1776 (1972)

Ken Howard: Thomas Jefferson (VA)

Photos 

Quotes 

• [Adams has barged into Jefferson's room, accompanied by Franklin, to read the results of Jefferson's work on the Declaration of Independence] 

  John Adams : Well, is it written yet? Well, you've had a whole week, man. Is it done? Can I SEE IT?

  [with his violin bow, Jefferson picks up and hands Adams a discarded draft] 

  John Adams : "There comes a time in the lives of men when it becomes necessary to advance from that subordination in which they have hitherto rem-"... This is terrible. Where's the rest of it?

  [Jefferson indicates dozens of rejected drafts strewn crumpled about his floor] 

  John Adams : Do you mean to say that it is not yet finished?

  Thomas Jefferson : No, sir. I mean to say that it's not yet begun.

  John Adams : Good god! A whole week! The entire earth was created in a week!

  [Jefferson turns to face him] 

  Thomas Jefferson : Someday, you must tell me how you did it.

  John Adams : Disgusting.

• [Adams tries to persuade Jefferson to stay in Philadelphia and write the Declaration of Independence rather than return home to Virginia] 

  Thomas Jefferson : Mr. Adams, I beg of you. I have not seen my wife these past six months!

  John Adams : [quotes from memory]  'And we solemly declare that we will preserve our liberties, being with one mind resolved to die free men rather than to live slaves.' Thomas Jefferson "On the Necessity of Taking Up Arms," 1775. Magnificent! Why, you write ten times better than any man in Congress. Including me. For a man of only thirty-three years, you have a happy talent of composition and a remarkable felicity of expression. Now then, sir... will you be a patriot? Or a lover?

  Thomas Jefferson : [thinks it over, then]  A lover.

• John Adams : Now you'll write it, Mr. J.

  Thomas Jefferson : Who will make me, Mr. A?

  John Adams : I.

  Thomas Jefferson : You?

  John Adams : Yes!

  [Jefferson steps up, towering over Adams, and looks down at him] 

  Thomas Jefferson : How?

  [tapping his chest with the quill pen] 

  John Adams : By physical force, if necessary.

• John Adams : Look at him, Franklin. Virginia's most famous lover!

  Thomas Jefferson : [not having seen his wife in six months]  Virginia abstains.

• [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.

• [Jefferson is arguing about being appointed to the declaration committee] 

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : Don't worry, Tom. Oh, let me handle it. I'll get Adams to write it.

  Thomas Jefferson : I don't know. He had a funny look on his face.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : He always does.

• John Dickinson : Mr. Jefferson, I have very little interest in your paper, as there's no doubt in my mind that we've all but heard the last of it, but I am curious about one thing. Why do you refer to King George as a... tyrant?

  Thomas Jefferson : Because he *is* a tyrant.

  John Dickinson : I remind you, Mr. Jefferson, that this "tyrant" is still your king.

  Thomas Jefferson : When a king becomes a tyrant, he thereby breaks the contract binding his subjects to him.

  John Dickinson : How so?

  Thomas Jefferson : By taking away their rights.

  John Dickinson : Rights that came from him in the first place.

  Thomas Jefferson : All except one. The right to be free comes from nature.

  John Dickinson : And are we not free, Mr. Jefferson?

  Thomas Jefferson : Homes entered without warrant, citizens arrested without charge, and in many places, free assembly itself denied.

  John Dickinson : No one approves of such things, but these are dangerous times.

• Samuel Chase : [to Adams, referring to the Declaration]  Answer straight: what would be its purpose?

  John Adams : [lost for words]  Yes, well...

  [Jefferson stands up] 

  Thomas Jefferson : [slowly and deliberately]  To place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent.

• Edward Rutledge : [In the final vote for Independence, Rutledge wants the slavery clause removed from the Declaration, or else he will vote against independence]  Well, Mr. Adams?

  John Adams : Well, Mr. Rutledge.

  Edward Rutledge : [stands]  Mr. Adams, you must believe that I *will* do what I promised to do.

