to remember when we started, i said that john adams roche -- john adams wrote on july 1, today is a setup for the greatest debate all. that was the date that congress had set aside for this. so the debate begin on june the first, dickinson was the first to speak. i forgot to show you these -- this is jefferson. this is him perhaps puzzling over the declaration, and benjamin franklin, who was on the committee. when the debate begins, dickinson is the first to speak. it was a terribly hot day in philadelphia. the temperature climbs above 90. it probably felt as hot or hotter than it to did today. the room was closed. all the windows were closed, so no one could hear what was being said from the outside. there could be loyalists or british spies out there. and dickinson spoke for 2 hours. in that speech, dickinson said stature hade grand he wrote it because -- had eroded because of his long fight against independent. but that he rejoiced that the burden that he carried was almost over, and that he could not be silent, even though he suspected it would lead to his political suicide. and in th

john quincy adams. >> john quincy adams was probably the most qualified man to be president that the united states has ever produced. he was the son of john adams, the first vice president and then president of the united states. he had served as a congressman, as a senator, as a diplomat. he had then been secretary of state under james monroe. >> as secretary of state, adams believes he's set for the top job. the last three men who held the post went on to become the president. his turn next. >> of course, john quincy adams has to be the next president. because, well, his father was the president. he's from massachusetts, and he's secretary of state. and the secretary of state has always been the president. who is jackson to come in here and -- he's just from tennessee. >> the votes are counted, and the man from tennessee surprises everyone. >> jackson had more popular votes than anyone else. and more electoral votes during anyone else. >> but not enough to win an absolute majority. instead, congress will choose america's next president. >> andrew jackson was enraged. >> i have been

you need people who are passionate like samuel adams and his cousin john adams but you also need that special type of person who can make everybody collaborate and make them come together and so after the connecticut compromise has gone down in flames and it looks like the convention may break up on the big state/little state issue, whether there should be equal votes for state and congress or vote proportional to population in congress, how it was going to balance the role of being a collection of states in the national center, franklin finally gets up and he proposes that there be a house and a senate. a house with some proportional representation, he's the one who makes that motion that had been discussed before but he's the one who actualyy makes that motion and he gets up and he says, "i'm the oldest person here." he was not only the oldest person, his age in the early 80s was twice the average age of everybody else in the room. and he said "the older i get, something really strange happens to me i realize i'm wrong at times, i realize i'm fallible, i realize i've made mistakes."

you need people who are passionate like samuel adams and his cousin john adams, but you also need that special type of person who can make everybody collaborate and make them come together. and so after the connecticut compromise has gone down in flames and it looks like the convention may break up on the big state/little state issue, whether there should be equal votes per state and congress or vote proportional to population in congress, how it was going to balance the role of being a collection of states in the national center, franklin finally gets up and he proposes that there be a house and a senate. a house with some proportional representation, he's the one who makes that motion that had been discussed before but he's the one who actually makes that motion, and he gets up, and he says, "i'm the oldest person here." he was actually not only the oldest person, his age in his early 80s was twice the age, the average age of everybody else in the room. and he said "the older i get, something really strange happens to me i realize i'm wrong at times, i realize i'm fallible, i realize

you see john adams' handwriting, "endowed by their creator." so you can see just in the editing of one half of one sentence this notion of collaboration requiring balance and compromise as they balance the role of divine providence and the role of rationality in getting to our rights and liberties. i was actually working at cnn when i was looking at the various drafts of the declaration and writing this part of the ben franklin book and i came in one morning after i was studying this a bit and it was 7:00 a.m. because we used to have meetings at an ungodly hour at cnn and somebody said "oh, we have a cross fire show tonight." and i said, yeah. and it was -- there's a judge in alabama, he's put the 10 commandments on the steps of his courthouse and a federal judge says he has to take them down and he won't take them down so they want to send in the federal marshals and everybody says "great who are we going to have for the 10 commandments, who are we going to have arguing against the 10 commandments." and when i went back home late that evening

