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.
Summary Part I: Join or Die (1770–1774) 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.
Part II: Independence (1775–1776) 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.
Part III: Don't Tread on Me (1777–1781)
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.
Part IV: Reunion (1781–1789) 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 the British during this time—he is the representative for a recently hostile power and represents in his person what many British at the time regarded as a disastrous end to their early Empire. He meets with his former sovereign, George III, and while the meeting is not a disaster, he is excoriated in British newspapers. In 1789, John Adams returns to Massachusetts for the first presidential election, where he and Abigail are reunited with their grown children. George Washington is elected as the first President of the United States, while John Adams is elected as the first Vice President.
Initially, Adams is disappointed and wishes to reject the post of Vice President because he feels there is a disproportionate number of electoral votes in favor of George Washington (Adams' number of votes pales in comparison to those for Washington). John feels the position of vice president is not a proper reflection of all the years of service he has dedicated to his nation but Abigail persuades him to accept the nomination.
Part V: Unite or Die (1788–1797) The fifth episode begins with Vice President John Adams presiding over the Senate and the debate over what to call the new president. It depicts Adams as frustrated in this role: his opinions are ignored and he has no power, except in the case of a tied vote. He is excluded from George Washington's inner circle of cabinet members, and his relationships with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton are strained. Even Washington gently rebukes him for his efforts to "royalize" the office of the presidency, although Washington values Adams' counsel in other areas, considering him to be "reasonable company" when compared with Jefferson and Hamilton. A key event shown is the struggle to enact the Jay Treaty with Britain, which Adams must ratify before a deadlocked Senate (although historically his vote was not required). The episode concludes with his inauguration as the second president—and his subsequent arrival in a plundered executive mansion.
Part VI: Unnecessary War (1797–1801) The sixth episode covers Adams's term as president and the rift between the Hamilton-led Federalists and Jefferson-led Republicans. Adams's neutrality pleases neither side and often angers both. His shaky relationship with Vice President Thomas Jefferson worsens after Adams takes defensive actions against the French Republic, which are prompted by failed diplomatic attempts and the signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts. After taking all possible actions to prevent a war with France, Adams also alienates himself from the anti-French Alexander Hamilton. He disowns his son Charles, who soon dies as an alcoholic vagrant. Adams sees success late in his presidency with his campaign of preventing a war with France, but his success is clouded after losing the presidential election of 1800. After receiving much criticism while in office, Adams loses the election against his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, and runner-up Aaron Burr (both from the same party). Adams leaves the Presidential Palace (now known as the White House) in March 1801 and retires to his personal life in Massachusetts.
Part VII: Peacefield (1803–1826) The final episode covers Adams's retirement years. His home life at Peacefield is full of pain and sorrow as his daughter, Nabby, dies of breast cancer and Abigail succumbs to typhoid fever. Adams does live to see the election of his son, John Quincy, as president, but is too ill to attend the inauguration. Adams and Jefferson are reconciled through correspondence in their last years. Both die hours apart on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson and Adams were 83 and 90, respectively.
Cast
Paul Giamatti as John Adams Laura Linney as Abigail Adams Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson David Morse as George Washington Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin Rufus Sewell as Alexander Hamilton Justin Theroux as John Hancock Danny Huston as Samuel Adams Sarah Polley as Abigail Adams Smith Andrew Scott as William Stephens Smith Željko Ivanek as John Dickinson Ebon Moss-Bachrach as John Quincy Adams John Dossett as Benjamin Rush Mamie Gummer as Sally Smith Adams Caroline Corrie as Louisa Adams Samuel Barnett as Thomas Adams Kevin Trainor as Charles Adams Tom Hollander as King George III Julian Firth as the Duke of Dorset Damien Jouillerot as King Louis XVI Clancy O'Connor as Edward Rutledge Guy Henry as Jonathan Sewall Brennan Brown as Robert Treat Paine Paul Fitzgerald as Richard Henry Lee Tom Beckett as Elbridge Gerry Del Pentecost as Henry Knox Tim Parati as Caesar Rodney John O'Creagh as Stephen Hopkins John Keating as Timothy Pickering Hugh O'Gorman as Thomas Pinckney Timmy Sherrill as Charles Lee Judith Magre as Madame Helvetius Jean-Hugues Anglade as Count of Vergennes Jean Brassard as Admiral d'Estaing Pip Carter as Francis Dana Sean McKenzie as Edward Bancroft Derek Milman as Lieutenant James Barron Patrice Valota as Jean-Antoine Houdon Nicolas Vaude as Chevalier de la Luzerne Bertie Carvel as Lord Carmarthen Alex Draper as Robert Livingston Cyril Descours as Edmond-Charles Genet Alan Cox as William Maclay Sean Mahan as Gen. Joseph Warren Eric Zuckerman as Thomas McKean Ed Jewett as James Duane Vincent Renart as Andrew Holmes Ritchie Coster as Captain Thomas Preston Lizan Mitchell as Sally Hemings Pamela Stewart as Patsy Jefferson Lucas N Hall as Continental Army Officer, New York light infantry battalion Steven Hinkle as Young John Quincy Adams Buzz Bovshow as John Trumbull
Shooting locations