1776 (1972)
David Ford: Congressional President John Hancock (MA)
Photos
Quotes
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Hancock : Gentlemen, forgive me if I don't join in the merriment, but if we are arrested now, my name is STILL THE ONLY ONE ON THE DAMN THING!
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[Dickinson wants "tyrant" removed from the Declaration]
Thomas Jefferson : Just a moment, Mr. Thomson. I do not consent. The king is a tyrant whether we say so or not. We might as well say so.
Charles Thomson : But I already scratched it out.
Thomas Jefferson : Then scratch it back in!
John Hancock : Put it back, Mr. Thomson. The King will remain a tyrant.
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Lewis Morris : [as John Hancock is about to swat a fly] Mr. Secretary, New York abstains, courteously.
[Hancock raises his fly swatter at Morris, then draws back]
John Hancock : Mr. Morris,
[pause, then shouts]
John Hancock : WHAT IN HELL GOES ON IN NEW YORK?
Lewis Morris : I'm sorry Mr. President, but the simple fact is that our legislature has never sent us explicit instructions on anything!
John Hancock : NEVER?
[slams fly swatter onto his desk]
John Hancock : That's impossible!
Lewis Morris : Mr. President, have you ever been present at a meeting of the New York legislature?
[Hancock shakes his head "No"]
Lewis Morris : They speak very fast and very loud, and nobody listens to anybody else, with the result that nothing ever gets done.
[turns to the Congress as he returns to his seat]
Lewis Morris : I beg the Congress's pardon.
John Hancock : [grimly] My sympathies, Mr. Morris.
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John Hancock : I'm concerned over the continued absence of 1/13th of this Congress. Where is New Jersey?
John Dickinson : Somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania.
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Dr. Josiah Bartlett : Mr. Jefferson, I beg you to remember that we still have friends in England. I see no purpose in antagonizing them with such phrases as "unfeeling brethren" and "enemies at war." Our quarrel is with the British king, not the British people.
John Adams : Oh, be sensible Bartlett, remove those phrases and the entire paragraph becomes meaningless! And it so happens that it's one of the most stirring and poetic of any passage in the entire document.
Dr. Josiah Bartlett : We're a congress, Mr. Adams, not a literary society. I ask that the entire paragraph be stricken.
Hancock : Mr. Jefferson?
[Jefferson nods]
John Adams : Good God, Jefferson when are you going to speak up for your own work?
Thomas Jefferson : I had hoped that the work would speak for itself.
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John Hancock : The principles of independence have no greater advocate in Congress than its president. And that is why I must join those who vote for unanimity.
John Adams : Good God, John! What are you doing? You've sunk us!
John Hancock : Now, hear me out! Don't you see that any colony who opposes independence will be forced to fight on the side of England? That we'll be setting brother against brother. That our new nation will carry as its emblem the mark of Cain. I can see no other way. Either we all walk together, or together we must stay where we are.
John Adams : [throwing up his arm in frustration] The man's from Massachusetts.
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Thomas Jefferson : Tonight, I'm leaving for home.
Hancock : On business?
Thomas Jefferson : Family business.
Hopkins : Give her a flourish for me, young feller!
[congress laughs]
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Hancock : Very well, gentlemen. We are about to brave the storm in a skiff made of paper.
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John Hancock : I'm still from Massachusetts, John. You know where I stand. I'll do whatever you say.
John Adams : No. No, you're the president of Congress. You're a fair man, Hancock. Stay that way.
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John Adams : Mr. Jefferson? It so happens that the word is UN-alienable, not IN-alienable.
Thomas Jefferson : I'm sorry, Mr. Adams, but "Inalienable" is correct.
John Adams : I happen to be a Harvard graduate, Mr. Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson : Well, I attended William & Mary.
Hancock : Mr. Jefferson, will you concede to Mr. Adams' request?
Thomas Jefferson : No, sir, I will not.
[grins]
John Adams : Oh, very well, I withdraw it!
Dr. Benjamin Franklin : Oh, good for you, John!
John Adams : I'll speak to the printer about it later.
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Rev. John Witherspoon : Our, uh... New Jersey legislature has recalled the old delegation to this Congress and has sent a new one.
John Adams : Quickly, man: where do you stand on independence?
Rev. John Witherspoon : Why, haven't I made that clear?
John Adams : No.
Rev. John Witherspoon : Well, I suppose I hadn't, but that's the reason for the change. See, we've been instructed to vote for independence.