he works for about 17 days on the declaration of independence, and he will especially go to john adams and benjamin franklin for some of their ideas and critiques of his writing. but generally it's his work. he's building on a lot of other things that he and others had written. some of the grievances they'd already been talking about make up a big bulk of that declaration of independence. by june 28th, the declaration is sort of back here in the assembly room. but that's a friday. they'll wait until the next monday to start debating. july the 1st begins debate on independence. the first thing they'll debate is not the declaration but the idea. they'll start discussing, is is this really the best thing for us to do. should we become these free and independent states? most of the men in the room are at that point they're ready to make this step. but there are others that aren't loyal. they'll not have loyalists in the continental congress. they wouldn't want to have anything to do with it. but they are men that are more conservative saying this may not be such a good idea. john dickinson

john adams and the play is a compilation of sam adams and john adams did the opposite and a a good job capturing personalities of the people involved in that comes out so clearly in the play. the other thing i like about it, which is fascinating to me is to use actual language and writing of individuals. we've done the play several times. then you read other stuff written by these individuals like i remember that. that was in the play and it's cool the way the authors have done a brilliant job and we've been in actual history. the language style is much different than it is today. they were able to weave that into something that was very entertaining and enjoyable. when i was teaching school, it was great. although i have to admit that at one time a kid was debating me on whether this is realistic or not. if it was pretty close to history. he said the men they same back then. now, they didn't really sing. one time we were watching the movie and he turned around and said what were they talking about? the revolutionary war. did we win it? i realized i have a lot of work to do at this kid

so that is a day that john adams would write to his wife the next day and say this is what we should celebrate with parades and fireworks and speeches and so on. sadly for poor july 2 it never gets particularly remembered because the rest of that day, the second, the third, and into the fourth are the days of debating on the declaration of independence. now the declaration in jefferson's draft is about four pages long. they're going to go through more or less every word. they're going to make a significant number of changes is but they're not going to change the basic nature of a lot of what jefferson writes. they're going to add some words here and there. the most famous part is sort of that opening paragraph or two, most of that remains intact. the early listing of grievances, the things that we've been talking about for several years as far as what we're worried about the british doing remains intact. probably the most famous section that gets changed is the section about the slave trade, specifically slave insurrections is another part of that. one of the big arguments that virgi

he is not an intellectual like john adams or jefferson. he is not a great orator like patrick henry. he is not a brilliant napoleonic figure. he is a leader. people will follow him. and he has absolute integrity. and he will not give up. and he never forgets what it is about, what the war is for. and again and again, you have people saying, they are not going to quit because i will not leave this good man. at one point it was down to 3000 troops. that is all he had left. hundreds, thousands had either quit, gone home when their enlistments expired, deserted, went over to the enemy -- mr. rose: because they were given pardons. mr. mccullough: absolutely. people in new jersey, when washington and the army were retreating across new jersey, when the general lord howe , the british commanders offered pardons for anybody who would sign the loyalty oath, people in new jersey came by the thousands to sign as quickly as they could. if there had been daily polls taken and run in the newspapers, it would have disintegrated immediately because people

i do not hate john adams, but these were not his best years. adams considered his most benign highness or at least his highness as the barest acceptable forms of address. he preferred his high mightiness, and he dismissed president as fit for nothing more than the leader of fire companies or a club. others proposed the name washington should itself become the title, like caesar or augustus in ancient rome, to be bestowed on future presidents. fortunately, george washington would have none of it. he rejected all these grandiose titles. although he was obviously a patrician, a slave owner, a military man accustomed to command and obedience, he was a republican, and he regarded congress as the core of the nation's government. but underpinning his republicanism was an unreachable quality of self-restraint, modesty, and respect for the dignity of his fellow men, including those he disagreed with. as far as he was concerned, the humble title of president was just fine. thank you, george. we are all grateful for that. we have certainly had some presid

unlike john adams, who also was there. and he created his printing press. he disparaged john adams because he was too aloof and will not be part of the people in paris. he said john adams learned french by studying grammar books and that he, ben franklin, learned it by writing poems to his mistresses and lounging on the pillows while they corrected him. but also benjamin franklin, you know how he rolls the paper up and down the streets as a young printer, he wanted that impression in france of being sort of the frontier philosopher type. he knew that the french had read rousseau once too often and they believed in the natural man and philosopher. when he comes to paris, up until jerry lewis, he is the most famous person from america in paris because his lightning rod experiments were proven correct in paris. he comes to paris and they bring him in and people are lining the streets to see benjamin franklin, because he realized part of making people work together is indeed with publicity at times. you cannot do it as a shy person. and he wears a backwoods coa