  John Adams : [stands and approaches him]  What is it you want, Rutledge?

  Edward Rutledge : Remove the offending passage from your Declaration.

  John Adams : If we did that, we would be guilty of what we ourselves are rebelling against.

  Edward Rutledge : Nevertheless... remove it, or South Carolina will bury, now and forever, your dream of independence.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : John? I beg you consider what you're doing.

  John Adams : Mark me, Franklin... if we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : That's probably true, but we won't hear a thing, we'll be long gone. Besides, what would posterity think we were? Demi-gods? We're men, no more no less, trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. First things first, John. Independence; America. If we don't secure that, what difference will the rest make?

  John Adams : [long pause]  Jefferson, say something.

  Thomas Jefferson : What else is there to do?

  John Adams : Well, man, you're the one that wrote it.

  Thomas Jefferson : I *wrote* ALL of it, Mr. Adams.

  [stands and goes to the Declaration, crosses out the clause] 

  John Adams : [snatches the paper from Jefferson and takes it to Rutledge]  There you are, Rutlege, you have your slavery; little good may it do you, now VOTE, damn you!

  Edward Rutledge : [takes the paper]  Mr. President, the fair colony of South Carolina...

  [looks at Adams] 

  Edward Rutledge : ... says yea.

• 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.

• John Adams : [Franklin, Adams and Jefferson start to sing "The Egg"]  It's a masterpiece, I say, They will cheer every word, every letter,

  Thomas Jefferson : I wish I felt that way,

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : I believe I can put it better,/ Now then, attend, as friend to friend, our declaration committee, / For us I see, immortality,

  John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson : [as a three part barbershop melody]  In Philadelphia city...

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : [Franklin glances at Jefferson, then Adams]  A farmer, a lawyer, and a sage...

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : [the Liberty Bell rings in the background]  A bit gouty in the leg... / You know, it's quite bizarre, to think that here we are, playing midwives to an egg...

  John Adams : Egg? What egg?

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : America, the birth of a new nation.

  Thomas Jefferson : If only we could be sure of what kind of a bird it's going to be.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : Tom has a point: what sort of bird shall we choose as the symbol of our new America?

  John Adams : The eagle.

  Thomas Jefferson : The dove.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : The turkey.

  John Adams : The eagle.

  John Adams : The dove.

  John Adams : [more insistently]  The eagle!

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : [Jefferson yields to Adams's suggestion]  The eagle.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : The turkey.

  John Adams : The eagle is a majestic bird.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : The eagle is a scavenger, a thief, and a coward! A symbol of over 10 centuries of European mischief.

  Thomas Jefferson : [astonished]  The turkey?

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : The turkey is a truly noble bird - Native American, source of sustenance of our original settlers. An incredibly brave fellow who will not flinch at attacking a regiment of Englishmen single-handedly. Therefore, the national bird of America is going to be...

  John Adams : [with insistent finalitly]  The eagle!

  John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson : [Franklin resignedly agrees to Adams's suggestion, with a confused look on his face afterwards]  The eagle!

• 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] 

• 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.

• [on the anti-slavery clause] 

  John Adams : That little paper there deals with freedom for Americans!

  Edward Rutledge : Oh, really. Mr. Adams is now calling our black slaves "Americans!" Are they, now?

  John Adams : Yes, they are. They are people, and they are here. If there's any other requirement, I haven't heard it.

  Edward Rutledge : They are here, yes, but they are not people sir, they are property.

  Thomas Jefferson : No, sir they are people who are being treated as property! I tell you, the rights of human nature are deeply wounded by this infamous practice!

  Edward Rutledge : Then see to your own wounds Mr. Jefferson, for you are a practitioner are you not?

  Thomas Jefferson : I have already resolved to release my slaves.

  Edward Rutledge : Oh. Then I'm sorry, for you've also resolved the ruination of your own personal economy.

  John Adams : Economy. Always economy. There's more to this than a filthy purse-string, Rutledge! It is an offense against man and God!

  Hopkins : It's a stinking business, Mr. Rutledge, a stinking business!

