1776 Page #15

No one will ever remember

the name of James Wilson.

But if I vote with you,

I'll be the man who prevented

American independence.

I'm sorry, John.

I just didn't bargain for that.

And is that how new

nations are formed?

By a nonentity

trying to preserve

the anonymity he

so richly deserves?

Revolutions come into this world

like bastard children,

Mr. Dickinson.

Half improvised

and half compromised.

Our side has provided

the compromise.

Now Judge Wilson is

supplying the rest.

James.

I'm sorry, John.

My vote

Mr. Secretary,

Pennsylvania says yea.

The count being 12 to none

with one abstention,

the resolution on independence

is adopted.

It's done.

Mr. Thomson,

is the declaration

ready to be signed?

It is.

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.

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,

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.

Goodbye, gentlemen.

Gentlemen of the Congress,

I say yea, John Dickinson.

Very well.

Are there any objections

to the declaration

being approved as it now stands?

I have one, Mr. Hancock.

You, Mr. Adams?

Yes. Uh, Mr. Jefferson,

it so happens that

the word is "unalienable,"

not "inalienable."

I'm sorry, Mr. Adams, but

"inalienable" is correct.

I happen to be a Harvard graduate, Mr.

Jefferson.

I attended William

and Mary, Mr. Adams.

Gentlemen, please!

Mr. Jefferson, will you yield to Mr.

Adams' request?

No, sir. I will not.

Oh, very well. I withdraw it.

Oh, good for you, John.

I'll speak to the printer

about it later on.

Very well, gentlemen.

We're about to brave the storm

in a skiff made of paper.

And how it shall end,

God only knows.

That's a pretty

large signature, Johnny.

So Fat George in London can

read it without his glasses.

All right, step right

up, gentlemen.

Don't miss your chance

to commit treason.

Ooh.

Hancock is right. This paper is

our passport to the gallows.

But there's no backing out now,

for if we do not hang together,

we shall most assuredly

hang separately.

In my case, hanging

won't be so bad.

One snap and it'll be all

over, just like that.

But look at Read there.

He'll be dancing a jig

long after I'm gone!

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!

"From the Commander, army of

the United Colonies in..."

Army of the United

States in New York,

"dispatch number 1,209,

"to the Honorable Congress,

John Hancock, president.

"Dear sir, I can now report

with some certainty

"that the eve of battle

is near at hand.

"Toward this end, I have ordered

the evacuation of Manhattan

"and directed our

defenses to take up

"stronger positions on

the Brooklyn Heights.

"At the present time,

my forces consist

"entirely of

Haslet's Delaware Militia

"and Smallwood's Marylanders,

"a total of 5,000 troops

to stand against

"twenty-five thousand

of the enemy.

"And I begin to notice

that many of us

"are lads under 15 and old men,

"none of whom could truly

be called soldiers.

"One personal note to Mr.

Lewis Morris of New York.

"I must regretfully report

"that his estates have

been totally destroyed,

"but that I have taken the liberty

of transporting Mrs. Morris

"and eight of the children

to Connecticut and safety.

"The four older boys are now

enlisted in the Continental Army.

"As I write these words,

"the enemy is plainly in sight

beyond the river.

"How it will end,

only Providence can direct."

"But, dear God, what brave men

"I shall lose

"before

"this business

"ends.

"Your obedient,

"G. Washington."

Very well, gentlemen.

McNair.

Go ring the bell.

Mr. President.

Mr. Morris.

To hell with New York.

I'll sign it anyway.

Thank you, Mr. Morris.

Stephen, sit down.

No.

I want to remember

each man's face as he signs.

Very well.

Mr. Thomson.

New Hampshire.

Dr. Josiah Bartlett.

Massachusetts.

Mr. John Adams.

Rhode Island.

Mr. Stephen Hopkins.

Connecticut.

Mr. Roger Sherman.

New York.

Mr. Lewis Morris.

New Jersey. The Reverend

John Witherspoon.

Pennsylvania.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin.

Delaware.

Mr. Caesar Rodney.

Maryland.

Mr. Samuel Chase.

Virginia.

Mr. Thomas Jefferson.

North Carolina.

Mr. Joseph Hewes.

South Carolina.

Mr. Edward Rutledge.

Georgia.

Dr. Lyman Hall.

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