rights, andienable john adams handwriting, endowed by the creator. so you can see just in the editing of one half of one cents, the notion of collaboration requiring balance and compromise. as they balance, the role of divine providence and the role of rationality in getting to our rights and liberties. i was actually working with cnn when i was looking at the first draft and writing this part of the book. i came in one morning after i was studying and it was 7:00 a.m. because we used to have meetings at an ungodly hour and somebody said, we have a crossfire show tonight. judge in alabama had put the 10 commandments on the steps of the courthouse. a federal judge said he needed to take them down. they wanted to send in the federal marshal. and who would they have arguing against the 10 commandments? when i went back home that evening and i went back to working on the ben franklin manager, i said, this is really bad. you know, here we are watching the 10 commandments being used as a wedge issue, a divider, when the founders were just showing how to do

. >> john adams, who was our second president. -- wish to meet my wife and friends ancestors in posterity. i wish to meet alexander hamilton again. adams, who had wished to be with her husband and she could not leave their massachusetts farm. >> too long a journey to join my dear husband. i cannot express to you how ardently i longed for you. protest your spending one hour here. >> and washington, the father of our country. back,we ask you to come there is no doubt what his reply will be. >> my abilities may not be equal to the task. however, if it is desired, i will enter again on a moment's duty. if that happens, i beg to be remembered by every person in this room that i declare, i have never felt myself equal to the task. >> and thomas jefferson, author of the declaration of independence. >> gen'l washington. >> dr. franklin. spokesman of the the revolution. what say you? on thesun never shines cause of freedom. is that the concern of a day, a year, or an age. austerity will be affected, even until the end of time. i am your servant, mr. jefferson. >> the generation who begins the revo

you thought of this story midway through the john adams book. what caused you to think about it? it was when i was writing the chapter of dealing with the summer after the declaration of independence was signed. the whole war effort is starting to fall apart and then came the battle of brooklyn and the escape from brooklyn, the miraculous night escape by washington. when you are writing a biography, you cannot stray from your subject very much. elizabeth longford, who wrote the great biography of queen victoria was saying you cannot look at your subject for more than five minutes, and she is right. you cannot. i wanted very much to write about the escape from brooklyn. i thought you cannot do it here, but you can in the next book. i began with -- which surprises some people -- george iii going before parliament to declare that the american colonies are in rebellion and that their leaders, these rabble-rousers -- rose: he calls them the unhappy americans. "unhappy americans," absolutely. they are traitors. he and the king have that british power and they will bring these people to

announcer: and john adams, who was our second president, the voice of an ancient wish. >> i wished me my wife and friends, ancestors and posterity. -- evene i can even overcome all of my objections to meeting hamilton again. sincere thatre is nets in him. abigail, whod wished to be with her husband when they could not leave the massachusetts harm. >> my dear, i dare not express to you how ardently i long for you. i am very miserly. i must protest you spending one hour here. announcer: in washington, the father of our country. if we ask him to come back, there is no doubt what his reply would be. distress.great my abilities may not be equal. however, i will enter again a momentous duty, but if something beg forappen, i everyone in this room to remember that i've never felt myself equal to the task. announcer: and thomas jefferson, author of "the declaration of independence." >> mrs. adams? >> why, it is tom paine, the spokesman of the revolution, mr. common sense himself. what say you, tom? in the cause of america, may we disturb your piece? >> it is not the concern of a day, a year, o

john adams. so, she was still excellency to some of her friends, probably her friends in britain. >> okay. well, i'm going to ask one more question, and then we're going to turn it to the audience. so, please get your questions ready. but one other thing that's just been on my mind with the current presidential election. there's arguably a better chance that there will be a woman elected president this year than any other time. and i wondered, if hillary clinton was elected president, would there be a new presidential title controversy? do you think there would be another debate or do you think it's pretty settled what she would be called? >> well, many women are with many organizations and are president and they're called madam president. i would assume that she would be called madam president, and i don't think there would be a whole lot of debate about that. mr. president, madam president in news conferences, et cetera. i think most other women who would be president, their husbands would be c