  Edward Rutledge : Is it really now, Mr. Hopkins? Then what's that I smell floating down from the North? Could it be the aroma of hy-pocrisy? For who holds the other end of that filthy purse-string, Mr. Adams? Our northern brethren are feeling a bit tender toward our black slaves. They don't keep slaves! Oh, no. But they are willing to be considerable carriers of slaves to others. They're willin'! For the shillin'. Or haven't you heard, Mr. Adams? Clink, clink.

• John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson : [Adams starts off singing 'The Egg', with Franklin and Jefferson joining in]  We're waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp, of an eaglet being born, / Waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp, on this humid Monday morning, in this... Congressional incubator,

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : God knows the temperature's hot enough, to hatch a stone, let alone an egg.

  John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson : We're waiting for the scratch, scratch, scratch, of that tiny, little fellow, / Waiting for the egg to hatch, on this humid Monday morning in this... Congressional incubator,

  John Adams : God knows the temperature's hot enough, to hatch a stone...

  Thomas Jefferson : But will it hatch an egg?

  John Adams : [spoken]  The Declaration will be a triumph, I tell you, a triumph! If I was ever sure of anything, I'm sure of that - a triumph; and if isn't, we've still got four days left to think of something else.

  John Adams : The eagle's going to crack the shell, of the egg that England laid,

  John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson : Yes sir, we can tell, tell, tell, / On this humid Monday morning, in this... Congressional incubator,

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : And just as Tom here has written, though the shell may belong to Great Britain, / The eagle inside, belongs to us!

  John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin : And just as Tom here has written,

  John Adams , Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson : We say "To hell with Great Britain"! / The eagle inside... belongs to us!

• Thomas Jefferson : ["But, Mr. Adams" continues as John Adams is about to hand the quill pen to Jefferson]  Mr. Adams, leave me alo-one!

  John Adams : [the chorus chants in the background; spoken]  Mr. Jefferson...

  Thomas Jefferson : Mr. Adams, I beg of you, I've not seen my wife these past six months.

  John Adams : "And we solemnly declare that we will preserve our liberties, being with one mind resolved to die free men rather than British slaves." - Thomas Jefferson, "On the Necessity of Taking up Arms", 1775. Magnificent.

  John Adams : Why, you write 10 times better than any man in Congress, including me. For a man of only 33 years, you possess a happy talent for composition, and a remarkable felicity of expression. Now then, sir: will you be a patriot... or a lover?

  Thomas Jefferson : A lover.

• Edward Rutledge : I wonder if we might prevail upon Mr. Thomson to read again a small portion of Mr. Jefferson's Declaration. The one beginning "he has waged cruel war."

  Charles Thomson : [searching]  Uh... "he has affected", "he's combined", "he's abdicated", "he's plundered". "He's constrained", "he's excited", "he's incited", "he's waged cruel war"! Here it is. "He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating them and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, determined to keep open a market where men should be bought and sold. He has prostituted his..."

  Edward Rutledge : That will suffice, Mr. Thomson. I thank you, sir. Mr. Jefferson, I can't quite make out what it is you're talking about.

  Thomas Jefferson : Slavery, Mr. Rutledge.

  Edward Rutledge : Oh, yes. You're referring to us as slaves of the King.

  Thomas Jefferson : No, sir. I'm referring to our slaves. Black slaves.

  Edward Rutledge : Oh. Black slaves. Why didn't you say so, sir? Were you trying to hide your meaning?

  Thomas Jefferson : No, sir.

  Edward Rutledge : Just another literary license, then.

  Thomas Jefferson : If you like.

  Edward Rutledge : I don't like at all, Mr. Jefferson. To us in South Carolina, black slavery is our peculiar institution, and a cherished way of life.

  Thomas Jefferson : Nevertheless, we must abolish it. Nothing is more certainly written in the Book of Fate than that this people shall be free.

• Thomas Jefferson : They're reading the Declaration.

  John Adams : Good God. How far have they gotten?

  Thomas Jefferson : "... to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power."

