1776 Page #12

I should've known.

McNair, get him a rum.

Mr. 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.

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. Now...

We're a Congress, Mr. Adams,

not a literary society.

I ask that the entire

paragraph be stricken.

Mr. Jefferson?

Good God.

Jefferson, when are you going

to speak up for your own work?

I had hoped that the work

would speak for itself.

Mr. Hancock?

What is it,

Mr. McNair?

I can't say I'm very fond of

"The United States of America"

as a name for a new country.

I don't care what you're fond of, Mr.

McNair.

You're not a member

of this Congress!

Mr. Sherman.

Brother Jefferson,

I noted at least

two distinct and

direct references

to the British Parliament

in your declaration.

Do you think it's wise to

alienate that august body

in light of our contention

that they've never had any

authority over us anyway?

This is a revolution, damn it!

We're going to have

to offend somebody.

Brother Hancock!

John. John.

You'll give yourself an attack of

apoplexy if you're not careful.

Have you heard what

they're doing to it?

Have you heard?

I heard.

And, so far, that's

just our friends.

Can you imagine what

our enemies will do?

The word "parliament" will

be removed wherever it occurs.

They won't be satisfied

till they remove

one of the "F's"

from Jefferson's name.

Courage, John. It won't

last much longer.

Mr. 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?

Because he is a tyrant.

I remind you,

Mr. Jefferson,

that this tyrant

is still your king.

When a king becomes a tyrant,

he thereby breaks the contract

binding his subjects to him.

How so?

By taking away their rights.

Rights that came from

him in the first place?

All except one.

The right to be free

comes from nature.

And are we not free,

Mr. Jefferson?

Homes entered without warrant.

Citizens arrested

without charge.

And in many places,

free assembly itself denied.

No one approves of such things,

but these are dangerous times.

Be careful,

Mr. Dickinson.

Those who give up

some of their liberty

in order to obtain a

little temporary safety,

deserve neither

liberty nor safety.

Mr. Wilson.

Do we in Pennsylvania

consider King George a tyrant?

Well, I don't know.

He...

Oh. Uh...

No. No, we don't.

He's not a tyrant.

In Pennsylvania.

There you are,

Mr. Jefferson.

Your declaration does

not speak for us all.

I demand the word

"tyrant" be removed.

Very well.

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.

But I already scratched it out.

Then scratch it back in.

Put it back, Mr. Thomson.

The king will remain a tyrant.

Mr. Hewes.

Mr. Jefferson.

Nowhere do you mention

deep-sea fishing rights.

Oh, good God!

Fishing rights!

How long is this

piddling to go on?

We have been here

for three full days.

We have endured, by my count,

85 separate changes,

and the removal of

close to 400 words.

Now, would you whip it and beat

it till you break its spirit?

I tell you that document

is a masterful expression

of the American mind!

If there are no more changes,

then I can assume the report of the

Declaration Committee has been...

Just a moment,

Mr. President.

Look out.

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."

"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's waged cruel war

against human nature itself

"in the persons of a distant

people who never offended him,

"captivating 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..."

That will suffice,

Mr. Thomson.

I thank you, sir.

Mr. Jefferson,

I can't quite make out what

it is you're talking about.

Slavery, Mr. Rutledge.

Oh, yes.

You're referring to us

as slaves of the king.

No, sir. I'm referring

to our slaves.

Black slaves.

Why didn't you say so, sir?

Were you trying to

hide your meaning?

No, sir.

Just another

literary license, then.

If you like.

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.

Nevertheless,

we must abolish it.

Nothing is more certainly

written in the book of fate

than that these

people shall be free.

I am not concerned with the book

of fate right now, Mr. Jefferson.

I'm more concerned with what is

written in that little paper there.

That little paper there

deals with freedom

for Americans.

Oh, really?

Mr. Adams

is now calling our

black slaves "Americans."

Are they, now?

Yes, they are.

They're people and they're here.

If there's any other requirement,

I've never heard of it.

They are here, yes, but they are not

people, sir. They are property.

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.

Then see to your own wounds, Mr.

Jefferson,

for you are a practitioner!

Are you not?

I have already resolved

to release my slaves.

Then I'm sorry,

for you've also resolved

the ruination of

your personal economy.

Economy.

Always economy.

There's more to this than a

filthy purse string, Rutledge.

It's an offense

against man and God.

It's a stinking business, Mr.

Rutledge.

A stinking business.

Is it really,

Mr. Hopkins?

Then what is that I smell

floating down from the North?

Could that be

the aroma of hypocrisy?

For who holds the other end of that

filthy purse string, Mr. Adams?

Our Northern brethren

feeling a bit tender

toward our slaves.

They don't keep slaves.

Oh, no.

But they're willing to

be considerable carriers

of slaves to others.

They're willing.

For the shilling.

Or haven't you heard,

Mr. Adams?

Clink, clink.

Molasses to rum

To slaves

Oh, what a beautiful waltz

You dance with us

We dance with you

In molasses and rum

And slaves

Who sail the ships out of Boston

Ladened with Bibles and rum?

Who drinks a toast

to the Ivory Coast?

Hail Africa,

the slavers have come

New England with Bibles

And rum

And it's off with

the rum and the Bibles

Take on the slaves, clink, clink

Then hail and

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