john adams. so she was still excellency to st some of her friends, probably her friends in britain. >> i'm going to ask one more question and then we're going to turn it to the audience, so please get your questions ready. but one other thing that's been on my mind with the current presidential election, there's arguably a better chance there bob a woman elected president this year than any other time, and i wonder if hillary clinton was elected president, will there be a new presidential title controversy, will there be a new debate, or is it pretty settled what she will be called. >> many women are presidents of organizes and they are called madam president, and i would assume she would be called madam president and i don't think there would be a lot of debate about that. madam president in news conferences, et cetera. i think most people -- other women presidents -- women who would be president, their husbands would be called mr. or if they had a title like doctor or lieutenant, they would jus

announcer: and john adams, who was our second president, the voice of an ancient wish. >> a wish? oh, yes. i wished me, my wife and friends, ancestors and posterity. i believe i can even overcome ll of my objections to meeting alex hamilton again. if i could perceive a symptom of sincere penitence in him. announcer: and abigail adams, who wished to be with her husband when she could not leave their massachusetts farm. >> 200 years is not too long a journey to join my dear partner. i dare not express to you how ardently i longed for you. i have some very miserly wishes. i must protest your spending one hour here till at least i've had ou 12. announcer: and washington, the father of our country. if we ask him to come back, there is no doubt what his reply would be. >> no, i am conscious of the high honor done me in this call, so i feel great distress from consciousness that my abilities may not be equal to their trust. however, if you desire, i will enter again on my momentous duties, but if some unlucky event should happen, i beg that it be remembered by every person in this room t

sfwlr >> reporter: a descendant of john adams and john quincy adams. the great cartoonists of the past, would this be great material for them? >> i think this is a year made for a political cartoonist. donald trump is just a cartoonist' dream. his hair, his face, the way he speaks. there's a cartoon quality to that. >> they can draw him every day. >> reporter: david horsy is a two-time pulitzer prize winner of the l.a. times. he's wielding his pen all this week in cleveland. >> i've drawn him as a barbarian conquering roam, as a caveman. there are wonderful analogies you can find for his sort of macho, i'm in charge i don't care style. >> reporter: political cartooning isn't just about cartooning. i'm providing commentary and the drawing ads a hoeightened reality. when you're looking at hillary clinton, what physical features are good material for political cartoonist? >> you start with the face. she has a very kind of round face, moon face. kind of a small mouth, big eyes. there's sort of a -- i don't know. i'm going to get in trouble with this. but s

john adams is the vice president and everybody knows he will become the next president and john adams is the only one of the founders with sons. who was he thinking about? [laughter] i will talk to you for a moment about the presidents and i want to say that it has often been said wrongly that washington really was not much more than a figurehead at this point. but he was driven by james madison at the beginning of the first congress and then later on by hamilton. i see no evidence for that at all. i think washington was a much more acute political man. a subtle nuanced political thinker. he is able, remarkably, to listen to everyone. you hear him again and again when he is writing whether it is letters or cited by others. he is listening to everyone's advice. he know exactly who to ask. he takes it in. he thinks about it and the last an authoritarian instinct. the decisions he makes are decisions taken congruently with others. this is part of his greatness and setting a pattern for the presidency. all presidents have been like that. -- not all presidents have been like that. what pre

so excited to have you here. >> a pleasure to be here and john adams was absolutely correct. >> what is the deal? why are we celebrating it on the 4th? >> congress actually passed a resolution in favor of independence on the 2nd. john adams went home that night and wrote a lovely letter to his wife abigail and say 2nd of july we will celebrate and he meant fireworks and everything about the date. two days later, the congress adopted jefferson's declaration which explained the reasons why they had that vote two days earlier. but when american people saw the declaration with the date at the top, july 4th, it instantly became recognized as a birthday. john adam, by the way, did not celebrate the fourth. >> he stood his ground and said july 2nd, right? >> he stood his ground but he was alone in that pretty much. >> maybe he just likes to keep the party going. just go from the 2nd to the 4th. >> we could have that argument this should always be a three day holiday. >> i like that. >> fireworks is a huge part of the celebrations across the country. where did that tradition come from? >> fi

you thought of this, this story, midway through the john adams book. >> yes, i did. >> rose: what caused you to think about it, the lesser from abigail or -- >> no, it was when i was writing the chapter dealing with the summer after the declaration of independence was signed, and the whole war effort is starting to fall apart, and then came the battle of brooklyn and the escape from brooklyn, the miraculous night escape by washington. and when you're writing a biography, you can't stray from your subject very much. elizabeth longford who wrote the great biography of queen victoria, said you can't leave your subject for more than five pages, and she was right, you can't. and i wanted very much to write about, in some detail, about the battle of brooklyn and about the escape from brooklyn. i thought, well you can't do it here, but you can do it in the next book. and so i began, which surprises some people, i began with george iii before going to parliament in october of 1775 to declare that the american colonies are in rebellion and that their leaders, these rebel rousers -- >> rose: he ca