  [John opens the door to the Chamber] 

  Thomson : "... independent of and superior to-"

  [John closes the door] 

• John Adams : All right, gentlemen. Let's get on with it. Which of us will write our Declaration of Independence?

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : [singing]  Mr. Adams, I say you should write it. To your legal mind and brilliance we defer.

  John Adams : Is that so? Well, if I'm the one to do it, they'll run their quill pens through it. I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : Yes, I know.

  John Adams : But I say you should write it, Franklin. Yes, you.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : Hell no!

  John Adams : Yes, you, Dr. Franklin, you...

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : But...

  John Adams : You...

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : But...

  John Adams : You...

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : But... Mr. Adams, but, Mr. Adams, the things I write are only light extemporania. I won't put politics on paper, it's a mania. So I refuse to use the pen in Pennsylvania.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson , Robert Livingston , Roger Sherman : Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. Refuse to use the pen!

• John Adams : Why, you write 10 times better than any man in Congress, including me. For a man of only 33 years, you possess a happy talent for composition, and a remarkable felicity of expression. Now then, sir: will you be a patriot... or a lover?

  Thomas Jefferson : A lover.

  John Adams : No.

  Thomas Jefferson : But I burn, Mr. A.

  John Adams : So do I, Mr. J.

  Robert Livingston : [surprisedly]  You?

  Roger Sherman : You do?

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : John, who'd have thought it?

  John Adams : [Adams resumes singing]  Mr. Jefferson, dear Mr. Jefferson, I'm only 41, I still have my virility, / And I can romp through Cupid's grove with great agility, / But life is more than sexual combustibility,

  John Adams : [spoken quickly as Adams abruptly stops singing to call after Jefferson]  Jefferson, stop right there!

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Robert Livingston , Roger Sherman : [sung as a chorus]  Combustibility, combustibility, combustibili...

  John Adams : [Adams abruptly stops the chorus, ending the song]  Quiet!

• 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.

• John Adams : [Adams resumes singing "But, Mr. Adams"]  Mr. Jefferson, dear Mr. Jefferson, I'm only 41, I still have my virility, / And I can romp through Cupid's grove with great agility, / But life is more than sexual combustility,

  John Adams : [spoken rapidly]  Jefferson, stop right there!

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Roger Sherman , Robert Livingston : [sung]  Combustibility, combustibility, combustibili...

  John Adams : [Adams glares angrily at Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston]  Quiet!

  John Adams : Now, you'll write it, Mr. J.

  Thomas Jefferson : Who will make me, Mr. A.?

  John Adams : I.

  Thomas Jefferson : You?

  John Adams : Yes.

  Thomas Jefferson : [Jefferson looks down at Adams]  How?

  John Adams : By physical force, if necessary. It's your duty, damnit, your duty!

  Thomas Jefferson : [Jefferson resumes singing "But, Mr. Adams"]  Mr. Adams, damn you, Mr. Adams, / You're obnoxious and disliked, that cannot be denied, / Once again, you stand between me and my lovely bride,

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Roger Sherman , Robert Livingston : [sung]  Lovely bride,

  Thomas Jefferson : [sung]  Oh, Mr. Adams, you are driving me to homicide,

  John Adams : [Jefferson walks away]  Jefferson, stop!

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Roger Sherman , Robert Livingston : [sung]  Homicide, homicide...

  John Adams : Quiet!

  John Adams : [Adams runs down the stairs, and hands the pen to Jefferson]  The decision is yours, Jefferson, do as you like with it!

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin , Roger Sherman , Robert Livingston : [Jefferson takes the pen from Adams; Franklin, Sherman and Livingston resume singing, concluding the song]  We may see murder yet!

• John Adams : Mark me, Franklin, if we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us.

  Dr. Benjamin Franklin : That's probably true, but we won't hear a thing, we'll be long gone. Besides, what will posterity think we were, demigods? We're men, no more, no less, trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous god would have allowed. First things first, John, independence. America. If we don't secure that, what difference will the rest make?

  John Adams : Jefferson, say something.

  Thomas Jefferson : What else is there to do?