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John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling the political and family life of U.S. Founding Father and president John Adams, detailing his many roles in the fou…
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Investigate this subjectJohn Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling the political and family life of U.S. Founding Father and president John Adams, detailing his many roles in the founding of the United States.
John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling the political and family life of U.S. Founding Father and president John Adams, detailing his many roles in the founding of the United States. The miniseries is directed by Tom Hooper and stars Paul Giamatti in the title role. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the 2001 biography John Adams by David McCullough.
The biopic of Adams and the story of the first 50 years of the United States was broadcast in seven parts by HBO between March 16 and April 27, 2008. John Adams received generally positive reviews and many awards. The show won four Golden Globe awards and thirteen Emmy awards, more than any other miniseries in history.
In 1770 John Adams is a respected lawyer in his mid-30s known for his dedication to the law and justice. Adams is sought as a defense counsel for the soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre by their commander, Captain Thomas Preston. Reluctant at first, he agrees despite knowing this will antagonize his neighbors and friends.
Adams clashes with his cousin Samuel Adams over his decision to take the case. Samuel is one of the executive members of the Sons of Liberty, an organization dedicated to getting the colonies proper representation in the Parliament of Great Britain. After many sessions in court, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty of murder for each defendant, thanks to Adams' arguments.
Adams' friend Jonathon Sewall reveals that Massachusetts governor Francis Bernard and King George III have approved Adams' appointment to the Court of Admiralty. Adams wrestles with the decision, seeing fault both with the Sons of Liberty and with the British Crown, and ultimately refuses. He admits to his wife Abigail that he thinks the colony is in need of "strong governance" but that the Sons of Liberty are not up to the task.
After the Boston Tea Party, the Parliament of Great Britain passes the Intolerable Acts to the fury of the Sons of Liberty and many Bostonians. Samuel nominates Adams to represent Massachusetts in the First Continental Congress. Adams expresses doubt about its legality, but accepts. He reluctantly leaves a pregnant Abigail in Boston and departs for the Congress.
In Philadelphia, Adams finds himself disappointed with both the Congress’ inability to make quick decisions and their unwillingness to support military action against Britain. His vocal dissent makes him unpopular among his fellow delegates, particularly John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, Edward Rutledge of South Carolina, and James Duane of New York.
The Adams family has moved back to their farm outside Boston for safety reasons as the conflict with Britain in Massachusetts has continued to escalate. Adams’ faith in Boston’s cause is renewed upon the victory of the Massachusetts militia in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
At the Second Continental Congress, Adams finds allies in Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Most of the Congress nevertheless favor reconciliation with Britain and authorize the Olive Branch Petition. After the Battle of Bunker Hill, Adams is able to convince Congress to adopt the Massachusetts militia into a formal army and nominates Washington to lead it. The battle also causes King George to issue a Proclamation of Rebellion, which labels the colonists as traitors. Upon the reading of the Proclamation before Congress, Adams and Franklin rally the delegates to declare independence and propose an alliance with France.
Due to Adams' unpopularity and the powerful position held by Virginia, Jefferson is chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence. Adams delivers an impassioned speech before Congress, which sways the majority opinion in favor of the document. He reconciles with Rutledge, Duane, and Dickinson to achieve a unanimous vote. The Declaration is read both before the city of Philadelphia and across the country, including by the Adams family in Massachusetts.
In Episode 3, Adams travels to Europe with his young son, John Quincy, during the Revolutionary War to seek alliances with foreign nations. En route, their ship battles a British frigate. It first shows Adams' embassy with Benjamin Franklin in the court of Louis XVI. The old French nobility, who are in the last decade before being consumed by the French Revolution, are portrayed as effete and decadent. They cheerfully meet Franklin, viewing him as a romantic figure, oblivious to the democratic infection he carries. Adams, on the other hand, is a plainspoken and faithful man who finds himself out of his depth surrounded by an entertainment- and sex-driven nature of the French elite.
Adams finds himself at sharp odds with Benjamin Franklin, who has adapted himself to the French, seeking to obtain by seduction what Adams would gain through histrionics. Franklin sharply rebukes Adams for his lack of diplomatic acumen, describing it as a "direct insult followed by a petulant whine." Franklin soon has Adams removed from any position of diplomatic authority in Paris. Franklin's approach is ultimately successful and results in the conclusive Franco-American victory at Yorktown.
Adams, chastened and dismayed but learning from his mistakes, then travels to the Dutch Republic to obtain money for the Revolution. Although the Dutch agree with the American cause, they do not consider the new union a reliable and creditworthy client. Adams ends his time in the Netherlands in a state of progressive illness, having sent his son away as a diplomatic secretary to the Russian Empire.
In the fourth episode, John Adams receives news of the Revolutionary War's end and the British defeat. He is then sent to Paris to negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783. While overseas, John Adams spends time with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and his wife, Abigail, visits him. Franklin informs John Adams that he was appointed as the first American Ambassador to Great Britain and thus has to relocate to London. John Adams is poorly received by
Source: John Adams (miniseries) (CC BY-SA)
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