john adams. so, she was still excellency to some of her friends, probably her friends in britain. >> okay. well, i'm going to ask one more question, and then we're going to turn it to the audience. so, please get your questions ready. but one other thing that's just been on my mind with the current presidential election. there's arguably a better chance that there will be a woman elected president this year than any other time. and i wondered, if hillary clinton was elected president, would there be a new presidential title controversy? do you think there would be a new debate or do you think it's pretty settled what she would be called? >> well, many women are with many organizations and are president and they're called madam president. i would assume that she would be called madam president, and i don't think there would be a whole lot of debate about that. mr. president, madam president in news conferences, et cetera. i think most other women who would be president, their husbands would be cal

john adams. so she was still excellency to some of her friends, probably to her friends in britain. >> okay. well, i'm going to ask one more question and then we're going to turn it to the audience so please get your questions ready but one other thing that's just been on my mind with the current presidential election, there's arguably a better chance that there will be a woman elected president this year than any other time and if hillary clinton is elected, would there be a new debate or do you think it's pretty settled what she would be called? >> well, it's in many women are the -- are presidents of organizations and normally called madame president and they're called madame president. i would assume she would be called madame president and i don't think there would be a whole lot of debate about that. mr. president. madame president. i think in news conferences, et cetera. i think most other women presidents, women who would be president, their husbands would be called mister or if they had

not so, john adam, founding father who later became our second president. yes, the fourth was the day the continental congress approved the declaration largely written by thomas jefferson our future third president. but for john adams the true holiday was july 2nd, the day congress actual low voted for independence. made his case for the second in a let for his wife dated july 3th, 1776. 40 years ago today. >> i believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generation as the great anniversary festival, wrote. it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade with games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illumination from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more. and so our independence is celebrated on julyth. for the rest of husband life, john adams reputedly declined to take part in any july 4th celebration. but in the end the fourth south him out. john adams died on july 4th, 1826, the very same day as thomas jefferson. on the 50th anniversary of the first of our glorious 4th,. after trying brookside chocolate, people ta

not so, john adam, founding father who later became our second president. yes, the fourth was the day the continental congress approved the declaration largely written by thomas jefferson our future third president. but for john adams the true holiday was july 2nd, the day congress actual low voted for independence. made his case for the second in a let for his wife dated july 3th, 1776. 40 years ago today. >> i believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generation as the great anniversary festival, wrote. it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade with games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illumination from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more. and so our independence is celebrated on julyth. for the rest of husband life, john adams reputedly declined to celebration. but in the end the fourth south him out. john adams died on july 4th, 1826, the very same day as thomas jefferson. on the 50th anniversary of the first of our glorious 4th,. after trying brookside chocolate, people talk about it online. love a

so did his friendly rival john adams, who wrote, to see rising in america, and emperor of liberty and a prospect of 2 million freemen without one noble or one king among them. impossible.s if i should agree with you on this, i would still say at least let us try the experiment. i can only add, let the experiment continue. thank you. [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] [applause] ♪ [inaudible]

>> john adams is a blind, bald, crippled, toothless man who wants to start a war with france. >> makes me glad i'm not running for office. >> don't watch "stossel," he's nothing but a hack. >> which ads work? which don't? what's different this year? that's our show tonight. and now, john stossel. >> this year sets another new record for political spending. people get upset that money is such a big part of politics, but what do you expect? since government's gotten so big that it's moved into every cranny of our lives, it's no surprise people spend a lot to influence it. favors, getting hands in trillions of dollars the feds hand out. others spend out of fear. please, if i give you campaign money, will i get access to you to lobby you so you don't regulate me out of existness? yes, $6 billion is a lot of money, but it's less than americans spend on potato chips. the election's more important than chipsin, right? i'm surprised they don't spend more. the nominees are picked. they have. don't believe the pundits saying, oh, bernie has a chance, maybe paul ryan is chosen over trump in a bro