John Adams : Mr. President, Massachusetts is now ready to vote for the vote on independence, and reminds the chair of its privilege to decide all votes that are deadlocked.
John Hancock (MA) : [wearily] I won't forget, Mr. Adams.
John Hancock (MA) : The chair takes this opportunity to welcome the New Jersey delegation, and appoints the Reverend Witherspoon to Congressional chaplain, if he will accept the post.
Rev. John Witherspoon : With much pleasure, sir.
[Hancock bangs the desk with his gavel]
John Hancock (MA) : Very well. Mr, Thompson, you er, uh... may now proceed with the vote on independence.
Charles Thomson : All in favor of the resolution on independence, as proposed by the colony of Virginia, signify by...
John Dickinson : [stands up] Mr. President, Pennsylvania moves that any votes in favor of independence... must be unanimous.
John Adams : [rises] What?
James Wilson : [stands up] I second the motion.
John Hancock (MA) : Judge Wilson!
James Wilson : [chagrined] Oh, my God...
[Wilson sits back down]
George Read : Delaware seconds, Mr. President.
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John Adams : Mr. President, how can this Congress vote on independence without a written declaration of some sort defining it?
John Hancock : What sort of declaration?
John Adams : Ah. Well, you know. Listing the reasons for the separation, our purposes, goals, so forth, so on.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin : Ditto, ditto.
John Adams : Ditto, ditto, et cetera, et cetera.
John Hancock : We know those, don't we?
John Adams : Oh, well, yes, good God, we know them. Uh, but what about the rest of the world? Certainly we require the assistance of a powerful nation such as France or Spain, and such a written declaration would be consistent with European delicacy.
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John Dickinson : Mr. Hancock, you're a man of property, one of us. Why don't you join us in our minuet? Why do you persist on dancing with John Adams? Good Lord, sir, you don't even like him!
Hancock : [singing] That is true, he annoys me quite a lot. But still I'd rather trot to Mr. Adams' new gavotte.
John Dickinson : Why? For personal glory? For a place in history? Be careful, sir. History will brand him and his followers as traitors.
Hancock : Traitors, Mr. Dickinson? To what? The British crown or the British half-crown? Fortunately, there are not enough men of property in America to dictate policy.
John Dickinson : Perhaps not. But don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor.
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Thomson : [reading Washington's letter] The situation is most desperate at the New Jersey training ground in New Brunswick, where every able bodied whore in the co... "WHORE?"... in the colonies has assembled. There are constant reports of drunkenness, desertion, foul language, naked bathing in the Raritan river, and an epidemic of the "French disease." I have placed this town off limits to all military personnel with the exception of officers. I beseech the congress to dispatch the War Committee to this place, in the hope of restoring some of the order and discipline we need to survive. Your obedient...
[drumroll]
Thomson : G. Washington.
Col. Thomas McKean : That man would depress a hyena.
Hancock : Well, Mr. Adams, you're chairman of the war committee. Do you feel up to whoring, drinking, deserting, and New Brunswick?
Rev. John Witherspoon : There must be some mistake, I have an aunt who lives in New Brunswick.
John Dickinson : You must tell her to keep up the good work.
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John Dickinson : Mr. President, Pennsylvania moves, as always, that the question of independence be postponed. Indefinitely.
James Wilson : [standing up] I second the motion.
John Hancock : Judge Wilson, in your eagerness to be loved, you seem to have forgotten that Pennsylvania cannot second its own motion!
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Col. Thomas McKean : [to Read] Sit down ya scurvy louse or I'll knock ya down!
Hancock : [to the Delaware delagates] Sit down all three of you!
[dog starts barking]
Hancock : McNair! Do something about that damn dog!
Hopkins : McNair, fetch me a rum!
Hancock : Get the dog first!
Hopkins : No! A rum!
[both start shouting at once]
McNair : I only got two hands!
Hancock : [screaming] Christ, it's hot!
[silence]
Hancock : Do go on, gentlemen, you're making the only breeze in Philadelphia.
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Hancock : Mr. Thomson, is the Declaration ready to be signed?
Charles Thomson : It is.
Hancock : Then I suggest we do so. And the chair further proposes, for our mutual security and protection, that no man be allowed to sit in this Congress without attaching his name to it.
