1776 Page #11

There's something

about that chair

that makes a man awful noisy.

You seen any fighting?

Sure did.

I see's my two best friends get

shot dead on the very same day.

And at Lexington it was, too.

Right on the village green.

When they didn't

come home for supper,

their mamas went down the

hill looking for them.

Mrs. Lowell,

she found Timothy.

Right off.

But Mrs. Pickett...

She looked near half

the night for William.

He went and crawled

off the green

before he died.

Mama, hey, Mama

Come looking for me

I'm here in the meadow

By the red maple tree

Mama, hey, Mama

Look sharp

Here I be

Hey, hey

Mama, look sharp

Them soldiers, they fired

Oh, Ma, did we run

But then we turned round

And the battle begun

Then I went under

Oh, Ma, am I done?

Hey, hey

Mama, look sharp

My eyes are wide open

My face to the sky

Is that you I'm hearing

In the tall grass nearby

Mama, come find me

Before I do die

Hey, hey

Mama

Look sharp

I'll close your eyes

My Billy

Them eyes that cannot see

And I'll bury you

My Billy

Beneath the maple tree

And

Never again

Will you whisper to me

Hey

Oh, Mama

Look sharp

The secretary

will now read the report

of the Declaration Committee.

Mr. Thomson.

"A declaration by

the representatives

"of the United

States of America,

"in general Congress assembled.

"When in the course

of human events

"it becomes necessary

for one people

"to dissolve the political bands

"which have connected

them with another

"and to assume among

the powers of the Earth

"the separate and equal station

"to which the laws of nature

"and of nature's

god entitle them,

"a decent respect to the

opinions of mankind

"requires that they

should declare the causes

"which impel them

to the separation.

"We hold these

truths to be self-evident,

"that all men are created equal.

"They're endowed

by their creator

"with certain

inalienable rights,

"that among these are life, liberty

and the pursuit of happiness,

"that to secure

these rights..."

Jefferson! We're back,

and we've got Maryland.

That is, we will,

as soon as Chase

gets through telling

the Maryland assembly

what we saw in New Brunswick.

He's in Annapolis right now,

describing a ragtag collection

of provincial militiamen

who couldn't drill

together, train together

or march together.

But when a flock

of ducks flew over

and they saw their first

meal in three full days,

sweet Jesus, could

they shoot together!

It was a slaughter.

A slaughter.

They're reading the declaration.

Good God! How far

have they gotten?

"To render the military

independent of

"and superior to

the civil power."

"independent of

and superior to..."

Nothing to fear.

It's a masterpiece.

I'm to be congratulated.

You?

For making him write it.

Oh, of course.

It's a masterpiece, I say

They will cheer

every word, every letter

I wish I felt that way

I believe I can put it better

Now then attend

as friend to friend

Our Declaration Committee

For us I see immortality

In Philadelphia City

A farmer, a lawyer

And a sage

A bit gouty in the leg

You know, it's quite bizarre

To think that here we are

Playing midwives to an egg

Egg? What egg?

America. The birth

of a new nation.

If only we could be sure

of what kind of

a bird it's going to be.

Tom has a point. What sort

of bird shall we choose

as the symbol of

our new America?

The eagle.

The dove.

The turkey.

The eagle.

The dove.

The eagle!

The eagle.

The turkey.

The eagle is a majestic bird.

The eagle is a scavenger,

a thief and a coward.

A symbol of over 10 centuries

of European mischief.

A turkey?

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...

The eagle!

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

God knows the

temperature's hot enough

To hatch a stone,

let alone an egg

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

God knows the

temperature's hot enough

To hatch a stone

But will it hatch an egg?

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 it isn't,

we've still got four days left

to think of something else.

The eagle's going

to crack the shell

Of the egg that England laid

Yes, sir, we can

tell, tell, tell

On this humid Monday morning

In this congressional incubator

And just as Tom here has written

Though the shell may

belong to Great Britain

The eagle inside belongs to us

And just as Tom here has written

We say, "To hell

with Great Britain"

The eagle inside belongs to us

"and to do all

other acts and things

"which independent

states may of right do.

"And for the support

of this declaration,

"we mutually pledge to

each other our lives,

"our fortunes and

our sacred honor."

Thank you, Mr. Thomson.

The Congress has

heard the report

of the Declaration Committee.

Are there any here who

wish to offer alterations,

deletions, amendments

to this declaration?

Mr. President!

Gentlemen!

Gentlemen, please!

Colonel McKean,

I saw your hand first.

Mr. Jefferson,

it's a funny paper you've written,

Tom, but somewhere in it,

you mention Scottish and foreign

mercenaries sent to destroy us.

Scottish, Tom?

That is in reference

to a Highland regiment

which stood against

us at Boston.

It's more likely

Germans wearing kilts

to disguise their being there.

I ask you to remove the word

and avoid giving offense

to a good people.

Mr. Jefferson?

The Reverend...

Witherspoon.

Mr. Jefferson,

nowhere do you mention

the Supreme Being.

Now, surely this

was an oversight,

for how could we hope to achieve

a victory without His help?

Therefore, I most humbly

suggest the following addition

to your final sentence.

"With a firm reliance on the

protection of Divine Providence."

Mr. Jefferson?

Mr. 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.

In Massachusetts, we have not.

Well, then I suggest

that the words

"in many cases" be added.

Mr. Jefferson?

"In many cases"?

Brilliant!

I suppose every time

you see those three words,

your puny chest

will swell with pride

over your great

historical contribution.

It's more memorable

than your unprincipled whitewash

of that race of barbarians!

Race of barbarians?

Why, I'll have you...

Colonel McKean,

Mr. Read, that's enough!

Mr. Hopkins. I've no

objections, Johnny.

I'm just trying to get a drink.

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