henry clay, john quincy adams. john quincy adams served 17 years in the house. as president he was considered a lar failed affair but after being president he came to the house and found his voice and he was a champion of the right of the people to petition their government, he was an incredible champion of abolition way before his time, he was a statesman, and although he drove southern slavery holders to distraction here in the house, nonetheless, they respected his intellect. he is an incredible figure. there are great heroic figures who served in the house that are worthy of reading about and learning. >> host: and there is a brand new biography out on john quincy adams this spring. have you thought about writing a book? if you did what would it be about? >> guest: actually there are two books -- yes, i have. there are lots i would like to write about. i served 14 years in local government and i think local government deserves a lot more -- um, appreciation than the gets and i would love to write a book maybe on local government. two others. one, i would lik

henry clay, john quincy adams. john quincy adams served 17 years in the house. his presidency was considered, by and large, a fairly failed affair, but after but after he served as president he came to the house and he found his voice. he was an incredible champion of the right of people to champion their government. he was an incredible champion of abolition way before his time, he was a statesman and although he drove southern slaveholders to distraction here in the house, nonetheless, they respected him. his intellect and his doggedness , and he was an incredible figure. there are some great heroic figures who served here in the house were also worthy of reading about and learning. >> there's a brand-new biography out on john quincy adams, by the way, the spring. >> that's right. i'm thinking about reading it and looking forward to it. >> have you ever thought of writing a book? >> yes, i have i served 14 years and local government and i think local government deserves a lot more appreciation than it gets and i would love to write a book may be on local gover

and john adams wrote of his dream to see rising in america an emperor of liberty and a prospect of two or 300 millions of free men without one noble or one king among them. you say it, it's impossible. if i should agree with you on this, i would still say let us try the experiment. i can only add. let the experiment continue. thank you. [ applause ] >>> today, july 1st, marking 40 years since gerald ford on hand to dedicate this museum, since then more than 300 trillion have come and the second location outside of washington, dc near dulles airport. together, more than 8 million visitors come here combined making these two museums the most popular in the u.s. we'll be live during the next two and a half hours leading up to coverage of the museum's

john adams went home that night and wrote a lovely letter to his wife abigail and say 2nd of july we will celebrate and he meant fireworks and everything about the date. two days later, the congress adopted jefferson's declaration which explained the reasons why they had that vote two days earlier. but when american people saw the declaration with the date at the top, july 4th, it instantly became recognized as a birthday. john adam, by the way, did not celebrate the fourth. >> he stood his ground and said july 2nd, right? >> he stood his ground but he was alone in that pretty much. >> maybe he just likes to keep the party going. just go from the 2nd to the 4th. >> we could have that argument this should always be a three day holiday. >> i like that. >> fireworks is a huge part of the celebrations as country. where did that tradition come from? >> fireworks are as old as gun powder and the chinese, of course, invented gun powder and it's to celebrate bringing in a new year or the birth of a new country. the fact it's kind of like war without the war and that is an important point to

the committee's options to draft it include john adams and thomas jefferson, two of congress' strongest writers and biggest egos. >> you should write it, adams. you've been one of the main instigators in the drive for independence, after all. >> i will not. you should do it. >> why me, john? >> because, as you said, we new englanders instigated the drive for independence. therefore, a virginian ought to be seen at the head of this business to avoid alienating the south. >> and are those your only reasons? >> and... you can write far better than i. >> hear, hear. >> though one of the youngest members of congress, thomas jefferson has been preparing to write the declaration of independence his entire life. >> as a young man, jefferson hears the ideas of the enlightenment -- that all men are entitled to life, liberty, and property. but he also still lives the lavish lifestyle that's dependent on slavery. these are the kinds of complexities that shape the thomas jefferson who then crafts the declaration of independence. >> far from the tranquility of his monticello home, jefferson's virgini

and on the other side, john adams said, if washington had lived, he would have run again. so that's where i leave it. i think he's mistaken, but we never can be sure. he's not going to have to make that decision because of his sudden death in december of 1799. and before we examine that death, i want to touch briefly on his attitude toward death as well as the question of life after death. washington is particularly rhett sant on religious questions and he's not always consistent, thus his views are subject to different interpretations. everybody wants washington to believe what they believe, and they are a subject of considerable controversy, some of which i have been involved in. where with that qualifier, here's a summary of my take on them, and we can, of course, discuss them more in the q and a if you wish. there's several points to be made about washington's attitude toward death. first, for whatever combination of reasons, he was not afraid of dying. thomas jefferson wrote that washington was incapable of fear. his legendary courage as commander in chief of the cont