John Dickinson : I'm sorry, Mr. President. I cannot, in good conscience, sign such a document. I will never stop hoping for our eventual reconciliation with England, but... because, in my own way, I regard America no less than does Mr. Adams, I will join the army and fight in her defense, even though I believe that fight to be hopeless.
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Lewis Morris : Mr. President?
Hancock : Mr. Morris?
Lewis Morris : [after abstaining throughout the whole movie] To hell with New York. I'll sign it anyway.
Hancock : Thank you, Mr. Morris.
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George Read : Among your charges against the King, Mr. Jefferson, you accuse him of depriving us of the benefits of trial by jury. This is untrue, sir. In Delaware, we've always had trial by jury.
John Adams : In Massachusetts, we have not.
George Read : Well, then I suggest that the words "in many cases" be added.
Charles Thomson : Mr. Jefferson?
[Jefferson indicates his approval]
Col. Thomas McKean : "In many cases"? Ach, brilliant! I suppose every time you see those three words, your puny chest will swell with pride over your great historical contribution.
George Read : It's more memorable than your unprincipled whitewash of that race of barbarians!
Col. Thomas McKean : [insulted] Race of barbarians? Why, I'll have you...
John Hancock : [pounding his gavel] Colonel McKean, Mr. Read, that's enough!
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Charles Thomson : Rhode Island. Second call Rhode Island.
McNair : Rhode Island!
Hopkins : I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your damn horses.
Charles Thomson : We're waiting on you, Mr. Hopkins.
Hopkins : Well, it won't kill you. You'd think the Congress would have its own privy. All right, where's she stand?
Charles Thomson : Five for debate, five for postponement, one abstention and one absence.
Hopkins : So it's up to me, huh? Well, I'll tell you, in all my years, I never seen, heard, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn't be talked about. Hell yes, I'm for debating anything! Rhode Island says yea.
[Indistinguishable cheers and shouts]
John Hancock : McNair, get Mr. Hopkins a rum.
McNair : But you said...
John Hancock : Get him a whole damned barrel if he wants.
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Congressional President John Hancock (MA) : I suppose we could leave it a four-man committee.
John Adams (MA) : Uh, just a moment. This business needs a Virginian; therefore I propose a replacement, Mr. Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson (VA) : No, Mr. Adams.
Congressional President John Hancock (MA) : Very well, Mr. Adams. Mr. Jefferson will serve.
Thomas Jefferson (VA) : I'm going home, too. To my wife.
John Adams (MA) : Move to adjourn!
Thomas Jefferson (VA) : Wait.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin (PA) : I second!
Congressional President John Hancock (MA) : Moved and seconded. Any objections?
Thomas Jefferson (VA) : Yes, I have objections! I have lots of objections! John, I need to see my wife. I haven't seen her in six months.
Congressional President John Hancock (MA) : [gaveling] So ruled. Congress stands adjourned.
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Roger Sherman : [Sherman stands up] Brother Dickinson, New England has been fighting the Devil for more than 100 years.
John Dickinson : And as of now, *Brother Sherman*, the Devil has been winning hands down.
John Dickinson : [the delegates murmur] Why, at this very moment, he's sitting right here, in this Congress. Don't let him deceive you, this proposal is entirely his doing! Oh, it may bear Virginia's name, but it reeks of Adams, Adams, and more Adams. Look at him, ready to lead this continent down the fiery path of total destruction!
John Adams : [Adams stands up] Oh, good God! Why can't you acknowledge what already exists? It has been more than a year since Concord and Lexington! Damn it, man, we're at war! Right now...
John Dickinson : *You* may be at war - you, Boston and John Adams, but you will never speak for Pennsylvania!
George Read : [Read stands up] Nor for Delaware!
Caesar Rodney : [Caesar Rodney stands] Mr. Read, you represent only one third of Delaware!
George Read : The sensible third, Mr. Rodney!
Col. Thomas McKean : Sit down, you scurvy dog, or I'll knock you down!
John Hancock : [Hancock bangs his gavel on the desk] Sit down, all three of you!
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John Hancock : [Hancock hits the desk with his gavel] A resolve, that these united colonies are, and have a right ought to be, free and independent...
Rev. John Witherspoon : [Witherspoon knocks on the door and opens it] Excuse me, is- is this the Continental Congress? Well, yes, I- I can see that it must be.
Rev. John Witherspoon : [to the New Jersey delegates off-screen] It's all right, we've found it!
