life a misery? Oh.

If Mr. Adams is happy, it is because he
has relinquished the harsh title of

tyrant for the more tender and endearing
one of friend.

You see, Mr. Jefferson, whilst you are
proclaiming peace and goodwill to men,

you insist on maintaining absolute power
over your wives.

Well, we have all had some experience
with arbitrary power.

Like most things which are hard, it is
very liable to be broken.

More tea?

You are supposed to be at rest.

What are you doing?

Attending to my correspondence.

This letter I had from home this
morning.

From Braintree? Yes.

It says the widow Boyland has her house
for sale.

What's she asking?

600 pounds.

Lovely house.

After Paris and London, our little farm
will seem dim and cramped.

Well, there's no law that binds us to
stay there for life.

The Borland house.

Would you like to live there?

Would you?

Write and see if we can buy it.

Tomorrow.

Drink

this.

Oh, do you think this old wives' brew
does any good?

Oh, to paraphrase the poet, your
ignorance almost subdues my patience.

I roll over.

There's no need. Be quiet and roll over.

Oh.

I have decided to arrange one... Oh.

One last meeting with Lord Carmarthen.

If that fails, I will go home.

Sweet Abigail.

How I have cheated you.

We've had so little time for pleasure.

I have somewhat disturbing news from
Boston.

One of our sea captains attacked by
American sailors.

A British customs agent manhandled by a
mob.

Yes, so I understand.

And you condone it? I don't approve the
violence, but I understand the anger.

America is out of patience with England.

If you will not lift the duties, we have
no choice but to reply in kind. We

shall impose equal duties on your
shipping. Nonsense.

The United States is not a nation.

It's 13 separate, squabbling states.

They cannot agree that two and two make
four, much less adopt a common policy

for trade.

Lord Carmarthen, two years we've circled
around this business without coming one

step closer to settlement.

If you persist in this policy, it would
only serve to drive us into greatness.

Greatness? Rather than import from
England an axe, a plow, a bolt of cloth,

single button, we will do without until
such time as we can make them for

ourselves.

The day will come, sir, when the glory
of England will be that she spawned

America.

Let it be settled, then.

We leave for home.

As soon as I can arrange our affairs.

Oh, how lovely it will be to walk the
paths of Braintree again.

Settle in our new house.

Work in my garden, make my cheese and
butter.

Yes, almost 30 years of public life.
Thank God it is over.

Thirty years rolling like a stone. Never
three years in the same place.

Holland, Paris, London.

And much to show for it.

What? Win a battle and your name goes
down in history. Draw a treaty and

at most a footnote.

I was not even there when they drew the
Constitution.

You have played your part, sir.

More than your part.

Enough for ten.

Well, there's a whole new generation
now.

They do not care what went before.

It's the surface of things that draws
their attention.

The flamboyant speech, the striking
appearance.

General Washington is significant, and
he looks it, as does Mr.

Jefferson.

While I am short and plump and balding.

No. My moment in the course of events is
finished.

Nonsense. Yes.

Done and finished.

Is it?

John Adams,

one of the founding fathers of his
nation.

But while the country is taking its
first few faltering steps, Adams has

abroad. His years in London have been
barren.

and now he fears there may be no place
for him in the future of his nation.

But for the next dozen years, the
destinies of John Adams and the United

will be intertwined.