according to their son in law, george middleton accepts john adams with his abigail, no man in public life would have such equal of a mate. articles and essays and a soft film in plays all hail bell belle la follette. only a few goes so far to recognize her in her own write and no account until now reveals the depth of reign of her interest and activism and the contributions she made to meaningful progressive and reforms. lesson two. don't believe everything that you read or hear. >> upon her death in 1931, newspapers across the nation for belle la follette, in carrying out a higher calling of a wife and a mother. she had a masculine mind but quickly praised her for being essentially feminine, maternal. it is like that old compliment like you don't sweat much for a fat girl. another tribute concluded interesting for those women of necessity must remain in the background. a family friend who should have known better painted la follette surrendered her home. she was content to get actions and actors. she played herself of the woman's part. >> she sat in the gallery and congress or at ho

john adams wrote a letter to his wife that said we would commemorate the holiday with bonfires and illumination. lauren: those illuminations sure are popular. the american pyrotechnics associations is despite certain state band sales are expected to skyrocket. nicole: sales will exceed $800 million. nicole: fireworks make a lot of sense in communities when you talk to local officials. they cut a lot of things in the budget before they let the fireworks go. very affordable way for a lot of people. lauren: how else to we celebrate american pride? half of the people surveyed will attend a barbecue. >> when the weather is nice you want to be outside enjoying the food and whether together and hot dogs are a natural part of the connection. hot dogs and america go hand in hand. a natural fit between independence day and hotdogs. >> the continental congress voted for independence day on july 2nd but the declaration wasn't approved until the fourth and wasn't declared a national holiday until later. >> we have red and white, we just need a little blue. >> it is indescribable. no doubt in my mind, we are

adams, bute john these were not his best years. adams considered his most benign highness or at least his highness as the bears acceptable forms of address, although he preferred his high mightiness, and he dismissed president as fit for nothing more than the leader of fire companies or a crooked club. others propose the name washington should itself become the title, like caesar or augustus in ancient rome, to be bestowed on future presidents. fortunately, george washington would have none of it. he rejected all these grandiose titles. and although he was obviously a patrician, a slave owner, a military man accustomed to command and obedience, he was a republican, and he regarded congress has the core of the nation's government. hisunderpinning republicanism was unimpeachable quality of self-restraint, modesty, and respect for the dignity of his fellow men, including those he disagreed with. thear as he was concerned humble title of president was just fine. thank you, george. we are all grateful for that. we have certainly had som

this is to answer your questi in in a different way, john quincy adams, the first real populist and part of the way they negotiated that is quite interesting. how to -- how the country was changing and what kind of relationship to have with people and franchise is expanding. and the early republic is they knew what they were doing. everybody disagreed about everything. everybody was making compromises. one of the exciting things is you get that because she wasn't trying to reflect the world. she wanted the future to see it. she was exasperated and hopeful. >> how hard is it -- just like jefferson, but was he writing about her? >> there were people so writing about her. kind of cutting, hurting, seeing the leading dissipation's of the day, who started the whole thing. niece wrote a wonderful tribute to how appealing she was. people wrote about things, newspapers wrote about her party, people in letters, certainly abigail wrote about her. people were drawn to her and tended to reflect that. >> the other former beings in the news, how do you see the role of first lady being different in the

[applause] on a marble fireplace in the white house is carved a prayer which john adams wrote. it concludes, may none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof. since i have resided in that historic house, i have tried to live by that prayer. [applause] i faced many tough problems, i probably made some mistakes, but on balance, america and americans have made an incredible comeback since august 1974. [applause] nobody can honestly say otherwise. and the plain truth is that the great progress we have made at home and abroad was in spite of the majority who run the congress of the united states. [applause] for 2 years i have stood for all the people against a vote-hungry, free-spending congressional majority on capitol hill. [applause] fifty-five times i vetoed extravagant and unwise legislation, 45 times i made those vetoes stick. [applause] those vetoes have saved american taxpayers billions and billions of dollars. i am against the big tax spender and for the little taxpayer. [applause] i called for a permanent tax cut, coupled with spending reductions, to stimulate th

john adams and the play is a compilation of sam adams and john adams did the opposite and a a good job capturing personalities of the people involved in that comes out so clearly in the play. the other thing i like about it, which is fascinating to me is to use actual language and writing of individuals. we've done the play several times. then you read other stuff written by these individuals like i remember that. that was in the play and it's cool the way the authors have done a brilliant job and we've been in actual history. the language style isu