Rev. John Witherspoon : [the delegates enter] We've been looking for you everywhere, you see. Someone told us that you might be at Carpenter's Hall, and someone else suggested Library Hall, and so finally, we asked a constable.
John Hancock : Excuse me, sir, but, um... if you don't mind, the, uh... Congress is about to decide the question of American independence.
Rev. John Witherspoon : Oh, how splendid, that means we're not too late. Oh, these gentlemen are Mr. Francis Hopkinson, Dr. Richard Stockton, and I am the Reverend John Witherspoon.
[the Continental Congress is silent]
Rev. John Witherspoon : We're the new delegates from New Jersey.
[the Continental Congress greets them enthusiastically]
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John Hancock : [the courier enters Independence Hall with a report from Washington; Thomson rings a bell to call the delegates to order] From the Commander, Army of the United Colonies, New York, dispatch number 1,137...
McNair : Aw, sweet Jesus!
John Hancock : [Hancock resumes reading] The honorable Congress, John Hancock president. "Dear Sirs: It is with great apprehension that I have learned this day of the sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, of a considerable force of British troops in the company of foreign mercenaries and under the command of General Sir William Howe. There can be no doubt that their destination is New York; for to take and hold this city and the Hudson Valley beyond would seriously separate New England from the rest of the colonies, permitting both sections to be crushed in turn. Sadly, I see no way of stopping them at the present time, as my army's absolutely falling apart. My military chest is totally exhausted. My commissary general has strained his credit to the last. My quartermaster has no food, no arms, no ammunition, and my troops are in a state of near mutiny. I pray God some relief arrives before the Armada but fear it will not. Your obedient..."
John Hancock : [drumroll] "G. Washington."
McNair : [bangs his desk and stands up] Mister President!
John Hancock : Colonel McKean.
Col. Thomas McKean : Sure, we have managed to promote the gloomiest man on this continent to the head of our troops. Those dispatches are the most depr-ressing accumulation of disaster, doom, and despair in the entire annals of human history!
John Hancock : [Hancock hits his desk with the gavel] Colonel McKean, please!
Col. Thomas McKean : What?
John Hancock : It's too hot.
Col. Thomas McKean : Okay, I suppose so.
John Hancock : [McKean sits down] General Washington will continue wording his dispatches as he sees fit; and I'm sure we he finds happier thoughts to convey in the near... future.
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John Dickinson , Edward Rutledge , John Hancock : [Dickinson and theconservative anti-independence candidates dance a minuet and sing "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men"] What we do, we do rationally,
John Dickinson : We never, ever go off half-cocked, not we,
John Dickinson , Edward Rutledge , John Hancock : Why begin, till we know that we can win,
John Dickinson : And if we cannot win, why bother to begin?
Edward Rutledge : We say this game's not of our choosing, why should we risk losing?
John Dickinson , Edward Rutledge , John Hancock : We are cool men...
John Dickinson : [the song pauses] Mr. Hancock, you're a man of property, one of us, why don't you join us in our minuet? Why do you persist in dancing with John Adams? Good Lord, sir, you don't even like him!
John Hancock : [Hancock stands up and sings] That is true, he annoys me quite a lot, / But still, I'd rather trot to Adams' new gavotte
John Dickinson : [spoken] Why? For personal glory? For a place in history? Be careful, sir, history will brand him and his followers as traitors.
Edward Rutledge : Traitors, Mr. Dickinson, to what: The British Crown, or the British half-crown? Fortunately, there's not enough men with property in America to dictate policy.
John Dickinson : Perhaps not, but don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor. And that is why they will follow us...
John Dickinson , Edward Rutledge , Chorus : [singing resumes] To the right, ever to the right, never to the left, forever to the right, / We have gold, a market that will hold, tradition that is old, reluctance to be bold...
John Dickinson : [Dickinson leads the conservatives as they leave] I sing Hosanna, Ho-san-na,
John Dickinson : [angrily raises his voice] In a sane and lucid manner, we are cool!
John Dickinson , Edward Rutledge , Chorus : [Dickinson and the conservatives walk out to their carriages] Come ye cool, cool, considerate men, whose likes may never, ever be seen again, / With our land, cash in hand, self-command, future planned, / And we'll hold to our gold, tradition that is old, reluctant to be bold, / We say this game's not of our choosing, why should we risk losing? / We cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool men!
McNair : [McNair and his companions are watching the conservatives' carriages pass by as the song ends] How'd you like to try and borrow a dollar from one of them? You want some more rum, general?
