1776 Page #14

from Massachusetts, John.

You know where I stand.

I'll do whatever you say.

No.

No, you're the president

of Congress.

You're a fair man, Hancock.

Stay that way.

Tell me, Mr. Thomson,

out of curiosity,

do you stand with Mr. Dickinson,

or do you stand with me?

I stand with the General.

Well, lately, I've had the

oddest feeling that he's been

writing to me.

I have been in expectation

Of receiving a reply

On the subject of

my last 15 dispatches

ls anybody there?

Does anybody care?

Does anybody care?

"Your humble

and obedient..."

"ls anybody there?

"Does anybody care?"

Does anybody see what I see?

They want me to quit

They say,

"John, give up the fight"

Still to England, I say

Good night, forever, good night!

For I have crossed the Rubicon

Let the bridge

be burned behind me

Come what may

Commitment!

The croakers all say

we'll rue the day

There'll be hell to pay

in fiery purgatory

Through all the gloom,

through all the gloom

I can see the rays

of ravishing light

And glory

ls anybody there?

Does anybody care?

Does anybody see what I see?

I see fireworks

I see the pageant

and pomp and parade

I hear the bells ringing out

I hear the cannons roar

I see Americans

All Americans free

Forevermore

How quiet,

how quiet the chamber is

How silent,

how silent the chamber is

ls anybody there?

Does anybody care?

Does anybody see what I see?

Yes, Mr. Adams.

I do.

Dr. Hall.

I didn't know anyone was...

I'm sorry if I startled you.

I couldn't sleep.

And in trying

to resolve my dilemma,

I remembered something

I'd once read.

That a representative owes the

people not only his industry,

but his judgment.

And he betrays them if he

sacrifices it to their opinion.

That was written

by Edmund Burke,

a member of

the British Parliament.

Good night,

Mr. Adams.

Good night.

It's never been done before.

No colony has ever broken from the

parent stem in the history of the world.

If you have grievances,

and I'm sure you have,

our present system must provide

a gentler means

of redressing them

short of revolution.

We've spawned a new race here.

Rougher, simpler,

more violent, more

enterprising, less refined.

"My quartermaster has

no food, no arms, no ammunition,

"and my troops are in

a state of near mutiny."

No army, no navy... THOMSON:

"I pray God some relief arrives

"before the armada,

but fear it will not."

No arms, no ammunition,

no treasury, no friends.

And when

they hang you, Mr. Adams,

I do hope you'll put in a

good word for the rest of us.

England closing in,

cutting off our air.

There's no time!

To place before mankind

the common sense of the subject...

The issue here is independence.

Perhaps you've lost sight of

that fact, but I have not.

"We mutually pledge

to each other our lives

"our fortunes

and our sacred honor."

Can you really know

so little about yourself?

Very well.

The Congress will now vote on

Virginia's resolution on independence.

Thank you for coming, Caesar.

God bless you, sir.

The secretary

will call the roll.

And I remind you, gentlemen,

that a single "nay" vote

will defeat the motion.

Mr. Thomson.

New Hampshire?

New Hampshire says yea.

New Hampshire says yea.

Massachusetts?

Massachusetts says yea.

Massachusetts says yea.

Rhode Island?

Rhode Island says yea.

Rhode Island says yea.

Connecticut?

Connecticut says yea.

Connecticut says yea. New York?

Mr. Secretary, New York

abstains courteously.

New York abstains.

Courteously.

New Jersey?

New Jersey says yea.

New Jersey says yea.

Pennsylvania?

Mr. Secretary,

Pennsylvania is not ready.

Please come back to us later.

Pennsylvania passes.

Delaware?

Just a moment.

Delaware, by majority vote...

Aye.

Says yea.

Delaware says yea.

Maryland?

Maryland says yea.

Maryland says yea.

Virginia?

Virginia says yea.

Virginia says yea.

North Carolina?

North Carolina yields

to South Carolina.

South Carolina?

Well,

Mr. Adams?

Well,

Mr. Rutledge.

Mr. Adams,

you must believe that I will

do what I promised to do.

What is it you want, Rutledge?

Remove the offending passage

from your declaration.

If we did that,

we would be guilty

of what we ourselves

are rebelling against.

Nevertheless remove it,

or South Carolina

will bury now and forever

your dream of independence.

John, I beg you, consider

what you're doing.

Mark me, Franklin,

if we give in on this issue,

posterity will never forgive us.

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?

Jefferson, say something.

What else is there to do?

Well, man, you're the

one that wrote it.

I wrote all of it,

Mr. Adams.

There.

There it is, Rutledge. You have your

slavery. Little good may it do you.

You now vote, damn you!

Mr. President, the fair

colony of South Carolina

says yea.

South Carolina says yea.

North Carolina says yea.

Georgia?

Georgia says yea.

Pennsylvania, second call.

Mr. President,

Pennsylvania regrets

all of the inconvenience

that such distinguished men as

Adams, Franklin and Jefferson

were put to just now.

They might've kept

their document intact

for all the difference

it will make.

Mr. President,

Pennsylvania says...

Just a moment.

I ask the delegation

to be polled.

Dr. Franklin,

don't be absurd.

A poll, Mr. President.

It's a proper request.

Yes, it is.

Poll the delegation,

Mr. Thomson.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin.

Yea.

Mr. John Dickinson.

Nay.

Mr. James Wilson.

Judge Wilson?

There it is, Mr. Wilson.

It's all up to you now.

The whole question

of American independence

rests squarely

on your shoulders.

An entirely new nation ready

to be born or to die at birth,

all on

your say-so.

Which will it be,

Mr. Wilson?

Every mapmaker in the world

is waiting for your decision.

Come now, James.

Nothing has changed.

We mustn't let Dr. Franklin

create one of his confusions.

The question is clear.

Most questions are clear when

someone else has to decide them.

It would be a pity for a man

who's handed down

hundreds of wise decisions

from the bench

to be remembered only

for the one unwise decision

he made in Congress.

James, you're keeping

everybody waiting.

The secretary has

called for your vote.

Please.

Don't push me, John. I know

what you want me to do.

But Mr. Adams is correct

about one thing.

I'm the one who'll

be remembered for it.

What do you mean?

I'm different from you, John.

I'm different from

most of the men here.

I don't want to be remembered.

I just don't want the

responsibility.

Yes, well, whether you

want it or not, James,

there's no way of avoiding it.

Not necessarily, John.

If I go with them,

I'll just be one among dozens.

Rate this script:2.7 / 3 votes