. >> reporter: a descendant of john adams and john quincy adams. the great cartoonists of the past, would this be great material for them? >> i think this is a year made for a political cartoonist. donald trump is just a cartoonist' dream. his hair, his face, the way he speaks. there's a cartoon quality to that. >> they can draw him every day. >> reporter: david horsy is a two-time pulitzer prize winner editorial cartoonist with the l.a. times. he's wielding his pen all this week in cleveland. >> i've drawn him as a barbarian conquering rome, i've drawn him as a caveman. there are wonderful analogies you can find for his sort of macho, i'm in charge i don't care style. >> reporter: political cartooning isn't just about cartooning. charactericturing an individual. i'm providing commentary and the drawing ads a heightened reality. >> his politics are liberal, even though. when you're looking at hillary clinton, what physical features are good material for political cartoonist? >> you start with the face. she has a very kind of round face, moon face.

adams and john quincy adams. the great cartoonists of the past, would this be great material for them? >> i think this is a year made for a political cartoonist. donald trump is just a cartoonist' dream. his hair, his face, the way he speaks. there's a cartoon quality to that. >> they can draw him every day. >> reporter: david horsy is a two-time pulitzer prize winner editorial cartoonist with the l.a. times. he's wielding his pen all this week in cleveland. >> i've drawn him as a barbarian conquering rome, i've drawn him as a caveman. there are wonderful analogies you can find for his sort of macho, i'm in charge i don't care style. >> reporter: political cartooning isn't just about cartooning. charactericturing an individual. i'm providing commentary and the drawing ads a heightened reality. >> his politics are liberal, even though. when you're looking at hillary clinton, what physical features are good material for political cartoonist? >> you start with the face. she has a very kind of round face, moon face.

. >>> the first vice president of the united states, john adams, once said about his position that it was "the most insignificant office that ever the imagination of man conceived." up next, author joel goldstein talks about the history of the vice presidency and argues that the office has grown in importance, especially for the last six men who have held the position. from the gerald. are. ford presidential library, this is an hour. >> good evening again. the timing for tonight's program is prescient as is always the case at the ford library as we are on the verge of seeing who the current nominees for the presidency will select as their running mates. some of you picked up copies of an article from the "wall street journal" recently as you entered the auditorium. it's on the impact of the vice presidential nominee on election results. for those of you who didn't pick up copies, we're having extras run right now and we'll have them for you after the program. tonight we're going to be discussing not just the electoral process but the evolving role of the vice presidency. and we have t

so john adams in the play is compilation of sam and john adams but i think the authors did a good job capturing the personalitys of the people involved. the other thing i liked was the actual language and writings of these individuals is used. after doing the play several times, i read through it, and you read other stuff by these individuals and you are like i remember that. it is kind of cool the way the authors have done a brilliant job in weaving an actual history. the language style is different in the 1700s than it is today. they were able to weave it into something that was enterta enteg and enjoyable. when i was teaching school i had a kid debate on if this was realisic it. i said it is close to history. and he said you mean they sang back then and i said no this is a musical. one time we were watching a movie and he turned around saying what were they talking about and i said the revolutionary war and he said did we win it. i realized i had a lot of work to do with this kid. >> booktv wants to know what you reading. tweet us #booktv or on facebook facebook.com/booktv. >> jane

and a also characters are a comp ligs to john adams is a compilation of sam and john adams but i think that authors have done a good job in capturing permingts of the people that were involved and that comes out to clearly in the play but other thicks i like about it is they use language and writings of these individuals. so after we've done play several time read through it then you read stuff by individuals like wow. i remember that. that was actually in the play. kind of cool and weaving in actual history and associating language style is much different in that today that they were able to weave that in to something that was very entertaining and enjoyable and when i was teaching school, it was great. although i do have to admits that one time i had a kid that was debating me own whether this was realistic or not i said it was close to history. and he looked at me and said they sang back then. this was a musical and they didn't really sing and went on with it and watching movie and he turned around and he said what were they talking about? and they said revolutionary war we have a f